Walking in a Winter Wonderland
Trying to keep moving, even when it's cold out
It’s the second week of December, and I’m already pining for summer. I don’t think it helps that it got cold really quickly this year — the real feel temps were below zero last week, which usually doesn’t happen until January.
The worst part about all this cold weather is that it’s putting a damper on my exercise routine. As I’ve written before, my primary form of movement is walking. I love a good walk. I don’t feel like myself if I don’t walk enough. Even on bad days, it helps me stay grounded and (usually) keeps my anxiety at bay.
Generally, my goal is to walk three to six miles a day. Usually not all at once, because I don’t have time to walk for more than an hour, especially on workdays. But I’ll try to squeeze in a 10-minute walk in the morning, a 40-minute walk in the afternoon, and another short, 10-minute one in the evening. Plus any other steps I take around my apartment or coworking space.
Except when it’s cold as all heck outside, I can’t really walk as long, far, or often as I want to. Plus I’ve been just so dang tired lately, and I blame the weather. (Yes, I am taking my vitamin D).
It’s getting to the point where I’ve had to have that conversation with myself about how I’m gonna get through the next few months when my mobility is limited by the elements. I still haven’t come to a solid conclusion, but I’m trying some stuff and I hope it sticks.
Ryan and I have a gym membership, so going indoors to exercise seems like an obvious solution. But I’m really not the biggest fan of walking on the treadmill — it’s fun for a while to hustle and watch YouTube videos, but then I get bored. And a big part of the reason why I walk outdoors is to feel more connected to my environment. There’s not much to feel connected to you when you’re in a stationary spot surrounded by workout equipment.
For a while in the summer Ryan and I were going to the gym most weekends and weightlifting, which I started to enjoy, but then fell off the wagon because life got busy. I got frustrated that I basically lost all my progress after a few months of not going. Unmotivated by the idea of trying to build up my strength again, I just decided to not even try to go back to the gym.
But this weekend, Ryan invited me to go with him and doing something a little different than normal.
“Why don’t we go ride the bikes and read our books?” he suggested.
This was a GREAT idea, because I was 30 pages away from the end of Diary by Chuck Palahniuk, a really weird mystery/thriller novel by the guy who wrote Fight Club. I wanted to finish it and also wanted some movement, so multitasking on the bike worked out really well.
I can’t bike too fast when reading because it gets distracting. But a leisurely pace wasn’t bad. And I got more exercise than I would have if I just laid in bed.
So, biking and reading was a win. We’ll definitely be doing that again.
The other thing I started doing this winter is simply bundling up and going for shorter, more frequent walks. It’s a decent compromise, and I haven’t had a day yet where it’s been too cold to go outside (so far). I don’t love having to go back inside after 15 minutes when the wind is blasting into my face, but I guess some movement is better than none.
Walking indoors at the mall is also a decent compromise. Ryan will do this sometimes on the weekend; we’ll pick a big box store or a strip mall and just go browse. I honestly thought this would make me buy more crap, but it’s actually been a great exercise in willpower.
A few weeks ago, we wandered around Sierra, TJMaxx, AND Home Goods and bought nothing. We saw lots of cool stuff but reminded each other that there will always be cool stuff to buy, and that we weren’t missing out by going home empty-handed. If you can resist the temptation to purchase things, browsing at the store feels a lot like going to a museum of miscellaneous stuff.
Wandering around an actual museum is probably a good way to burn some calories, too. We did that in winters past, but there aren’t a lot of museums where we live, so it’s not the most enticing idea to go to the same places all the time. But I bet we’ll find ourselves back at the local art museum again before it’s spring again.
Looking ahead, I would also like to try weightlifting again and maybe throw in some yoga. But I’m having trouble getting excited about building these habits.
If there’s anything I’ve learned from becoming a more active person, it’s that exercise routines are a lot of trial and error. You really have to have patience with yourself to build something that sticks and actually feels good. It took a long time to even get used to walking as much as I do everyday — but it was totally worth it.
Anyway, if you have any ideas for fun winter activities that get you on your feet, please send them my way. It’s a long few months til spring.
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I have a lot of thoughts on this topic of outdoor walking and started typing out a long comment but then realized it might make a good substack so hah I think I’ll save it for that. But a lot of your post about finding an exercise routine that works for you being trial and error resonated with me. I think I’m getting better at accepting I’m a cyclical being and exercise will have ebbs and flows throughout the year. I’m not doing as much strength training as I was in the summer but I am doing other forms of exercise so it hopefully evens out…