Winter is definitely here. While some people moan and groan about the winter months and lack of opportunity for exercise, others don’t let the cold slow them down. Some simply readjust and move their exercise routines indoors. While others find ways to stay active, enjoying the snow.This month three people shared their ideas of how to get their heart rates up, as the temperature on the thermometer goes down. And one shared a creative way of bringing the outdoors indoors.
| Heather Frabbiele FalconI actually go to the gym and do kickboxing, boot camp or the elliptical. I like to exercise so I burn off all my holiday snacking. |  |
 | Anna Galvez FalconI bring snow in from the outside and let the kids play with it. We do lots of artwork with the kids and in the open area we also bring the slides in from outside so they can still play with some of the outside toys indoors. |
| Megan Riley FalconI like to do Wii Fit. I do the kickboxing and step aerobics. It tracks your progress. I like the step aerobics the best because it plays 70s music while you are working out. It’s really fun. |  |
 | Brainna Dunn Colorado SpringsTo stay active I usually snowboard in the winter. And I like to run, and it’s too cold in the winter to run so I’ll go to the gym and run on the treadmill or do a cycling class. |
- Ice sculptures – Start with ice blocks made by freezing colored water in ice-cube trays, JELLO molds and yogurt containers. Place all the materials on an outdoor table, then take turns building totem poles, monsters and free-form sculptures, gluing the blocks of ice with a little dribble of water (it will quickly freeze).
- Sled pulling contest – Turn the tables on dog sledding in this contest and let the dogs ride and the humans pull in a short race for the finish line. It needs to be short, since most dogs will have a tendency to jump off the sleds almost immediately. This was a rule violation that meant the other riders had to gather up their canine passengers and return to the starting gate. Don’t have a dog? Try racing with a pile of stuffed animals on your sleds.
- Snow Treasure Island – Hide a chest full of loot in the snow, then watch young castaways track it down clue by clue.
- Snowball throwing contest – First, make a colorful bull’s-eye target in the snow. Start by stomping out a flat circle in the snow, and then draw rings with spray bottles filled with food coloring and water. A numbered flag on a stick indicates each section’s point value. Then designate keen-eyed officials to keep track of the scores and play until someone reaches 100 points.
- Snowman building contest – Begin this snowman-building contest as a relay race, with two teams rolling the snowball back and forth between two lines on the field. The winner was the first team to create a 5-foot snowman. Be sure to have a measuring stick handy.
