My Fitness Kitchen Tips
In the weather starts to change and the temperatures drop, our minds tend to wander toward thoughts of hibernating by the fireplace, drinking hot drinks, and taking it easy with a loved one as the snow comes down outside. Before all of that starts to happen, we want to help you to prepare for fall, offer you some fitness tips for fall so you can get out and enjoy the beautiful Pittsburgh region. Use your time wisely now, and a little extra hibernation in the snow might not seem so bad when you are practicing your fitness and nutrition goals.
In the autumn months, get out and enjoy yourself! Not only is there beautiful fall foliage in our region, but the hills! Those hills are going to be awesome for your workout. Research Pittsburgh’s parks and find a local trail that you can hike or bike, and take advantage of that trail prior to the snowflakes begin. Make sure you are wearing layers to stay warm enough as the temperatures can change dramatically from the morning cold to the afternoon warm. And be sure to stay safe; the fall brings us daylight savings time and early darkness. Be sure to plan your adventure accordingly so that you are safe by the time the sun sets in the horizon. If you are an early morning person, make sure to use reflective tape or buy a light for your bike. These little extra things will help keep you safe, and you will not have to change your fitness routine just because it is fall.
A good personal fitness tip is to always move! If the darkness or the cold of the fall has you deterred from going outside, work out at home! During the fall months, consider putting your gym membership on hold, “freezing” it for a few months. Some gyms may charge you a small fee while others may let you do this without a fee. Either way, it is cheaper to do this than paying the large initiation fee to join again after cancelling. Working out at home can be as quick as 15-20 mins. Be prepared by having workout DVD’s on hand, on-demand exercise streaming services are available through cable providers and on YouTube, go out and purchase different hand weights and exercise bands. Working out at home can be an easy and quick replacement for your weekly gym class, with the right tools. If you keep your membership active, join a new exercise class; now is a great time to learn a new activity! In Pittsburgh, there are plenty of great places to learn karate, kickboxing, ice hockey, go skiing, ice skating, indoor rock climbing; you get the picture!
Another important fitness tip is the food you eat. In the fall, there are plenty of fresh fall produce items you can buy in our region that are healthy and good for your fitness goals. Apples, pears, winter squash, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes. Tasty, nutritious and plentiful. These are available cheaper during the fall and your body will be thanking you for it!
One last Pittsburgh fitness tip for the fall: weigh yourself during this time! We work hard to achieve our goals and maintaining these results can be even more difficult. Try to pick a daily time to weigh yourself, without those bulky fall sweaters and shoes, so you get a true reading. If you follow our other fall fitness tips, you should be able to stay on track this season!
