Get warm first. A proper warm-up is critical. Cold temperatures can make your muscles tight and therefore they are more prone to injuries. So, it's important to get them warmed-up prior to engaging in intense physical activity.

Avoid winter sports, such as skiing, snowboarding, or ice skating, especially if your asthma is not properly controlled.

When exercising in cold air, wear a scarf or facemask over the nose and mouth to warm the air you are breathing.

Don't strip when you get inside. While you may be tempted to immediately remove your layers when returning inside, give your body time to adjust. Post exercise hypothermia is possible. This happens when your body rapidly loses its heating stores.

Start with a thin layer of synthetic material such as polypropylene, which draws sweat away from your body. Next try fleece for insulation. Top this with a waterproof, breathable outer layer. To warm the air you breathe, wear a face mask or a scarf over your mouth. Remember to wear a hat and gloves, too.

If you notice a patch of hard, pale, cold skin, you may have frostbite. Get out of the cold and slowly warm the affected area. If numbness continues, seek emergency care. If you suspect hypothermia — characterized by intense shivering, slurred speech, loss of coordination and fatigue — seek emergency care.

People who are prone to asthma should make sure they carry Ventolin, as they are more susceptible to asthma with the cold air.

Drink plenty of water. It's as easy to become dehydrated during the cold months, as in the scorching summer heat, so carry a water bottle with you and drink plenty of fluids after your workout. Most people forget the importance of water during the colder months.

If you have stairs where you live or close by, spend as little as 20 minutes at a time climbing up and down the stairs for a very intense and efficient workout.

Wear reflective clothing or clothing with reflective tape when exercising outdoors, particularly when it is necessary to exercise when visibility is reduced – such as dawn, dusk, after dark or in inclement weather.

Park farther away from the door and walk. At work, at the grocery store, at the mall; any place where you’re stuck walking outside anyway, just bundle up and get a few extra steps. When indoors, take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. You’ll burn lots more calories. You can even try using restrooms, copy machines, etc. on a different floor just to get more exercise. Consider wearing a pedometer and challenging yourself to keep increasing your steps per day.

During winter, eat stews or soups. It’s easy to throw together a bunch of fresh organic items into one pot, and you can make the base for the stew from some pretty simple ingredients. Sometimes water, vegetable juice, and spices do the trick, and then you just add lots of veggies. Spices and vegetables provide most of the flavor for stews instead of heavy, fatty ingredients like butter. Best of all, when you cook for yourself, you have complete control as to what goes in, and more important, what doesn’t.