Staying Active in the Olympia Rain (Without Wrecking Yourself)

If you've lived in the Olympia area for any length of time, you know the drill. October rolls around and the sky turns gray until sometime in June. It's easy to hibernate. It's also a recipe for stiffness, weight gain, and the kind of back pain that shows up right when you try to do something fun again in spring.

Why winter is hard on your body

It's not just the cold — it's the behavior change. We sit more. We hunch against the rain. We skip walks because it's dark by 4:30. The small movements that keep our joints healthy quietly disappear from our days.

Then March comes, the sun peeks out, and we go straight from couch to hiking Watershed Park or paddling around Capitol Lake. That's when I get busy.

The goal isn't to train hard — it's to not go dormant

You don't need to maintain peak summer fitness through the winter. You just need to keep moving enough that your body doesn't forget how. There's a big difference between someone who's been walking and stretching through winter and someone who's been sitting for four months straight.

What actually works here

Embrace the rain (sometimes). Look, we live in the Pacific Northwest. If you only exercise when it's sunny, you're not exercising from October to May. Get a decent rain jacket, accept that you'll be damp, and walk anyway. Squaxin Park and the Chehalis Western Trail don't close for weather.

Find an indoor backup. For the days when it's really dumping or you just can't face it, have something you can do inside. Doesn't have to be a gym — YouTube yoga videos, a basic dumbbell routine, even just pacing while you're on calls. The bar is low. Just move.

Protect your morning. If you wait until after work to exercise in winter, it's dark and cold and you won't do it. Morning isn't everyone's thing, but if you can swing it, you'll actually follow through.

Stretch more than you think you need to. When we're cold, we tighten up. When we sit more, we tighten up. Winter is both. A few minutes of stretching daily - especially hips, hamstrings, and upper back - makes a bigger difference November through February than any other time of year.

Local spots that work in the gray

If you need some variety to stay motivated:

• Squaxin Park — The tree cover actually makes it nicer in light rain. Ellis Cove trail is flat if you want easy.
• Capitol Campus — Paved paths, decent lighting, you can knock out a couple miles around the buildings.
• Chehalis Western Trail — Long, flat, paved. Good for walks or bike rides when the trails are muddy.
• Woodard Bay — Gravel trail through the woods. Muddier in winter but doable.

The spring injury trap

Here's what I see every year: someone does nothing all winter, feels fine (because they're not asking anything of their body), then goes out for a big hike or their first bike ride of the season and something gives. Usually lower back or knees.

The body they had in September is not the body they have in March. But they try to pick up where they left off, and the tissues aren't ready for it.

If you do nothing else, at least start slow when spring comes. Your first hike shouldn't be the hardest one. Ramp back up over a few weeks. Your body will thank you.