In the wintertime, we see most sidewalks covered in salt, to both melt ice and help us keep from slipping and falling. There are bound to be a few sidewalks you come across that aren’t salted and might be a little icy. It’s wise to avoid these, because it’s very hard to avoid slipping, but there are a few things we can do in the gym to help keep you sure-footed in the icy months.

-          Walking Lunges – Lunges are a fantastic exercise for the glutes and quads, and they demand stability from your abductors, adductors, hip flexors, and calves. Pick a pair of light dumbbells, find a long stretch of gym floor, and instead of walking, perform lunge after lunge.

-          B-Stance RDL – The B-Stance RDL is an asymmetrical exercise which demands core stability. The RDL in general is a fantastic glute and hamstring exercise and targets the erectors of the lower back. To perform these correctly, take a barbell or two dumbbells, start with your feet together, and move one foot about five inches to the side and five inches back. The focus will be on your front leg. Hinge forward, pushing the hip of your front leg back, and come back up by squeezing your glutes.

-          Asymmetrical Carries – An asymmetrical carry, like a suitcase farmers carry or a lop-sided trap bar walk, can challenge your core as well as every muscle in the lower body while you walk with an oddly-weighted load. You can do these with kettlebells,winte dumbbells of different weights, or a trap bar with different weight on each side.

Implement these exercises in the gym, and you’re sure to be more stable while you walk this winter.