When the mercury drops, even dedicated fitness fanatics find it a challenge to keep working out. Winter’s short days and cold nights often tempt us to do laps on the cable box rather than get off the couch and work up a sweat.

Jamie Elmer, a Los Angeles yoga instructor, often notices students’ lack of oomph even during California’s mild winters. “When it’s gray or dark outside, people look like they’re mustering their last bit of energy just to come to class.”

But there’s good reason to keep up some sort of fitness regimen during the winter. “If you hibernate like a bear, you’re going to gain weight like a bear,” says Dr. Cris Slentz, a research scientist at Duke University Medical Center. By continuing to work out, you’ll do more than just shake off winter doldrums. “Regular exercise can help lower your cholesterol, help you sleep better, reduce stress, and increase bone strength,” Slentz explains.

Get Pumped

For most people, finding motivation is the biggest hurdle to a winter workout. One strategy is to work out during daylight hours, when it’s warmer. It’s safer too, because you’ll be able to spot ice, snow, and other potential hazards. Daytime workouts also expose you to sunlight, which has been shown to improve people’s moods.

Stay Out

If your regimen includes running, biking, or walking, you can probably continue exercising outdoors straight through winter. Remember to dress for the weather, in thin, moisture-wicking layers that you can remove as you heat up. Don’t forget a hat — most heat escapes your body through your head.

Because it takes longer to warm up in cold weather, Dr. Diane Dahm, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., recommends jogging in place or running up and down some stairs to get your blood flowing before you go out in the cold.

Winter is also an excellent time to discover new workouts, like snowshoeing, ice-skating, or cross-country skiing, which, depending on the intensity, burns more calories than any other form of exercise except swimming.

Bring It In

Joining a gym has additional benefits. The best fitness clubs have all the latest equipment; most even have televisions you can watch while you walk, run, pedal, or climb to nowhere. At some gyms, personal trainers can help you achieve your goals (for a price), but you can also get valuable advice just by talking to fellow members who look like they know what they’re doing. The community of a gym or a regular exercise class persuades many people to maintain their memberships year-round.

Good gyms have a multitude of facilities, allowing you to mix up your workouts. You can run on the treadmill on Monday, take a kickboxing class on Tuesday, play basketball on Wednesday, swim laps on Thursday, and lift weights on Friday. At some of the more luxurious health clubs, you can even hop in the hot tub to soothe those sore muscles after your workout.

Whether you exercise indoors or out, don’t forget the H2O. “People don’t think you have to drink as much in cold weather,” Dahm says. “But you’re still sweating and you’re still at risk for dehydration — and in severe weather, you’re more susceptible to frostbite.” So no matter where you are, keep the fluids handy.

With its seemingly endless urban sprawl, plethora of restaurants and entertainment options, and even the possibility of a celebrity sighting, Atlanta may be vying for the title of the City That Never Sleeps.

Fortunately, Atlanta also offers plenty of opportunity for runners to escape urban life. In addition to Lullwater Park, Piedmont Park, and the Atlanta Botanical Garden, there’s also the Silver Comet Trail. Beginning in Smyrna, 16 miles northwest of Atlanta, nearly 60 miles of 12-foot-wide paved biking and running paths run through Cobb, Paulding, and Polk counties and across the Georgia/Alabama line.

The mostly flat trail follows the old railroad bed for the Silver Comet train line, which ran from 1947 to 1969. In 1998, the PATH Foundation, a nonprofit group dedicated to developing trails in and around Atlanta, partnered with county governments and state agencies to revitalize the land. True to its railway heritage, the Silver Comet Trail has 20 access points, making it easy to hop on and off. Char Devoursney, executive assistant to the director at PATH, estimates that approximately a million people visit some portion of the Silver Comet Trail each year.

To give yourself some distance options, begin at the Mavell Road trailhead. Access from Atlanta is easy: take I-285 to South Cobb Drive, then turn left on Cooper Lake Road, and left on Mavell. Once you’re on the running trail, head west 4.2 miles to Floyd Road to run part of the (reverse) route of the Silver Comet 10K, an annual race organized by Get Fit Atlanta. “The trail is very safe, and you’re far away from cars and traffic,” says Dana Green of Get Fit Atlanta.

The scenery of this section of the trail is not to be missed. Sparsely populated subdivisions and dense woods block views of the nearby highway. To add a bit more mileage to your run, take a slight detour around mile 2.25 (between Fontaine and Concord roads) and cross the 200-foot covered iron bridge that traverses the four-lane East-West Connector; on the other side, you’ll find a dirt trail that branches off from the Silver Comet. It meanders by Nickajack Creek to Heritage Park, a 129-acre green space chock-full of historic 18th- and 19th-century buildings and lush gardens. Here, a little bit removed from city life, the fastest pace you’ll encounter will be your own.

Getting There: Continental offers daily nonstop service to Atlanta from its hubs in Houston, New York/Newark, and Cleveland.