By Michael Pedersen
Exercising outdoors in cold weather increases the amount of calories expended between 20 percent and 33 percent as the body works harder to keep moving and stay warm, according to health experts.
However, as the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, the amount of physical exercise decreases drastically.
Lack of time is one of the major obstacles cited by those who don''t regularly get enough physical activity, said Bess Marcus, director of the Physical Activity Research Center at Brown University.
'We all have 24 hours a day, but that seems to change at this time of year when it''s darker and colder,' Marcus said. 'It makes it seem like we only have 18 hours.'
The latest exercise recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences are to exercise 60 minutes a day. But 30 minutes on most days is still the recommendation of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.
Steve Gewondjan, a dietician and fitness professional at 24-Hour Fitness, suggests exercising on a routine basis even when the weather becomes colder.
'If you''re exercising regularly, missing a day or two won''t set you back to your beginning fitness level,' Gewondjan said.
In a study conducted in the 1980s, researchers trained participants to work out for 40 minutes a day, six days a week. Over four months they gradually cut back the exercise, first to four days a week and then to just two days, said Glenn Gaesser, professor of exercise physiology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
'Their fitness levels didn''t drop because the length of the workout and the intensity stayed the same,' Gaesser said. Even when researchers cut the workouts to as little as 13 minutes, fitness levels were maintained.
Gewondjan suggests moving indoors.
Between working out indoors and expending fewer calories than outdoor workouts and not exercising at all, exercising indoors is better since there is still a lot of benefit to exercising indoors, he said.
'Fancy equipment and treadmills aren''t necessary to exercise and help control blood pressure and increase the heart rate,' he said.
'Be creative and flexible. Put on music at home and dance. Buy a jump rope. Rent an exercise video or check one out at the library. There''s a lot we can do without spending much money to stay in shape when the days get colder.'
Kristin Garbinski, a graduate of BYU, has two you children who don''t like going on stroller rides in the cold anymore. She spends an hour each night five times a week exercising to TaeBo videos.
'Now that they have their own opinions, stroller rides are miserable,' she said. 'Working out to TaeBo inside is fun. It''s intense and gets your body in shape. Exercising indoors makes a big difference.'