Snowed In? Here's How to Keep Moving Without the Gym

Weather keeping you from the gym? Don’t let it derail your progress. Here’s my plan for staying active when Mother Nature has other ideas.

Listen to the episode here

When the Weather Report Says Snow

I’m not snowed in right this second, but the weather reports indicate I will be. And I want to talk about what I plan on doing to keep moving my body even though I might not be able to get to the gym.

I’ve done a similar episode before about how when it’s cold out, people decide not to come to the gym. But what happens when you really can’t?

What’s your plan? What are you going to do to make sure you’re still moving?

The Reality of Being Stuck Inside

On Saturday, I have Zumba. If the roads are bad, which they’re expected to be, there’s a good chance I won’t be able to make it. That’s going to suck.

On Sunday, I normally go for a longer walk as part of my active recovery. And that’s looking like that won’t be possible either because we’re expected to get quite a few inches of snow.

So what’s my plan?

The YouTube Solution

I found this video on YouTube. I think it’s about an hour long. The idea is that while standing pretty much in place, you can get between 7,500 and 10,000 steps in one hour.

That sounds like fun to me. So I’m going to try that out and see how it goes. And I’ll report back after I try it.

The Point of This Episode

The whole point is just to basically say you know, even if you can’t get to the gym, there are things you can do to work out.

Thank God we’re living in a time where all these amazing free classes are available online. I’ve even seen videos on TikTok and Facebook and Instagram.

And if you put them together and basically make a playlist for yourself, you could get 30 to 45 minutes of exercise without having to step inside a gym.

It’s Not As Fun, But It Works

Is it as fun? No. I’m the first to admit that I prefer to be in group classes.

There’s something so special about having people around you that are also trying to do the same thing you’re doing. It feels more like a community effort rather than you’re just sweating alone.

For me, I’m not as excited about working out by myself. But if it still keeps me moving, it’s worth it.

My Smaller Weights Problem

The only thing I will say is it kind of sucks that I have smaller weights at home. I’ve never wanted to invest in dumbbells until now. And I hope I won’t ever need them again.

I have a set of threes and I have a set of fives. I’ve been actually trying to hold them together to get closer to what I normally use at the gym.

In previous episodes, I’ve talked about how my smalls are eights and my bigs are fifteens. I’ll often use twenties whenever I can or whenever I feel like I’m able to.

But this past week of only being able to use threes and fives has been weird. So I’ve actually been adding in extra reps.

Adding Weights to Zumba

One of the things I did on Saturday is I actually added weights to my Zumba routines. The Zumba class I was taking online, I added the threes to it. I was using the threes for a lot of the dances.

Helped a lot because I was still putting in a bunch of reps and still getting the good feels that I was hoping for to continue feeling like I’m actually working my body.

And I can tell you that even though I’ve been using smaller weights, I am still feeling the feels. Like I’m feeling like I’m actually working and moving my body. And that was the goal.

The Mental Health Aspect

I’ve been having some pretty significant cabin fever, especially since I’ve missed my gym people so much.

The more we can move our bodies, even when it’s cold, the better.

Make Your Playlist

I’ll leave some links in the show notes to these videos because the more we can move our bodies, even when it’s cold, the better.

That’s kind of what I plan on doing, even though I plan on being snowed in.

I hope that I’m not. I hope that I can somehow get to the gym anyway. But I have to be realistic and just accept that Mother Nature’s going to do her thing.

And if she’s going to do her thing, well, I’m still going to do my thing, even though I would prefer to be at the gym.

No Excuses in the Internet Age

The reality is you should not have an excuse in this day and age. If you have access to the internet, you have access to classes.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, what I used to do is if I could not do the Mat Pilates class, I would do a standing Pilates class on YouTube.

I have to tell you, I have been taking fitness classes on YouTube for the better part of the last three months. I’m taking them on Wednesdays and Sundays. I’m mainly taking the stretch classes and they have been amazing.

I can’t even explain to you how wonderful it has been to be able to move my body even whenever I cannot get to the gym.