You just finished shoveling away the latest round of snow
that fell yesterday, and now you’ve heard that even more is coming
tonight. As you wearily put your shovel
back in the garage, your eyes fall on your favorite Trikke, all folded up and
enjoying its winter slumber. As you gaze
at it longingly, remembering how happy you were riding it on those gorgeous
spring days, you wonder if you’re up to the challenge of getting back on it
this year. You’ve packed on a few extra
pounds from those holiday feasts, and your muscles have weakened while you’ve
rested in bed fighting the cold or the stomach flu.
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| Rokk-It Red and Lean Green settled down for a long winter's nap |
Although it’s often hard to believe, spring really is just
around the corner, and it’s time to start thinking about getting yourself back
in shape so you carve your Trikke through a nice, long ride when that first
warm day arrives. You find yourself wondering just how much of a setback this
winter has been to your fitness.
You will definitely lose muscle mass during long spells of
inactivity, but a week or two off in the winter may not be as catastrophic as
you think. The time it takes for your
muscles to start to atrophy varies due to many factors, including your gender,
the type of training you were doing (endurance versus power), and whether you
are a recreational athlete or a competitive athlete. Take a look at this article to assess where you might be, and then commit yourself to an indoor exercise
plan until the weather becomes more Trikke-friendly again.
I went a full six weeks with no exercise of any kind this
winter, but I got back into the game in early January with my kettlebell
workouts. While I did feel a slight
regression, I was nowhere near as unfit as I was a year ago when my fitness
journey was just beginning. In fact,
during a workout last week I got that delightful burst of energy again, letting
me know I had re-crossed that hurdle where exercise goes from being a miserable
chore, to being energizing and uplifting.
I have been touting the benefits of kettlebell workouts for
a while now, but I realize they may not appeal to everyone. Perhaps you have a similar situation to mine that
restricts your indoor exercise options? You
can’t afford a gym membership, you don’t want to go to the gym because you don’t
like the atmosphere, or you don’t feel it’s worth joining one for just those
few months of the year that Mother Nature conspires to keep you indoors. But you also find yourself living in a small
house (or apartment), and you don’t want to toss your comfortable recliner to
the curb just to make room for a new treadmill or elliptical.
My kettlebell workouts are ideal for doing in cramped indoor
conditions, but if you’re looking for something else, here are 27 otherexercises you can do in the comfort of your own home without purchasing any
additional equipment. Using nothing but your body and a floor mat,
you can customize a fitness routine from a variety of squats, lunges, crunches,
planks, pushups, and more. This is also
an exercise plan that you can take with you when you travel. If you need some extra motivation, print
these out and tack them up along with some photos of you on your Trikke. Know that you are doing these workouts now so
that you can enjoy more miles of carving later.
I’m talking big here, but how am I actually doing with my
New Year’s resolutions? Well, I’m still
a bit “off” in the eating right and having fun categories, but I’m happy to say
that I’m really back in the groove with my exercise routine. I’ve already started moving from the 5 pound
kettlebell up to the 10 pound one for a number of moves, and I feel like my
fitness is back where it was before I stopped in late November. The number on my scale stubbornly refuses to
budge, but I can’t help but wonder if that’s because I’m building more muscle
mass again. What matters most is that I
feel fantastic again! I’m starting to
look forward to my workouts, and I’m feeling energized upon completing them.
The finally tally for January is as follows: 14 Trikke miles (2 rides) and 9 kettlebell
workouts. Considering I spent the first
week of the year battling a head cold, I’m more than happy with this result and
am looking forward to even more success in February.
Hang in there through these final weeks of winter, and keep
your eyes on the prize of being fit enough to Trikke on that first warm
day. Heck, here in the northeast
anything above 40 degrees without snow or ice on the ground will meet my
requirements for being “Trikkeable”!
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