6 Best At Home Exercises For Snow Days - IMPACT Physical Therapy

6 Best At Home Exercises For Snow Days

ski workout

Consistency is key to any workout routine, but what happens if your motivation is curbed by things out of your control? Snow days as kids were one of the greatest things to ever happen in our young lives, but now as an adult they’ve become synonymous with inconvenience. There’s absolutely nothing worse than taking your pre-workout and finding out that the gym is closed due to inclement weather. So what else can you do for an effective exercise that burns some calories?

We’re not going to count shoveling as your workout, so here are 6 alternative exercises that anyone can do at home on a snow day.

The 6 Best At-Home Workouts

1. Push-Ups

You can’t go wrong with the classics! With hands shoulder width apart, keep your feet flexed at the distance of your hips and bend your elbows until your chest touches the ground. Push-ups are a great chest workout, shoulder stabilizer, and abdominal exercise. If a normal push-up isn’t challenging enough for you, you can always do different variations like canyon, triangle, or grasshopper push-ups.

 

2. Squats

Never skip leg day! Stand with your feet a bit wider than shoulder length apart and point your toes slightly outward. Put you weight on your heels and slowly bend your knees while keeping your chest, back and abs tight and engaged. Once your knees hit 90 degrees straighten your legs to starting position and repeat. Similar to push-ups, if this is too easy for you switch things up by doing pistol squats or Bulgarian split squats.

3. Burpees

For an effective full body workout that will engage all of your muscle groups, try burpees! As a combination between the squat and push-up, start in a squatting position and kick your legs back moving towards the ground to a pushup position. From there, push yourself from the ground and leap as high as you can with you hands touching the sky and landing once again in the squatting position. As a form of plyometrics, full body exercises like burpees are great for strength and conditioning.

4. Lunges

Lunges are another workout that will hit every muscle in your leg and promote great balance. Standing with your feet together in an upward position, step your right foot forward and slowly lower your back knee simultaneously until it’s close to touching the floor. Step your body back into standing position and repeat by switching legs. Lunges are great for your legs, spine, and glutes so it’s an exercise that you definitely want to incorporate into your routine everyday, not only on snow days!

5. Planks

For a killer ab workout, get in the push up position with your elbows against the floor and your legs straight and feet together. While in the plank position, keep your abs and glutes engaged and your body in a straight line from head to toe. Hold this pose for your desired length and repeat. Remember to keep a straight spine for proper technique and to avoid any potential injuries. To hit your obliques, you can do side planks or make things difficult with caterpillar planks!

6. Stationary Biking

If you’re an avid cycler, you most likely have an exercise bike that is perfect for snow days or any day ruined by inclement weather. Investing in a stationary bike is a smart decision because of its convenience, home use, and low risk of injury for your knees and ankles. A perfect fitting bike can help you burn hundreds of calories and keep you exercising all winter long! 

Fitness Programs at IMPACT Physical Therapy in Chicago, IL

Our dedicated staff is committed to getting you in the best shape of your life, whenever you’re ready to start. No matter your skill level, we’ll work with you to provide customized services that will specifically benefit your exercise needs. Contact us for a complimentary screening to get started!