Summer Fun in the Winter
In this episode of the Outside Health and Fitness podcast I share seven fun summer activities you can do even in the winter!
On Today’s show you’ll discover…

…how to put some summer fun back in your winter life;
…how getting outdoors for fun activities can help you beat the winter blues,
…why many of the things you love to do in the summer are even better when you do them in the winter!

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email: sws0926@gmail.com
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Cabin Fever
When winter sets in it’s easy to “hunker down” and stay inside…and sometimes that’s smart but do that too much and it can lead to cabin fever. Cabin fever is a depressing sort of feeling and a reaction to being isolated in a small space, with nothing to do for an extended period of time.
What are the symptoms? Well you become irritable, you sleep a lot, you start distrusting people and have an urge to go outside even in bad weather.  One therapy for cabin fever is as simple as getting out and interacting with nature. In fact, research has shown that even brief interactions with nature can promote improved cognitive functioning and overall well-being.
So what if all those things you love to do in the summer were available year round?  That might make it more fun to get outside and avoid cabin fever right? Well, many of them are and you might be surprised to find they are even better during the winter months.
7 Ways to Have Summer Fun in the Winter
Go to the Beach
It’s almost impossible to think about summer fun without thinking about going to the beach. But guess what? The beaches are still open in the winter….and I’ll bet you can get a really good parking spot too.
Ok….but what do you do at the beach in the winter? Well, most of the things you do at the beach in the summer you can do in the winter like:

collect shells
have a cookout
take awesome pictures
play volleyball…
Go for a walk…

and….it will definitely be a trip to the beach you’ll remember!
Go for a Run
Running in cold weather can be great and so don’t put your sneakers away during the winter. You’ll need to modify your running gear and adapt a few different strategies but you’ll be surprised how enjoyable it is to run in cooler temps.
Here are few tips to get you started.
The first thing to think about are your shoes and feet. You’ll want to keep them warm and dry.
Mark Grandonico, president of the Maine Track Club in Portland says to keep your feet warm run in shoes that have the least amount of mesh. and be sure to wear socks that wick away wetness so your feet stay dry too.
Now what to wear… you’ll want to dress for temps 20 degrees warmer than the temp outside (you know you’ll heat up when you get going) so if you’re a little cool when you start that’s a good thing!
Select Hi-Tech clothing that wicks moisture for your base layer and look for outer layers with zippers around the neck and arms to vent as you start to heat up. Always bring a hat and gloves because most of the time you’ll want to wear them.
I’ve shared this cold weather running tip before but it’s worth repeating start your run into the wind. That way you want be getting blasted with arctic air on your way back after you’ve worked up a big sweat. So those are a few quick tips.
Go for a bike ride (Fat Bikes)
If running isn’t your thing maybe you’d like to do a little biking this winter. I recently wrote an article for the newsletter on FAT Bikes which are designed specifically for letting you hit the trail during snow season.
If you’ve never seen a FAT Bike imagine a mountain bikes that had WAY too much cake…they have big FAT tires that float through the snow and give you the traction you need for big fun in slippery conditions.  So if you love mountain biking and you want to keep riding right through the winter this year consider trying a Fat Bike.
Go Camping
Now another summer time activity that you really should cons