Exercise activities for cold weather

Though the weather outside may be frightful, that’s no excuse for your family to become physically inactive. Frosty weather has the tendency to make children and adults hibernate inside. But winter also offers plenty of outdoor and indoor activities to keep you and your family fit and having fun. It just takes some motivation and creative thinking. Read on to learn how to keep your family moving throughout the snowy season.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends children complete a minimum of 60 minutes of physical exercise a day while adults should aim for at least 30 minutes. Consider these fun indoor and outdoor workouts for your family this winter:

• Outdoor recreational sports — Skiing, snowboarding and ice-skating are all great activities that help you use your muscles, burn calories and inspire a little healthy competition.

• Have a dance party — Move the furniture and crank up the music. Play a “freeze” game with dance music. The last person to “freeze” when the music stops is out!

• Play charades — This interactive game works out the creative mind and body while providing bellyfuls of calorie-burning laughs.

• Hula-hoop — Find an open area such as the living room or den and see who can hula-hoop the longest. Get imaginative and come up with new ways to use the hula-hoop, such as a jump rope.

• Holiday lights stroll —Instead of hopping in the car and driving the neighborhood to look at all the brightly lit homes, walk the block instead. Don’t forget to bundle up, take a flashlight, and grab some hot cocoa to warm hands and tummies.