Strategies for staying sane during a winter pandemic

While we’ve been dealing with COVID-19 for months on end, we have yet to endure the pandemic during the harshest winter months. As the frigid Canadian winter approaches, it’s crucial to start thinking about ways to maintain a mentally and physically healthy lifestyle. 

As we’ll soon begin to see the temperature dip below zero, here is a list of ideas to keep you active and sane during these upcoming winter months

Road Trips

Plan a road trip with people from your inner circle. There are many destinations all over Ontario that offer activities outdoors, catered to the colder months. 

For one, Niagara-on-the-Lake is a great place to plan a day trip or a weekend getaway. There’s plenty to be offered outdoors at Niagara-on-the-Lake, whether it’s stopping by a few wineries for some outdoor tastings, grabbing lunch on a heated patio at a local restaurant or simply walking along the lakeside.

When the weather permits, Wayne Gretzky’s Winery opens up their skating rink to all visitors. At just $5 per guest for one hour of skating, you can enjoy some outdoor activity and relax by their skate-up bar which offers Gretzky’s wine, cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages too. 

They even offer helmet and skate rentals for only $10 if you don’t have equipment of your own.

Maintain a Healthy Social Support Network

According to psychologist Dr. Ganz Ferrance, in order to stabilize socialization during a pandemic that demands very limited face-to-face interactions, video chatting is the next best thing.

Plan weekly Zoom or FaceTime calls with friends, family and coworkers. Staying connected and maintaining a regular schedule of interaction is important while we’re stuck at home during the winter months. 

Hit the Slopes

Ski resorts across Ontario have been in the process of developing the safest and most efficient ways for skiers and snowboarders to still take advantage of the season amidst the pandemic. 

Social distancing procedures will be put in place across all businesses, including mask wearing on chairlifts, diligent cleaning protocols and limiting numbers on slopes and across lineups.

If the business is safe and you’re being responsible, making your way to the nearest resort or hill to take advantage of winter sports is a great way to stay active and healthy. If you’ve never skied or snowboarded before, take advantage of this time and learn a new skill! 

Virtual Fitness Classes

While most gyms remain closed or have limited capacities, take advantage of their online offerings. Since the beginning of the pandemic, most gyms have made a virtual move to offer live virtual workouts.

Start scheduling workouts for yourself and follow along as the instructors take you through the motions. If their time schedule doesn’t work for you, there are prerecorded options as well. 

Goodlife Fitness launched their Virtual Fitness experience offering a wide range of specialized group fitness classes including Zumba, YogaFit, cycling, Awesome Abs and many more. 

If you don’t already have a YouTube account, now’s the time to make the move! YouTube is stocked with exercise videos from thousands of different fitness gurus that will spice up your options. From meditation to kickboxing to CrossFit classes that require no exercise equipment at all, YouTube offers it all for free. 

Explore Local Shops

Now more than ever, your local stores need all the support they can get. Find time in your schedule to plan a walk and window shop around your community. This is a great way to be active and support local businesses. 

Living in these unprecedented times is straining and having to adapt to an ever-changing climate is very difficult. Give yourself the opportunity to put your mental and physical health first and plan ahead!