Brrr! As temperatures drop, dreams of hibernation fill your head.

However, people don’t enjoy the luxuries bears do.

What can you do to keep fit when the weather is frightful?

Luckily, a lot! Now is the perfect time to shake up your routine and put the fun back in fitness. Are you stumped for ideas?

Try These 11 Winter Exercises out This Winter

These inspirations will get you pumped any day,

. . . even with temps below zero!

1. Tantrum Yoga

Some days at the office make you want to scream! However, a meltdown in the conference room can be detrimental to your career.

Enter tantrum yoga, where you can let your inner 2-year-old vent frustrations the old-fashioned way. Find a studio for this class, and you’ll hear shouting and pouting, not chants of “ommmmm.”

The idea is to relieve stress, but you’ll have a blast, too! 🙂

2. Aerial Yoga

Think you can’t master the challenging scorpion asana? (see more yoga poses) What if you could do so while suspended in the air? Aerial yoga lets you soar your fitness to new heights while stretching muscles you didn’t know you had.

If you thought yoga couldn’t get your heart rate up, think again. Researchers studied women who practiced 50 minutes per week for six weeks. They saw an 11% increase in VO2 max — a measure of how efficiently their body consumes oxygen. Experts consider VO2 max a vital component in all-around fitness.

3. Trampoline Fitness

Sometimes, you’ve gotta bounce — literally. Doing so on a trampoline can protect your knees while revving your heart rate. You can find mini-trampolines for home use at many retail stores.

Want to get out of the house? Head to an indoor trampoline park to backflip to your heart’s content. Take the entire family along for fitness and fun.

4. Kai Chi Do

If you’ve ever undergone acupuncture, you probably know “chi” refers to the vital energy that runs through your body. Kai Chi Do frees the flow of this energy to maximize health. The practice uses a series of eight simple movements to restore balance.

By reducing stress, practitioners hope to heal themselves from various ailments. Kai Chi Do improves your posture and helps restore regular sleep patterns. If you gravitate toward mind-body exercise, give it a try.

5. Laser Tag

Speaking of fun for the whole family, why not give laser tag a try? You enjoy all the competitive fun of paintball without the harsh sting of a hit. In many indoor arenas, you’ll climb and jump around various obstacles.

With laser tag, you’ll work your core and entire body. Yet you’ll have so much fun, you won’t notice it’s a workout.

6. Indoor Sports Leagues

Who said you can only enjoy volleyball on the beach? If you live to spike a ball over the net, consider joining an indoor league. If serving isn’t your cup of tea, opt for basketball or soccer.

Indoor sports leagues build instant accountability into your workouts. It’s hard to stay on your couch when your teammates need you. Plus, you’ll meet new friends and have an instant posse to hang out with.

7. Rock or Ice Climbing

If you want to build upper body strength, head to your nearest rock climbing wall. You’ll gain shoulder and grip power as you hoist yourself up ever-challenging obstacles.

Do you prefer to work out in the great outdoors, no matter how cold it is? If possible, invest in gear for outdoor ice climbing. Sharp spikes make scaling sheer surfaces easier, but you’ll still total body coordination.

8. Snow Shoveling

Are you the generous sort? Shoveling snow provides a full-body workout while serving a practical purpose. However, you won’t get much of a burn clearing a small patch of sidewalk.

If you have elderly or disabled neighbors, ask if you can help clear a path. You’ll benefit from both the exercise and the fellowship of others in your community. You can also turn your altruism into a side hustle that helps you pay for the heating bill.

9. Kettlebells

To maximize your time in the weight room, perform full-body compound strength movements. One way to do this is with kettlebells. These weights feature convenient handles that allow you to simulate functional fitness moves, such as squatting down to pick up grocery bags or suitcases.

Try kettlebell swings to work your hamstrings and glutes while giving your lat muscles a dynamic stretch. Thrusters blast your thighs and shoulders for a toned physique. Working more than one body part at a time also elevates your heart rate, offering cardiovascular fitness and strength training in one workout.

10. Dance Fitness

What’s more fun than dancing the night away? You don’t have to pay a cover charge to get into the groove. Try a Zumba class at the gym or pay a drop-in rate to sample a ballet tutorial. Do you love classical dances, like jive? Try a LaBlast fitness program.

You don’t need to head out in the cold at all to burn calories away. Dock your iPhone and put on your favorite jams. Dance around your living room or boogie while cleaning your house. Just don’t use the toilet wand as a microphone.

11. Snowball and Pillow Fights

Fitness doesn’t have to be formal. Anything that elevates your heart rate offers great health benefits. The next time it snows, meet the gang at the park and have a snowball fight.

Does playing in the snow sound like a cold, wet nightmare? If so, start a battle on the inside. Clear away anything breakable, like your grandmother’s china, and have a pillow fight. Remember — laughter is a great abdominal workout.

Feeling Warmer Already!

Winter doesn’t have to be a time of hibernation. Sure, bears make it look nice.

As humans, though, we can stay warm in other ways.

Try out tantrum yoga, where you can yell away your worries in an adult way. Shovel the snow and make some side money. You can also turn on some tunes and dance while you clean.

No matter how frightful the weather, it’s easy to work in a workout!

Stock Photos via nancy bauer & alena ozerova / Shutterstock