Don’t let it Rain on Our Parade

The first good rain of 2014

No doubt, nothing beats a light jog in the fresh air and sunshine or getting a few extra steps in on the Claremore Lake trail. Oh wait…it’s raining! Sure, we can brave the wetness and soak ourselves from the shoes up, but why not take our game inside and save all the trouble? Even better, let’s look at our rainy day dilemma as an opportunity to try out some new things.  

                We could always start by trading wet shoes outside for a swim suit inside. Aside from being fun, swimming is very low-impact and easy on the joints…a great way to breakup those high intensity/high impact workouts. Since swimming involves moving the whole body against considerable water resistance, it’s also a good way to increase muscle strength and tone. A half-hour of swimming laps at the Rec Center can burn between 200 and 300 calories.

How about cycling? At the right level of intensity the average person can burn between 400 and 600 calories in a single 40-minute class. It’s also a great way to strengthen legs and abs….not to mention we might meet a few new friends.

While we’re talking about making friends, let’s hit the court. Aside from improving our game, basketball’s also been shown to improve physical endurance, coordination, and social skills. Not to mention, a little 5-on-5 for 30-minutes can burn around 300 calories or more.  

Just because it’s raining outside doesn’t mean we can’t get a workout in. Why not take a chance on some things we either haven’t ever done or haven’t done in a while? It’s great to have a basic workout to follow, but taking the opportunity to make the most of a rainy day might just help us better our overall fitness level.  Trying new exercises and activities could help us locate areas that we need to improve on and help us develop new skills.

As always, we encourage everyone to meet with their physician before trying any new or intense exercise and to meet with a personal trainer at the Rec Center to find a program that works for them.

So, what are we waiting on? Let’s do this!

If there’s any topics or questions you think we should talk more about, let us know on Facebook or Twitter.