Your brain freezes as the temperature drops below 21 degrees that feel like 5!! You’re bundled up in two blankets, and spring seems about as close as a satellite. What’s worst the end of January is the easiest time to break your New Year’s resolutions. How do you stay in shape despite the blistering cold and an ever seductive Netlix waiting in your bed? Try our four awesome warm workouts to detox, shape and regenerate your body!
#1 Bikram Yoga
If you’re shivering with cold in Warrior 2, maybe it is time to switch temporarily from traditional to hot yoga. You won’t find Bikram Yoga in Bushwick but luckily Bikram Yoga Williamsburg, off the Bedford L, is just a short subway ride away! The class comprises of 90 hot, sweaty minutes, and 26 twist-turn-and-balance postures for your perfect detox and body toning. Bikram Yoga is a very intense but a very rewarding workout. You will love yourself after the class, and all your troubles will be solved, packaged and sent to a forgotten land.
Bikram Yoga can be a little pricey sometimes but great news – Bikram Yoga Williamsburg has an awesome deal on Groupon right now and you can buy 1 class for as cheap as $4.75!! (Katarina Hybenova)
#2 Boxing at Green Fitness
Good old school boxing will keep your body not only warm but actually pretty hot! Try boxing classes with at Green Fitness on Varet Street, off the Morgan L stop, with Vanessa Greco, USA Boxing Certified Coach and a Professional Boxer! The classes are social and fun, usually made up of 10-15 people. Green Fitness promises to put you through the same pace as Elite Fighters but, don’t worry, beginners and intermediary boxers are very welcome. A drop-in class is $15 and includes boxing gym, weights, bags and boxing ring. (Katarina Hybenova)
#3 Winter Biking
Biking can be a winter workout! No membership fee, no awkward moments with people huffing and puffing right next to you, and all the sights and experiences you can hope for. Bundle up and visit a friend you haven’t seen in a while or bike to a part of Brooklyn or Queens you’ve never been to. Do your research about roads with bike lanes to make your trip less stressful. I recently rode over the Williamsburg Bridge and then did some gallery crawling through the Lower East Side. Make sure to keep warm with these essentials:
1. Gloves! Lined ones would be best; strictly cotton let way too much wind through.
2. Warm hat or headband (and helmet! You’ve seen the reports of recent bike accidents…)
3. Scarf! A warm one, but not one that’s so big you won’t be able to look to the side.
4. Thick socks and boots.
5. Layers! Leggings under pants, a breathable shirt, a warm sweater, plus a decent wind-breaking, but movable, coat. (Jen Hitchings)
#4 Williamsburg Bridge Walk Three Times a Week
Another all year long favorite workout for the brave ones is to walk or run from Bushwick to Manhattan three times a week over the Williamsburg Bridge. Here’s a map that shows the route I take. The bridge crossing is particularly enjoyable in the winter because, besides doing this, my lazy butt would likely be indoors all winter. Plus, you can remind yourself of how great fresh air is and how manageable the cold is when you are moving! Besides feeling great physically and mentally, I have actually lost weight this way, according to the comments I get (I am afraid of the scale), and I have dropped one jeans size – all without any extra dieting, which was not true of the body conditioning workouts I did at the gym before I moved to Brooklyn. Most importantly, this workout has a meditative quality, which has really helped me think clearly and feel relaxed for the rest of the day. (Lisa Levy)