As we enter the third week of the new year, if you find yourself struggling to keep your resolution of increasing your level of physical activity, remember to vary your routine and try to incorporate some activities that don't really feel like exercise.

Get your partner, your child or a group of friends involved: grab a football or a frisbee and head to a local park for a game of Ultimate Frisbee or touch football. You'll enjoy the fresh air and likely be having too much fun to realize you're getting some cardiovascular activity. As an added bonus, now that you're settling down after the rush of the holidays, you'll have the opportunity to catch up with people you may have missed getting together with during the season.

If there's so much snow on the ground in your area that frisbee or football would be considered a life-threatening hazard, find the nearest hill and take your kids tobogganing (many places still sell wooden tobogaans, such as the Sled Warehouse). If you don't have kids, get those longtime pals together to re-live your youth. The constant trekking up the hill hauling the toboggan will get your heart rate up before you realize it. Afterwards, warm up with a hot cup of apple cider!

» Wikipedia