3 ways to avoid a winter workout slump

It’s not easy to stay active when it’s frigid out. It’s dark and cold when you wake up, making leaving your warm cozy bed to head to the gym seem downright torturous. We also tend to eat heartier, carb-heavy food in winter, so it’s easier to pack on the calories. To combat the temptation to be a couch potato during the coldest, darkest months, here are three ways to beat the winter workout blues.

Use YouTube as your personal trainer

Good news — you don’t have to leave your apartment on the days when it’s freezing out just to get a workout in. Fitness gurus Jillian Michaels, Cassey Ho and Amanda Russell — and countless others — all upload routines on YouTube that anyone can watch for free. Whether you want to strengthen your abs, get a bangin’ booty or tone all-over, their workouts will get your heartbeat up.

Make your fave Saturday night out activity your cardio

Dancing with your friends totally counts as a workout; it burns roughly 400 calories an hour, according to Calorie Lab. Instead of saving your dance moves for weekend nights out, invite your friends to hit up a workout dance class like Blood, Sweat and Tease‘s popular burlesque bootcamp or Vixen Workout‘s Beyonce dance class, where you learn the same choreography Bey did. Trust us, you’ll be sweating!

Reward yourself in advance

Sometimes, nothing can beat the high of finishing a good outdoor run or going hard at the gym. It just takes a little extra motivation to get there. Reward yourself in advance with something you want that you will only be able to use while working out: flashy new kicks, those Beats earbuds you’ve been eyeing, a playlist of songs you love that you vow to only listen to while working out… If you’re running outside, a good rule of thumb is to dress as if it’s 20 degrees warmer, Runner’s World’s spot-on advice.

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