How to use technology to stay fit this season

By Staff Writer: Alexis Klask

While it is true that winter is the season for hibernation, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should hide away from the cold too. Some complain about not being in shape for the following spring when in actuality they could have better prepared themselves if they decided to wake up and work out rather than press the snooze button and sleep in.

It seems as though most people will say, “Well, I don’t want to pay for a gym membership because they are too expensive.”

You don’t have to pay in order to want to work out. Living in a two story home? That means there’s a FREE Stairmaster located right by the living room. There are so many techniques and devices that can be used to obtain a fit and muscular body by completing simple workouts at home or around the neighborhood.

1. Use the internet to your advantage

Have a Twitter or Instagram? There are a number of bloggers that post about how to stay fit and include workouts that can be done at home and the best part, it’s free! Follow Twitter accounts like @FITNESS who offer a wide variety of strategies, workouts, and diet plans. For the most part, @FITNESS will tweet random workouts almost every day in order to give ideas out.

2. Applications are actually useful

Get rid of the games on your phone because it’s time to clear storage for the application, PumpUp. This is a free app and offers so many ideas for working out. Simply enter what type of gym equipment or lack of gym equipment you have and it will find workouts that fit you. Each workout can be designated to whatever amount of time you want, including breaks. They give detailed pictures of how to do each exercise and count calories as well.

Below is a sample of two workouts I have created. They were created to be done at home and relate to what muscles I wanted to workout that day.

3. So what if it’s cold, go run!

I can understand why the cold weather can be a bit intimidating if you want to go for a run. If it is ever too cold, that only means to put more clothes on. Clothes from large athletic companies including Adidas or Nike sell warm-running clothes, but it’s at a cost. Rather than purchase a pair of running tights from Nike for $45, try checking out the selection at Target. They have a small but inexpensive, good quality exercise section for clothes. Save 50-60% more on exercise clothes at stores like Target, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and more. And even if you don’t want to pay for new running clothes, that’s completely reasonable. Grab some sweatshirts and long johns or leggings and head out for that three mile jog.

Working out can be done year round rather than only during warm weather. Living in Michigan has never offered a steady year of predicable weather which is why it’s important to maintain a workout routine no matter the conditions outside. Don’t let this cold weather scare you away from your New Year’s resolutions.