Happy Thursday! ;)
First up, some fun Housekeeping of the day:
1) Want a chance to win some Glo bars? Leave a comment on this post to enter Jessica’s giveaway! Hurry! Contest closes tomorrow morning!
2) Enter here for a chance to win a 1 year subscription to Cooking Light! Contest ends today!
3) Oh She Glows has been nominated for the blogger you’d most like to see on the Food Network. Please show your support and vote for me here!
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Project Snow: Stay Active and Fit This Winter!
Behold the SNOW WARRIOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mother Nature’s got nothing on us this winter!
What is Project Snow?
Project Snow is a personal challenge to myself and all of my readers to stay committed to exercise (and have fun doing it) this Fall and Winter.
Specifically, I am challenging myself and all willing participants to commit to a minimum of 1-2 outdoor workouts throughout the Fall and Winter seasons. This will be a huge challenge for myself (and many of you) living in a Northern climate!
Why am I doing this? Am I nuts?!
I definitely think I am crazy for doing this challenge and I will think that even more once the bad weather really hits. I do not have a good track record with respect to exercising outdoors when it is cold out. I’m a wuss! I have always opted to stay inside a warm gym during the cold months, but I often find that my mood takes a huge hit when I am indoors for such a long stretch of time. Even with getting in my indoor workouts, I find myself feeling quite low over the winter. I strongly suspect that this is due to not getting outside enough. Fresh air and natural light can do wonders for the mood, especially when it gets dark at 5pm!
BEHOLD THE PROJECT SNOW FURY!!!!!!
Will you ‘attack’ winter with me? :D
My new motto is this:
For most types of weather, I will prepare for it and dress accordingly. Nature is to be enjoyed in all seasons, shapes, and forms and not only during 25C, sunny days.
Wait, isn’t working out in really bad weather…DANGEROUS?!
Yes, it sure is. And that is why I am not going to workout in dangerous conditions! I want to be very clear about this too. In no way, shape, or form am I encouraging you to go outside when it is not safe to do so whether that be due to extreme cold, darkness, or slippery conditions. As always, use your good judgment about it.
We have to be smart about Project Snow. When it is safe for me to do so, I will be getting outside for some activity and only when it is safe. If you feel like it is not safe to venture outdoors for a workout, please do not do so! I certainly will not be running outside when it is slippery or too cold outside.
How does Project Snow work?
Project Snow was created so that all of us can share our outdoor exercise tips and tricks with one another, in addition to encouraging each other to stay active and positive until Spring time. If we BOND together over these cold months, we can not only keep our spirits up, but stay fit and learn something while we are at it!
Over the fall and winter months, I will be providing tips and tricks that I learn along the way. I will also be asking questions for discussion so everyone can offer their own advice and experiences!
What type of activities can I do? I don’t like running!
You don’t have to run by any means! In fact, on really cold or snowy days, I won’t be running either. You can do anything from walking, hiking, snowshoeing, snowboarding, shoveling snow, skiing, etc etc! The sky is the limit! As long as you are getting outside and getting your heart rate up it is ALL good. :D
How do I participate?
All you have to do is commit to keeping active outdoors this Fall and Winter and make sure to stay up to date on my Project Snow posts. I also encourage you to contribute in the discussion and let everyone know how things are going over on your end! Tell us what the weather is like where you live and what you are doing to stay active!
What if I live in a warm climate? Can I still participate?
Of course you can! Just be sure to invite me to your place this winter! ;)
Project Snow Tip #1: LAYER YOUR CLOTHING!
This was me before my run yesterday! It was cold out (around 4C/39F), and I really didn’t want to run outside. After receiving a few encouraging Tweets, I decided to bundle up and get out there!
Bottom layer: Sports Bra tank
Middle Layer: Shape Jacket
Top Layer: Shell/Windbreaker jacket
I also wore some cotton gloves (yes, with the hole! haha) and a hat. I like hats in the cold temperatures because they keep the heat in.
The run:
- Distance: 3.4 miles
- Duration: 30:47 mins
- Avg speed: 9:10 min/mile
- Max Heart rate: 176 bpm
- Avg HR: 165 bpm
I love layering, but I always have one major problem: What do I do with the layers once I warm up and get too hot? I wanted to take my jacket off, but I had no where to put it so I left it on!
I would appreciate to hear from you guys on this! Leave a comment below if you’d like to join in on the fun.
Project Snow is Sketchie approved! He says he will cheer me on from his warm bed. ;)
What do you do with your layers? Tie around the waist? I would think this would get in the way. Share your ideas!
Project Snow’s next topic will be a tip I learned on how to make it much easier getting outside when you don’t want to.
Good luck on getting out there in the snow! Skiing would definitely be my exercise of choice if it actually snowed enough down here in southern virginia! My running route right now is a 2.5 mile loop around town and ends back at my neighborhood so what I’ll be doing to shed the layers is throw whatever I take off at the entrance of my neighborhood and pick it back up whenever I’m finished (after the second loop right now, hopefully the distance will keep growing though!) I cannot wait for it to start getting colder because I just bought a running jacket a few days ago. I will be doing project snow except without the snow lol.
By the way, I just completed my first race last Saturday. It was a 5k and I did way better than I thought I would. Thinking of you and the other people whose blogs I read really helped me keep up my pace when I got half way through and wanted to slow down. My final time ended up being 30.35 and hopefully the race I’m running this coming up Saturday will be even better because it won’t have the hills that the first one did!
I just wanted to thank you so much :)
I live in South Florida, so I might not be participating, but can I borrow your heavy jacket for my office!?? It is SERIOUSLY FREEZING in here. I just had to contact the office manager to close off the AC vent in my office! LOL!
I look forward to your wintery expeditions… what a way to challenge yourself!
lol!!!!! You crack me up Ang!!! :-D
I live in CA, so not too hard to do outdoor workouts since I would do them all through the winter months anyways ;-) Sorry it’s too easy for me!! hehe
Count me in! I find running in the winter is WAY more enjoyable than running in the summer… yeah… you need to be more careful about doing certain workouts on potentially trecherous footing… and there is the whole “freezing extraneous body parts” thing to worry about, but there is nothing more calming than running in fresh snow.
My winter running tip? Don’t forget sunscreen. Even if 90% of your face is covered. AND… moisturize, moisturize, moisturize.
This is great. Just the other day, when it started to get quite nippy up here in the Nation’s Capital I was dreading the idea of starting up the gym membership again, just for the sake of a treadmill. I do try to get out running as much as I can in the winter. I think my lowest was -35’C! (that was a little much, but really, if you bundle up you’d be surprised at how warm it gets once you get going).
Other than bundling up, some key tips would be:
1. Do not go out if it’s slippery conditions. I’ve learned the hard way.
2. Moisturize – especially your hands. Even now as I type I’m noticing the dryness from lack of gloves in this fall weather.
Has anyone done much snowshoeing? I heard it’s a killer workout.
I can’t say that this is really an issue for me since I live in Northwest Florida. :-) If you are coming back through the same path you left on you could always grab it on the way back home. I have more of a problem with having water available to me without having to carry it on me.
You’re cracking me up! I think i would win this challenge since I live in Florida;)
Majorly supporting Project Snow! and love the goofy bundled up pictures in the beginning of the post. Love it! haha
How fun! I live in Miami, but we still bundle up here. By the low 70s we have out jackets and scarves!
I just moved to a warmer climate where winters are much more mild than what I’m used to, but I will be home for about a month Dec-Jan and will definitely be participating!!
I need to plan some ways to get out. Even just for a nice walk with Hunni and the furbabies. I think this is a great reason to do so.
SO GLAD you are going to brave the elements this winter! It really is not that bad – especially if you only go out when the weather is “decent”. As in, just cold, not snowy, windy, slush filled roads.
One of the best things? Last year was my first year running in the winter and I found that my pace increased after running in layers and layers of pants and then graduating to shorts. It was like my legs were FREE and FAST after all that “resistance” training all winter!
This post came right when I needed it. It is FREEZING here! I am definitely going to take on the challenge!
I would love to take part in Project Snow! I currently live in North Carolina (we are probably moving to WA state in March) but I am running a marathon on February 13th so I have no choice but to run outside during the winter. The weather here is pretty mild, but it still drops below freezing quite a bit. The hardest part will be finding time for long runs when it is light out.
I wish I had an answer for what to do with all that clothing once you are hot, I have the same issues!
I roll my jacket up a bit then tie around my waist. It doesn’t flap as much when I do that. And I tuck my gloves in the waist band of my pants/shorts. Yes, believe it or not I run in shorts through much of the winter! As I learned in high school track a zillion years ago, piling on layers on top and well as a hat and gloves are all I need. Running keeps my legs warm :)
I only have two questions:
1) Did Eric take the “snow warrior” pics?
2) If so, how long was it until he was laughing so hard at his nutty wife that if he’d been drinking milk, it would have snorted out his nose???
:) :)
LMAO! Classic, Ange, just classic.
I am IN on Project Snow!
I’m considering taking part in Project Snow. I live in Quebec, and OMG is it cold around here. We had snow earlier this week…I am definitely not ready for this. Anyway, I am a total wuss when it comes to working out outside in cold temperature. When I complain, my ever optimistic husband keeps telling me “There is no such thing as bad weather…there is only unadapted clothes”. Oh well, we’ll see!
I’m running my first race this Sunday and it’s FREEZING! I definitely like the layering tip :)
YES! I’m loving Project Snow! I’m terrified of not being able to stay fit my first winter in Alaska. Especially b/c we only have a few hours of daylight in December/January. My husband and I are going to start cross country skiing. Do you do this?
Re: clothes. Yeah, I’ve always just ran a mile to get warmed up – where I ended up back at my car/house. Then dropped it and took off for my actual run.
Love the photos! I live where it is warm so I don’t know anything about snow! haha