10 Places to Walk Indoors During Michigan Winters
A Healthier Michigan
| 3 min read
Young or old, most walkers just don’t want to be cold! Finding ways to get your daily 10,000 steps in indoors may seem challenging, but is actually doable. Especially when coupled with friendly motivation and regularly scheduled walks.
Whether you’re looking to start a new routine and keep up with an existing habit, walking is a great way to get physically active. Here are few places to tide over your walking patterns until it gets warm enough to head outside:
- Mall walk: Malls are great places to lace up your sneakers and spend an hour or two walking. Many Americans consider themselves regular “mall walkers” so it’s a great place to start indoor walking and not feel out of place.
- Track walk: Several indoor tracks are located in Michigan like Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome and the Meri Lou Murray Recreation Center in Ann Arbor. Best of all, most are free and open to the public during business hours.
- Use a treadmill or elliptical machine: Small gyms and locally owned gyms are inexpensive exercise options that are usually close to home. Check into your nearest family-owned gym and rationalize your walking abilities with the cost of membership.
- Shop walk: Take laps around department stores, large grocery stores like Meijer or wholesale dealers like Costco. If you have to bring the kids along, these places are also usually stroller friendly.
- Use your home to your advantage: Stairs and empty basement spaces are great places to exercise, even moderately. Walk the stairs a couple extra times while doing laundry or practice a step routine on your basement floor for extra stability.
- Hike: If temps reach the 30s or 40s, you can probably safely take things outside. Hike one of Michigan’s beautiful paths or walk a trail near home. Just be sure to bundle up!
- Video walk: Exercise videos and interactive programming are easy ways to walk in place or exercise right in your living room. You may feel a little silly, but doing the work without anyone around is harmless.
- Work walk: Make your next meeting a walk and talk! Disconnecting from your desk is a great way to take a break, interact with co-workers face-to-face and increase your daily steps.
- College or community center walk: Community college campuses and community centers usually have many intertwining corridors and recreational facilities. Check on public hours to stroll these winding walkways.
- Museum walk: The Detroit Institute of Arts is an amazing, large space capable of housing regular walkers and there are also many others throughout the state. Be careful not to speed walk so fast that you disturb the art or miss an exhibit though!
Looking to step up your winter walking or running game? Find more tips here on A Healthier Michigan.
Related:
- Urban Nature Trails in Michigan to Take Your Workout Outside
- How to Transition From the Treadmill to Running Outside
- New "Find Your Fit” Series Will Spotlight Fun, New Workouts Every Month
