Winter Workouts

Don’t let the cold weather deter you from staying true to your health goals this winter.

By Emily Gibson

Web Exclusive

Once the excitement of the holiday season has passed, winter can seem like it’s just a long series of short, gray days. It can be hard to motivate yourself to get up and active when you’re busy snuggling under a blanket with a strong cup of coffee and a good book—an idea that seems infinitely more appealing than braving the cold to squeeze in a workout.

But just because you want to stay in shape doesn’t mean you have to go outside. Spice up your winter fitness routine by bringing the fun indoors.

Yoga

This is one of the most beneficial workouts for anyone with an hour or two to spare. Practicing yoga improves blood flow, bone and muscle strength, as well as balance and focus. There are many studios in Austin that put a special twist (pun intended) on the practice.

Wanderlust Yoga

Located downtown, this studio offers classes for students of all levels, in heated and non-heated rooms. Classes include the Yoga Basics class and light-hearted Bittersweet Yoga class, to the more challenging YoStrong class, so yoga newbies and beginners alike can find a lesson that works well for them. For new students, Wanderlust Yoga currently offers a month of classes for $35. austin.wanderlustyoga.com

Pure Bikram Yoga

What better way to warm up than to practice yoga in a 100-plus-degree heated room? Though Bikram yoga was popularized in the early ’70s, it has recently become a trend among yogi enthusiasts. Pure Bikram Yoga has four studios in Austin and offers 90-minute classes in 105-degree rooms. New students can sign up for 14 days of classes for $30. purebikramyoga.com

Four Elements Aerial & Creative Movement

Austin’s premier aerial-yoga studio, Four Elements, invites students to “elevate their mind, body and soul.” Aerial yoga, or anti-gravity yoga, is a newer form of the exercise during which traditional yoga poses are performed on a hammock. In addition to aerial yoga, Four Elements studio offers classes in pole dancing and aerial performance. Four Elements offers 50 percent off your first class or 10 classes in 30 days for $100 for first-timers. fourelementsaustin.com

Ice Skating

A popular winter activity, ice skating can also be a good calorie burner. Where jogging puts pressure on your joints, ice skating takes it easy, utilizing muscles around the hips, knees and ankles that don’t see much action in daily life.

Chaparral Ice

Have you got $10? For a $6 admission fee and $4 skate rental, Chaparral Ice on Anderson Lane opens its rink to the general public. chaparralice.com

Barre

Barre classes combine yoga, Pilates and ballet to create a workout that focuses both on strength training and small, isometric, range-of-motion movements. The use of the barre–traditionally used in ballet training—is used as a prop to help the body perform the diverse movements incorporated throughout class.

Mod Fitness

With two Austin studios, one on Burnet Road and one on South Lamar Boulevard, Mod Fitness offers Barre classes combining resistance training, cardio and yoga. New students can sign up for an unlimited month of classes for $99. modfitness.com

The Bar Method Austin

The Bar Method has studios throughout the U.S., with its Central Austin studio located on Fifth Street. It offers more than 40 classes a week in varying levels of difficulty. New students can sign up for an unlimited month of classes for $79. austin.barmethod.com

Roller Skating

Roller-skating enthusiasts might recognize Austin as the location of the 2009 roller-derby movie, Whip It, but for those who might not want to get so rowdy but still want to strap on some skates, Austin is also home to more casual skating.

Playland Skate Center

During the weekends, Playland Skate Center in North Austin is open to the general public. But on Tuesdays from 7 to 10:30 p.m., it hosts Adult Skate Night, open only to skaters ages 18 and older. The $8 admission fee includes roller skates. playlandskatecenter.net

Austin Roller Rink

Austin Roller Rink hosts its adult night Wednesdays from 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., and Sundays from 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. The $7 admission fee includes skate rental. austinrollerrink.com

Indoor Cycling

Some Austinites say seeing the “thong man” riding his bike through the streets of downtown is the first sign of warm weather. But cold weather doesn’t mean the cycling has to stop: Many Austin studios are bringing cycling—and pumped up workout tunes—indoors.

Ride Studio

“This is a workout with attitude, class, sass, boogying and spirituality. This is a workout that is nearly as sophisticated as you are.” That’s what Austin-based indoor cycling studio Ride claims. In addition to regular classes, the studio offers sessions dedicated to specific artists, like Rihanna, Missy Elliot and Coldplay. Classes can be reserved individually or in groups of five, 10 or 20. Be careful, though, as the classes have an expiration date. ride-indoorcycling.com

Love Cycling Studio

Because Love Cycling Studio offers 45-minute classes and hour-long classes for a variety of skill levels, it should be easy to find a cycling class that you will, well, love. Classes at Love Cycling Studio can be purchased individually ($22) or in groups of five, 10 or 20. Similar to classes at Ride, the sessions expire if unused. lovecyclingstudio.com

Dress for the Weather

If nature still calls and outside exercises like jogging, walking or biking are still the most appealing option to you, appropriately dressing for the weather will keep you feeling and looking good.

Wear layers

When exercising, it can feel 30 degrees warmer than it actually is. Dressing in one heavy outdoor garment makes the body too hot and too sweaty, and is not only uncomfortable, but can also lead to muscle tightness. Wearing several light layers makes it easy to dispose of one when it gets too hot and put it back on when it gets chilly.

Cover your hands, ears and feet

Exercise pulls the blood away from the hands and ears and toward the core of the body, which means your extremities get colder faster. It’s important to wear a warm, preferably sweat-wicking hat, as well as gloves and socks to prevent these areas from becoming too cold or too sweaty.

Drink water

Though it might slip your mind in the absence of the exhausting sun, it’s still easy to get dehydrated in the winter. Wear a CamelBak or bring a water bottle along to make sure you stay hydrated during your workout.

Yoga photo by Tony Felgueiras. Other images courtesy of their respective businesses.