Transitioning from playing a fall sport or being active outside in the warmer months to feeling shut inside by the cold and having little to no opportunity for exercise can be hard on the body. Athletes can lose muscle mass and endurance ability, while others used to casual exercise may feel more lethargic as well. This situation probably applies more to students who do not participate in winter sports inside or outside of school such as skiing or snowboarding, but sometimes, it can feel good to exercise at home, away from the cold. However, this can be difficult for people without a miniature gym in their basement and a personal trainer because there are so many ways to work out. But, do not fear for there are plenty of options to stay fit while staying at home.

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Amodhya Samarakoon

Leg raises work the abdominal and upper thigh muscles.

Upper School Fitness Teacher Kaitlyn Frenchick states that doing 15-20 minutes of cardio (such as running or walking at a brisk pace), along with another 30 or so minutes of upper body, leg and ab workouts is a good goal when trying to stay fit over what can feel like a hibernation period for students who are not winter athletes. The difference between someone who just wants to get in shape versus someone who is getting prepped for a sport is that, while they can do probably the same lifts and exercises…there is going to be [a difference] in the weights and [number of] reps that they do,” Frenchick said. Students trying to stay fit for another sport can turn up the intensity for the workouts by using weights, or going for a longer period of time for each individual workout.

“If you are trying to prep for a sport [try] to work on cardiovascular stuff…but the biggest thing for everyone is working on core and back muscles,” Frenchick said. This can be done by doing planks, up-right squats, push-ups, crunches, and Russian twists. Other good resources for workouts are Pinterest and YouTube which have pictures for routines or channels dedicated to fitness such as “Blogilates”. Of course, exercising every single day isn’t necessary, and using at least one day to rest is recommended. Everyone has different fitness goals, whether it’s losing weight, gaining muscle, maintaining a fitness level or building endurance and these are just a few out of many resources students can take advantage of at home.