Anaerobic Indoor Exercises for Cold Weather

Anaerobic exercise allows you to build muscle and increase your resting metabolic rate. While aerobic exercise is great for burning calories and fat, anaerobic exercise is what you need to build strength and muscle. Don't worry: you won't get bulky. But if you want to look lean and strong, you need to do anaerobic exercise.

What are some anaerobic exercises you can do in your home when it's cold outside?

==> Squats

Start with your feet about shoulder width apart, perhaps slightly wider. Point your feet facing forward, just slightly pointing outwards.

Slowly lower yourself down until your thighs touch your calves. Your heel should not leave the ground at any time. Slowly raise yourself back to the starting position. Do not bounce out of the squat. Do not use momentum when you're lowering yourself or raising yourself.

Squats are fantastic for your calves, your thighs, your knees and even your back.

==> Push-Ups

Most people do the push-up wrong. When done properly, the push-up can be an incredibly tough workout.

Place your arms directly below your shoulders. Your feet should extend straight back and your body should be straight like a plank.

Lower yourself slowly. You should lower yourself until your chest is just touching the ground. Make sure your elbows go back and up, not to the side. Count to two as you lower yourself, hold for one count on the bottom then count to two on the way back up.

This works out your arms, your chest, your back and most of your upper body.

==> Pull-Ups

To do a pull-up, you'll need an indoor pull-up bar. You can purchase one on Amazon for about $25. These pull-up bars do not need to be drilled into the house; they can just be mounted on a door frame.

Pull-ups are one of the best at-home anaerobic exercises you can do. They work out your biceps, your trapezoid muscles, your back muscles, your abdominal muscles and most other muscles in your upper body.

To do a pull-up, grasp the pull-up bar and lift yourself up until your chin passes the bar. Lower yourself slowly. Don't jerk yourself up or fall down. Again, do two counts on the way up, hold for one count and down for two counts.

==> Leg Lifts

Leg lifts are one of the best exercises for working out the abdominal area. They're a better choice than crunches, because crunches requires a lot of time to really get a workout. Your muscles will be more sore after 20 leg lifts than 100 crunches.

To do a leg lift, lie down on your back with your legs straight. Lift your legs up for two counts, hold for one count and lower them back down. Repeat.

If straight leg lifts are too hard, you can use bent legs to start with. Bent legs require less abdominal power to lift.

These are a few of the anaerobic exercises you can do at home to build muscle. These exercises will help build your quads, your thighs, your back, your chest, your abs and most other parts of your body. Of course, there are many other exercises to choose from, depending on which parts of your body you want to work out.

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