When winter hits, most people are concerned about two things: the oncoming cold temperatures and of course winter weight gain. For most people, the spring and the summer months come with a lot of great sports leagues and activities that are an easy way to stay in shape.

Unfortunately, many of these leagues are outdoor sports like softball, baseball, and soccer. Some will even argue that without the nice weather that comes with the warmer seasons, there is no fun way to get out there and keep the body moving. However, there are plenty of ways to keep active even when the temperature is below freezing.

A great way to stay active is participating in indoor recreational leagues during the winter. The obvious one that comes to mind is basketball and it is more than easy to find leagues in your area that are looking for teams and players to sign up. Even getting a few people together to play pickup games is a great way to hone your jump shot and keep in shape until the snow melts.

Then again, if basketball is not your thing there are plenty of other great recreational sports that can be done inside like indoor soccer, box lacrosse, and racquetball. In fact, racquetball is a great sport to consider because it only requires a court, a racquet, one other partner to play with, and is an amazing way to workout.

Sure, all of the mentioned sports and activities are great, but what happens if you do not have a gym membership or can’t get through the rough snowy roads of winter? Well, don’t fret! There are great activities at home that serve the same purpose as going out to shoot hoops or lift weights. One of these great at home activities, believe it or not, is shoveling your own sidewalk or driveway. Now, yes, no one likes to shovel their driveway when there is inches of snow on the ground, but it is a great workout. Shoveling snow is almost comparable to lifting weights, but just like at the gym it is important to have good form when shoveling or you may risk injury.

Another answer to staying fit and healthy during the winter months is purchasing and utilizing great home gyms. Simple equipment like treadmills and ellipticals can really help to keep the pounds off until springtime returns. Home gyms are great if you are more about working out rather then participating in team sports and other activities. If you love to lift and workout then a home gym is the way to go for you.

Winter can be an inactive season for most people and it can wreak havoc on staying fit and healthy, but by following these simple tips you won’t have to hibernate until springtime and can stay fit and healthy during the winter months.

About The Author

Megan Gates is an outreach representative for Gym Source (gymsource.com) – a leading retailer of home gyms and various other fitness and exercise equipment. Megan contributes written work to the blogosphere related to health and fitness.

To be honest with you I have never been obese. Nor, have I been overweight in any significant sense of the word. I am 5’4″ tall. At my heaviest I weighed 175 pounds and at my lightest I weighed 115 pounds. Though these numbers are not very high the huge discrepancy between them is enough to tell the story of how I felt towards, and dealt with my weight, over the years.

So, where did all this come from? I am not quiet sure but I do have a theory. From amongst my friends I was one of the first girls to begin developing. Before I knew it I had a brand new body I didn’t quiet know what to do with. Can you imagine how self conscious this made me feel? I began to become conscious of the fact that I and my new body stood out amongst my classmates. Of course, I wanted nothing more than to just fit in and blend in with the rest of my classmates. Since my new, overdeveloped, body prevented me from doing that, in my mind it became “the enemy”. I wanted nothing more than to be rid of my new curves and once again be “normal”. So, I began to starve myself.

It worked. The pounds melted off and before I knew it I was back to feeling “normal”. You will be surprised to know  just how easy it was for me to pull this off, at such a young age.  I couldn’t get out of eating breakfast (Thank God!) But once at school, I skipped lunch. In the afternoon I would have a snack and by dinner I would come up with a lie such as “I ate at a friend’s house”.

Thus, I got away with eating no more than 600-800 calories a day for six years. This helped keep the weight off of me but it reeked havoc on my body and metabolism.

To Be Continued……….

Clean Up

Straightening up your living area is a great way to turn up your heart rate and burn calories. 23 minutes of high intensity cleaning is all you need to burn 200 calories. Get creative and move with purpose.

Go For a Swim

Beat the summer heat and go to your local swimming pool. 27 minutes of wading in the water will do the trick. Just remember to pack the sun block SPF 15

Play With Your Kids

16 minutes of running around the yard, friendly wrestling, and other great activities with your kids is a perfect way to get the blood flowing and spending time with the most important people in your life.

Go Grocery Shopping

Pushing the cart around the store for almost 43 minutes is just the start. If you can manage to carry your own bags to your car, into the house, and put the food away you can add another 200 calories or more to your daily total!

Go Bowling

44 minutes of bowling with family and friends is another great way to burn calories and have fun at the same time. A 49 minute game can scorch 200 calories.

There are literally dozens of other ideas to get exercise without going to the gym. You can make even the most mundane activities fun and a little more exciting by doing them with more oomph. The point is, just do it!

Likewise, those who engage in walking as their primary mode of exercise argue that its psychological benefits far outweigh its physical benefits. This is absolutely true. Walking is a unique form of exercise in the sense that it can be used both as a relaxation and meditation exercise as well as a group exercise.

Unfortunately, although the benefits of walking to our overall well-being are numerous walking as a type of exercise will not provide us with any form of cardiovascular benefit. Walking for pleasure as a form of exercise is simply not strenuous enough to help us reach and maintain our individual target heart rates for an extended period of time. In order to reap any form of cardiovascular benefit from walking we must walk at a pace that will increase our heart rate to the level often referred to as the target heart rate and maintain this level of heart rate for at least 30-45 minutes.

The type of walking most of us engage in throughout the day such as strolling through the mall, pushing a shopping cart down the grocery store aisle and so forth does not meet this criteria. We attain our target heart rate during aerobic exercise. Target heart rate also known as The Fat Burning Zone refers to an individual’s minimum level of physical exertion during which cardiovascular fitness can increase. Of course, other factors such as age and weight are also taken into account when determining an individual’s target heart rate.

Target Heart Rate Formula

The Karvonen Formula is the most widely used method of determining one’s target heart rate. Below is an example of the Karvonen Formula for a 65 year old male with the resting heart rate of 77 beats per minute. In order to determine your resting heart rate take your pulse for one minute after a period of at least five minutes of inactivity.

206.9-(0.67 x 65) (age) = 163

163 – 77 (resting heart rate) = 86

86 X 65% (low end of heart rate) = 56

86 X 85% (high end of heart rate) = 73

73+ 77 (rhr) = 150 (high)

56+77 (rhr) = 133 (low)

The target heart rate zone for this individual would be 133 at the low end of the scale and 150 at the high end of the scale.

As you can see this 65 year old subject will find it almost impossible to raise his resting heart rate from 77 beats per minute to 133 beats per minute or higher simply by walking, unless of course, he engages in power walking. This fact is also true for individuals of all age groups.

One of the main challenges of caring for a child with Down Syndrome is helping him/her stay mobile. Weight gain, due to inactivity and thyroid problems common in Down Syndrome individuals, exasperate the musculoskeletal problems of these individuals causing them to lean towards inactivity which in turn further exasperates their cardiac and respiratory problems, leading to a shorter than usual lifespan. In order to remain physically and emotionally healthy, as well as combat some of the the compensatory movements these children tend to develop, in order to maintain their balance and mobility, it is imperative that extensive physical therapy and exercise be a part of their daily routine.

However, establishing an appropriate exercise routine for such children is also extremely difficult. Children with Down Syndrome cannot and should not partake in high impact sports due to their low motor skills, cardiac and respiratory problems, and musculoskeletal problems. For example, a Down Syndrome child with asthma, hip problems, flat feet and bad knees is likely to suffer injury if enrolled in a sport which requires him to run, jump or even walk for extensive periods of time.

So, what is a parent to do?

First and foremost, seek support within your community. It is important to know that you and your child are not alone in this journey. Next, know your child and his or her physical abilities and limitations. Partner with your doctor and learn about effective physical therapy options. Research has shown that starting physical therapy at an early age is the key to helping your child live a healthy and happy life. Baptist Rehabilitation-GermanTown is just one of the many places dedicated to helping children with Down Syndrome and their families. The following YouTube.com video is an example of what such a rehabilitation program can do for you and your child.

Another option is to supplement your child’s daily routine with therapeutic fitness programs such as Yoga. An activity such as Yoga can help improve your child’s muscle tone, balance and flexibility while providing him or her with a sense of accomplishment and peace. Parents of children with Down Syndrome are just recently discovering the benefits of Yoga for their children. The following YouTube.com video does a great job of explaining the benefits of Yoga for children with Down Syndrome.

The following are just some of the ways children as young as four years old can benefit from Yoga:

Calm Children’s Minds and Spirits

The meditation practices of Yoga help calm children’s minds and spirits which in turn increases their ability to focus. A number of studies have linked meditation to decreased behavior problems and improved concentration in children with ADHD. Due to this research, a number of school districts in Minneapolis are now incorporating Yoga into their curriculum in an effort to improve their students’ concentration levels and decrease behavior problems within the classroom.

Build High Self Esteem

These days children are forced to grow up fast, in a fast paced environment full of various pressures which can in turn lead to anxiety and low self esteem. Yoga practices foster a sense of well being in children, which in turn helps them manage their frustration and anxiety. These essential coping mechanisms give children a sense of confidence with which they can tackle the hassles of everyday life.

Strengthen The Back Muscles At an Early Age

Back pain, especially lower back pain is not a significant problem for children. However, incorporating Yoga into your child’s workout routine can help strengthen his/her lower back ensuring that he/she will not suffer from significant lower back pain as an adult.

Help Maintain Muscle Flexibility

Children are naturally flexible. However, a majority of them lose this flexibility as they get older. Yoga will help children maintain their flexibility as they get older, thus helping prevent muscle strain.

Educate and Motivate Children To Lead a Healthy Lifestyle

Yoga promotes balance on all levels. Children who practice Yoga have a high self esteem, a better awareness of their bodies and better everyday coping skills. The combination of these skills help children grow into adults who find ways to balance all aspects of their lives and lead healthy, well-rounded, fulfilling lives.

Yoga is also a lot of fun for kids, as this cute video clearly demonstrates.

The fact that NYC is crowded is no secret.

There isn’t a single place in this city where you can get away from the crowds and not feel as if another person is “in your space”.

Worse yet, the fact that New Yorkers don’t pride themselves on their common courtesy, patience, and politeness is another well known fact.

So, whether you’re riding in a taxi, running to catch the Metro train, standing in the grocery store line, simply walking down the street or running on a treadmill you are bound to have someone else “in your space” and more often than none it wont be a pleasant encounter.

Unfortunately, most New Yorkers are just as obnoxious at the gym as they are in the streets. Note my use of the word “most” as this does not apply to all New Yorkers.

The Following is a New Yorker’s Guide to Being Obnoxious at the Gym

• Do Wear Spandex….Yes, we all know you’re a supermodel with an ass that can shame JLo and Lady Gaga so why not squeeze that baby into a pair of yellow spandex tights two sizes too small and leave nothing to the imagination?

• Do Call Your Baby-Mama/Baby-Daddy and Drop the F-Bomb on Them…After all you have a right to express your frustrations anywhere you wish. As for the people working out on the treadmill beside you….Well, shouldn’t everyone know just how that cheating B%$ch/N0-Good Deadbeat mistreats you?

• Do Leave Little Bits and Pieces of Sweat Soaked, Wadded Up Tissue Everywhere…In the gyms of this urban jungle it helps to leave a trail of sweat-soaked tissue to help you find your way around.

• Do Rock That Boombox….Your music is incredibly pleasurable to all the people at the gym. So, why waste money on an IPod or Sansa Clip when you can just borrow the Boombox your grandma bought in the 80′s and totally rock the gym.

• Do Sweat on Everything….Why invest in a towel and deprive the ladies of all the pheromones?

• Do Grunt….You’re a pumped-up sexy beast! The alpha male of the gym….All the ladies swoon in the presence of your manliness as you grunt out those 5 extra reps on the squat thrust.

• Do Help Yourself to All the Freeweights….WTF is she doing in the weightroom? Taking a man’s weights nonetheless!

• Do Pull Your Gym Shorts Down to Your Thighs….It’s a well known fact that nothing turns a woman on more than watching the sweat pour down a man’s back and soak his tighty-whiteys as he grunts through his workout.