5 Tips for Teens: Staying Fit During the Winter

Teenagers can stay active during winter by helping out at home. Biba Kayewich

Physical exercise comes easy as sunshine in the summer. Maybe you have yard work that gets you out of the house for an hour or so. Maybe that basketball court in the park beckons every morning. The local pool’s open for some afternoon swimming, and you may go on evening walks with your family.

Winters are definitely in a different league. It’s already dark when Mom or Dad arrives home from work, so there go the evening walks. The pool closed when schools reopened, and no one’s shooting hoops when icicles are hanging from the backboard. You have no interest in school sports, and your required PE classes are a joke.

So, how do you stay fit or get into shape when Jack Frost rolls into town?

M-O-T-I-V-A-T-I-O-N

That word derives from Latin “motivus” as well as “movere,” both of which have to do with moving. I’m spelling it out here like a school cheer, because this first step in conditioning is the most difficult of all to maintain.

Did you know that experts recommend 60 minutes a day of physical activity for young people ages 6 to 17? Did you know that only 15 percent of teens meet that goal? Did you also know that exercise not only improves your physical health but will sharpen your thinking and brighten your mood?

All true.

So, Step 1: This winter, motivate yourself into moving. You have lots of available options, everything from walking to strenuous workouts. The main thing is to move. And don’t depend on Mom or Dad to bug you into exercising. Set up your own schedule and follow through. Taking responsibility for your actions is what makes you an adult.

Speaking of moms, let’s start with that tough mother, Mother Nature.

Friluftsliv and Hygge

Frilufsliv (pronounced free-loofs-leaf) means open-air living and is practiced in Scandinavia. It means bundling up and heading outside in all kinds of weather. It means filling your lungs with some crisp—or frigid—winter air. Anybody can take a stroll around the neighborhood in May. This winter, hit those same streets when it’s 25 degrees F and there’s three inches of snow and slush on the sidewalks. Your seven-year-old brother eats that sort of weather up. You can too.

Even in rough weather, getting outside will do you good. So, take a walk, go sledding, toss a football in the backyard. Help Mom and Dad by brushing snow off the cars and shoveling the driveway. Now, there’s some great exercise.

And here’s the sweet part, particularly for you Yankees. After your frosty rambling comes hygge (pronounced “hoo-gah). This Danish concept describes a feeling of contentment or snuggle-down comfort, particularly in cold weather. Kick off those boots on the porch, whip up some tea or hot chocolate in the kitchen, and relax a bit. Take time, too, to notice how you feel physically—probably tingly all over, but in a good way. That’s how your body positively responds to exercise.

Set Up a Gym in Your Home

If you already belong to a fitness center or the Y, good for you. Use it.

Even so, whether you live in a city apartment or a mansion, you can stake off a tiny bit of territory for a daily workout. You don’t need a treadmill or a bench press; no, all you need is a mat of some kind—that could be as simple as a couple of bath towels—some weights, a jump rope, and that hard-to-come-by commodity, desire and willpower.

Pushups, crunches, leg lifts, and many aerobic exercises take little physical space, but can offer tremendous benefits in strengthening your body. If you live in a house with more than one level, you also own a ready-made step machine. Use that jump rope indoors if there’s room—watch out for the light fixtures!—or on the sidewalk or back deck.

Remember, the whole idea is to move. It’s pretty simple.

Get Some Home Help

Need a kickstart to exercise? How about a personal coach?

If you’ve got a screen and internet connections, you’re in business. You’ll find all sorts of online sites that will put you through workouts free of charge. One article, for example, titled “Home Exercises for Teens: Feel Happy & Healthy,” brings you some 30 links to specific guided exercises and activities, from yoga to basketball dribbling drills to kickboxing to a football speed and agility workout.

By the way, if you’re having trouble sticking to a schedule, ask a friend or sibling to join you. Two or more are better than one when it comes to keeping a commitment, plus the workouts can be more fun.

Speaking of Fun

Maybe when you were younger, your parents enrolled you in a ballet class that left you feeling like the world’s biggest klutz. Maybe while you were spending your Saturdays on a soccer team, you wished you were anywhere else in the world.

But you’re older now and have the insight to make some choices of your own. With your parents’ permission, you can jump into any number of enjoyable physical activities of your own choosing: dance classes ranging from ballet to ballroom, yoga and workout classes, martial arts, hiking clubs, indoor tennis lessons, or even pickleball.

Choose these workouts for the sake of having some fun. Writer G.K. Chesterton once said, “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.” In other words, you don’t have to be perfect as long as you’re learning and taking pleasure from whatever activity you’ve chosen. Even if you’ve set your sights on some event for individuals, such as a 5K marathon in the spring, find the joy in training for that race, keeping in mind as well that your main competitor is you.

A Personal Note

I’m an old guy. When I was your age, the Beatles were still together, and I actually heard some people saying “Groovy.” But here’s the thing: the advice I’m giving you here is aimed at me as well. To put it mildly, I’m out of shape.

So two weeks ago, I put a pair of 10-pound weights on the island table in my kitchen. Every time I pass them, I try and remember to do 10 to 20 reps of some kind. I’ve started doing crunches in my Lazy-Boy. I’m trying to walk half an hour every day. Sometimes I shadowbox for a couple of rounds in the kitchen and dining room.

Anyway, if I can keep my resolution to shape up this winter—sometimes my willpower has all the tensile strength of a strand of wet spaghetti—you can too.

Let’s give it a shot.

Parents and grandparents: If this column is appropriate and the timing is right, please pass it along to your teens. Thank you!