How to keep active during winter

As the weather gets colder and the days shorter, winter can seem like a great time hibernate at home and push your fitness routine to the sidelines. It's important to combat the season and keep activity levels up to ensure you have a healthy and balanced lifestyle.

Bleed purple

One of the easiest ways to stay active on campus is to join a UCL sports club or society and bleed purple! Joining a club or society gives you access to exercise in all seasons and is also a fantastic way to have fun, meet new people and make friends. Most clubs have social teams, where players do not compete, but play for fun. Social teams are open to all levels, which means beginners are very welcome. Non-competitive play means you'll get in regular physical activity but won't need to commit much time. Find out more about all sports clubs on the Students' Union Directory pages. 

Tube challenge

Are you up for the ultimate London challenge? Race across the city as you visit every tube station on the map! The rules to the challenge state that you don't need to cover every stretch of track, or step on every platform, but you must arrive or depart from every Underground station by train - Overground, National Rail and Docklands Light Railway stations not included. There will be a lot of running across platforms, along the streets from station to station and of course the buzz of it all as you try to break a World Record for doing it in the fastest time possible! If you're ready, check out the guide on how to do the tube challenge and I'll see you at the finish line!

If you're a keen runner, why not try racing the tube to the next stop? Simply get off the train at one stop, make your way to ground level and race to the next station to catch the same train! One of the most popular examples is getting off at Mansion House (Circle Line) and getting back on at Cannon Street (Circle Line) - watch the experts. Just be sure not to do this in rush hour. 

Indoor activites

When the weather outside is a little bitter, there are a lot of ways you can stay active indoors. Turn up the music, grab a hoop and hula hoop your way to fitness. You could challenge yourself by investing in a weighted hoop or add toys to your routine - try to bounce a ball without losing the hoop's rhythm!

Even simple things such as taking the stairs instead of the lift and light stretches can really help to get your blood pumping and the endorphins flowing. 

You could also try jumping/skipping rope, cleaning, dancing or some indoor cardio workouts (squats, burpees, push ups, plank, running on the spot, mountain climbers and more!)

If exercising at home isn't for you, why not hit the gym with your friends or make time for a fitness class or two! Bloomsbury Fitness has a range of fitness classes including Yoga, Pilates, Circuit, HIIT, Kick-boxing and Spin. 

Ice skating

Winter is the perfect time to get your skates on and get in a good workout. Ice skating works the muscles in your legs, abs and core as you try to keep your balance. Depending on how fast you go, ice skating can be the perfect cardio workout! If you can't already skate, why not take up some lessons - you'll be a pro in no time!

Catherine Tang, BA Linguistics