{"id":248071,"date":"2026-01-23T16:06:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T16:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/248071\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T16:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T16:06:09","slug":"tips-on-how-to-stay-active-when-its-cold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/248071\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips on How to Stay Active When It’s Cold"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cold, ice, and short days don\u2019t have to derail movement. They just require flexibility\u2014and a little grace.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The author training outside in the cold (Photo: JamiLee Hoglind)<\/p>\n

Published January 23, 2026 03:10AM<\/p>\n

I just came back from Chicago, Illinois, where winter makes its presence known immediately. Sidewalks turn into ice rinks<\/a> overnight. Crossing the city streets looks easy until your slipping foot says otherwise. It\u2019s the kind of cold where you\u2019re not exercising so much as negotiating with the ground.<\/p>\n

Back home in Denver, Colorado, winter has been gentler lately. Bright sun. Mostly dry trails. Just enough chill to remind you it\u2019s still January, plus wind strong enough to rearrange your life choices. It\u2019s the kind of weather that convinces you winter activity should look exactly like summer activity, just with gloves and a headband aggressively protecting your ears.<\/p>\n

Traveling between these two places taught me something simple: Winter doesn\u2019t always shut things down. Sometimes it just asks you to adjust.<\/p>\n

So instead of forcing a rigid training plan, I\u2019ve learned to stay flexible.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe author weight training at the gym (Photo: JamiLee Hoglind)
\nTips on How to Stay Active When It\u2019s Cold<\/p>\n

1. I lower the bar on purpose. In winter, I stop forcing mileage and let movement lead. I run less, walk more, often with my dogs, who have zero opinions about pace. Somehow, the week still quietly adds up to close to ten miles. It turns out consistency doesn\u2019t care whether my fitness tracker is impressed.<\/p>\n

2. I let walking be enough. Long walks and hikes keep my body moving and my brain calm. They fit into short daylight windows. Some days, staying active just means getting outside and making it home upright. That counts.<\/p>\n

3. I take it indoors when winter wins. When the weather pushes me inside, Apple Fitness+ keeps me moving. Clear on-screen captions, instructors who demonstrate every movement (and sometimes sign in ASL!), and haptic cues from my watch mean I can follow along without guessing. I don\u2019t have to crane my neck or twist myself into a pretzel on the floor just to catch what\u2019s happening on the screen. As a Deaf person, visual clarity matters. As a tired human in winter, it matters even more.<\/p>\n

4. I change the setting when motivation dips. Some days, staying active means leaving the house. I\u2019ll head to the gym, prop my phone up, and follow an Apple Fitness+ workout there using heavier weights or extra equipment. The routine stays familiar, but the environment changes. That small shift is often enough to reset my energy.<\/p>\n

5. I let winter training be quieter. Winter isn\u2019t asking for intensity. It\u2019s asking for consistency. Staying active during this season looks softer and more flexible for me, and that\u2019s not a flaw. It\u2019s how I avoid burning out before spring even arrives.<\/p>\n

I used to think consistency meant doing the same thing year-round, no matter the season. Now I know better. Consistency is showing up in ways that make sense right now.<\/p>\n

Staying active doesn\u2019t stop just because it\u2019s cold. Sometimes it just gets quieter, a little less polished, and far more forgiving. And honestly, that might be winter\u2019s greatest gift.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cold, ice, and short days don\u2019t have to derail movement. They just require flexibility\u2014and a little grace. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248072,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[134956,36507,565,134,111,139,69,51741,96843,2359],"class_list":{"0":"post-248071","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-audio-true","9":"tag-editor-awise","10":"tag-fitness","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-new-zealand","13":"tag-newzealand","14":"tag-nz","15":"tag-parent_category-health","16":"tag-tag-training","17":"tag-type-article"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248071\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}