Please join me in welcoming Sarah Brooks from Freepeoplesearch.org as a guest blogger here today. She is a Houston-based freelance writer and blogger. Questions and comments can be sent to brooks.sarah23@gmail.com.

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Staying in shape requires motivation under any circumstances, but winter weather provides an easy excuse for dropping the ball on healthy living. Each year at this time, New Year’s resolutions swirl around fitness promises, like eating better and being more active.  Unfortunately, even the best intentions are sometimes thwarted by cold weather.  So what’s the best way to stay true to fitness goals when Mother Nature is not on your side?

Join a Health Club

Depending on where you live, several months each year may be sketchy for conducting outdoor workouts. Even if you are inclined to exercise outside when possible, it pays to consider maintaining a gym membership for those brutal winter months.

Workout facilities are more specialized than ever before, opening doors to whatever physical activity appeals to you most. Racquet clubs, for example, usually maintain workout rooms and supplemental fitness equipment, but remain centered around tennis, racquetball and similar sports. Certain gyms, on the other hand, concentrate on free weights and strength building apparatus, providing hardcore workouts for weightlifters and bodybuilders.

As the marketplace continues to add options, competition lowers membership prices. The old days of expensive long-term contracts are gone, with providers furnishing budget monthly options instead.

Winter Sports

Even when Mother Nature is hurling lemons, winter sports make fitness lemonade for dedicated athletes. Cross country skiing, for instance, burns lots of calories, providing aerobic benefits alongside muscle conditioning and bulk-building. Leisure activities like ice skating can be amped-up into worthy workouts, mixing business with pleasure in pursuit of cold weather fitness.

Think outside the box for fitness fun, enlisting friends and family for snowshoe treks, which get heart rates up and furnish strength training for legs and lower body. While building a snowman or heading to the kids’ favorite sledding spot might not seem like a cookie-cutter workout, the benefits are real.

Organized sports like hockey and curling provide cold weather workouts of varying intensity, but aren’t as accessible as some individual exercise alternatives. To stay true to your fitness schedule, join clubs or teams playing regularly, so that you’ll never be left out in the cold.

Home Based Fitness

Winter-weather walks furnish benefits on par with those gained during summer months, but temperatures and slippery conditions keep you indoors at times.  For the best outcomes, set yourself up for success, assembling basic fitness equipment at home. Old-school aerobic and step workouts still burn calories, while high-intensity training programs up the ante even further.  For additional aerobic benefits, incorporate spinning or stationary bike segments into your workout routine.

Treadmills serve runners indoors, with club-quality models entering consumer price points as technology and home fitness interests advance. Even stair-climbing machines are affordable for individuals these days, furnishing commercial grade workouts without leaving home.

Cold weather challenges call for workout adjustments, but health clubs, home gyms and winter sports keep families fit during winter months.