It’s cold outside, and I’m too lazy to go to the gym to get my exercise in. Well, I actually don’t need to, thanks to my garage-salin’ grandpa, who managed to snag me a free treadmill (Love you, Grandpa!). Combine that with my weight-bench, and I’m pretty much set.

But lifting weights (or running in place) while I’m alone in my apartment doesn’t exactly qualify as a “sport.” So while I’m cooped up this winter, I’ve been pondering some of the athletic activities of the more, shall we say, “Couch-Inclined” among us. Are these “sports” really sports? Read on.

Chess
Love it, but no. A mental sport? Yes. But not an athletic activity, no matter how you look at it.

Bowling
Yes, but loosely. Why do so many great bowlers have ponderous bellies?

Dance Dance Revolution

If you’ve never played Dane Dance Revolution with a group of friends, you’ve never lived life. You have to get over the fact that you, no matter how much you try not to, are going to look like a total idiot. Really, you’ll look dumb as hell. Make peace with that, and you can have an insane amount of fun. It’s a great way to pass the time and burn some calories. I wouldn’t call this a sport, but I would call its hardcore practitioners “athletes.”

Poker
See “Chess.”

Darts
Are you serious?

Wii Sports
Ugh. Yes, they’re fun, but recent studies suggest that they do not burn as many calories as you might expect. Yeah, it’s a good time, and a nice way to stay active when you’re cooped up indoors. But it’s no substitute for actual athletics.

Shuffleboard
Now you’re getting ridiculous.

Horseshoes
Can you do that indoors?

Wow, this list was much harder to populate than I thought it was going to be. Wait. Wait, I just thought of one more…

Beer Pong
How could I miss this? Is it athletic? No, not exactly, but it can be fun. And there are certainly worse ways to pass the time on those dead-cold winter nights.

Alright, that wraps my list. What are your favorite indoor sports? Suggest some to me, and I’ll do my own little evaluation…

- Taylor Maxwell

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Tags | beer pong, Bowling, chess, dance dance revolution, darts, horseshoes, lifting weights, poker, shuffleboard, wii sports