5 Fantastic Fitness Escapes for People Who Hate Winter

A brisk Central Park run, snowy Maine hike, or scenic shoreline ride along Lake Michigan are all equally challenging winter workouts, but why not reinvigorate your muscles in a sun-soaked destination that doubles as the backdrop for your next vacation? Napa Valley, the Caribbean, and the Dominican Republic are rife with fitness retreats that offer heart-pounding uphill hikes, seaside vinyasas, and adrenaline-fueled obstacle courses that will warm up tight ligaments and chase away the early rumblings of seasonal affective disorder. Days start with multiple quad-burning, tricep-strengthening, body-toning workouts led by the likes of The Class’s Taryn Toomey or S10 founder Stephen Cheuk, and end with cooldown sessions that include jogging past rows of grapevines or stretching on the palm-lined sand. Here are five winter retreats where the temperatures may be mild, but the workouts are inspiringly intense.

S10 in Nosara Beach
Adventure addicts seeking strength training that incorporates rocks, logs, and mud are making the trek to S10 Costa Rica, a newly launched retreat situated on 25 acres bordering Nosara Beach. S10 founder Stephen Cheuk has installed outdoor squat racks, devised an obstacle course, and put together a schedule of weight-intensive workouts (read: lots of kettlebells) paired up with evening sprints or tire-flipping. The focus here is on training the same muscle groups twice a day in a 12-hour window to strengthen and condition them before real fatigue sets in. When it does, you can rest up in one of the 20 villas on the property with chef-curated meals (giving you fuel to burn) and fill the hours between training sessions with massages, snorkeling, surfing, zip-lining, or swimming.

The Class in Playa Grande
Balmy Dominican Republic beaches are drawing those addicted to releasing tension, stress, and everyday emotions during two-hour cathartic sessions of The Class with founder Taryn Toomey, followed by afternoons filled with lower-body-focused yin yoga led by Heather Lilleston. The focus here is on breathing, shaking out arms and legs, and springing off the floor to build strong, lean muscle, all while ensconced at the Celerie Kemble–designed French colonial bungalows of the Playa Grande Beach Club. The palm tree–lined coast and poolside cabanas provide a place for quiet meditation once toxins have been flushed out and endorphins are firing.

Hiking in Napa Valley
Trails lined with massive Douglas fir trees beneath Northern California’s Mayacamas Mountains seem made for heart rate–boosting interval training. Naturally, Meadowood Napa Valley’s 90-minute Eco-Fitness classes include stops along the uphill paths for shoulder presses, bicep curls, skip jumps, and sprints. Cooldowns can be held on the meditative spiral (a circular labyrinth designed for quiet contemplation) before booking a suite at the newly opened Meadowood Spa for a stress-relieving hot-stone massage and black-walnut scrub paired with a vegetable-based dish from the spa’s new culinary menu. Between sessions, we’d suggest curling up in one of the resort’s cozy private cottages or biking down the Silverado Trail to taste antioxidant-rich cabernets at nearby wineries.

YogaWorks in Peru’s Sacred Valley
Verdant Incan agricultural terraces surround Peru’s lush Sacred Valley, where rigorous morning vinyasa classes led by California-based instructor Nicolette David are followed by afternoon restorative sessions that keep limbs feeling loose. David focuses on creating an uninterrupted flow from one asana to the next with Pranayama breathing workshops and inversion classes at this YogaWorks getaway held at the waterfall-adjacent Sach’a Munay Retreat & Yoga Center. Once mats are stowed, local guides lead tours to pre-Incan salt mines, Andean textile spinners, and a celebratory Despacho ceremony for meditative reflection and gratitude as the New Year arrives.

Mile High Run Club in St. Lucia
Caribbean coastal bluffs with picturesque views of the Atlantic offer a lower-impact option for toning hamstrings and training calf muscles during workouts devised by coaches from New York’s Mile High Run Club. Strength-building challenges take place on Cap Maison’s secluded beach, cliff-top tropical garden, and shaded deck. And runners can log endurance-boosting miles on St. Lucia’s undulating trails—a refreshing contrast from the usual repetitive treadmill work. Such a setting may even inspire new race goals for the New Year, sparked by nightcaps of locally distilled rum as the sun sets over the Cap Maison resort.

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