Winter Workout Motivation
Jessica Lees, Personal Trainer, Oxford.
Jess helps to develop personal training plans for our fitness equipment customers. In this blog Jessica shares her winter workout advice to help you stay motivated through the winter months.
The weather is cold and wet, it feels like it’s dark 75% of the time, and that skimpy summer swimwear is a distant memory.
It can be hard to find motivation to exercise in the winter months. But with our fitness levels quick to deplete (cardio fitness can decrease by up to 20% within just three weeks) you may decide that you don’t want your fitness levels to be seasonal. Here are a few ways to keep up the winter workout motivation throughout the knitwear months.
Create a place to train indoors
If you usually pound the pavements, hit the park or climb the hills. It can be tough to think about your training indoors, but this is an important step when you think about your training as a year round approach.
Although the days feel shorter we still have that 24 hours in a day. Investing in indoor training equipment will allow you to train at home. Whether you want to replicate the training you do in the summer, or try a new approach (more on this below)
JTX Fitness can help you find the right training equipment to enhance your home and see it as a space for exercise.
Develop a new part of your fitness
The winter months can be an ideal time to work on your strength and conditioning – alternatively if this is your focus the majority of the year, switch it to cardio, or try a different type of exercise entirely. You could try swimming or get a home rowing machine.
Try finding a 12-16 week workout plan that maps your workouts. Learning a new technique and challenging your body with a new approach will help to keep you challenged and motivated.
Pinterest is a great place to find workout plans and inspiration, there are also a wide range of Apps to help you track your progress – I personally love Bodyweight Training: YAYOG. Most of the exercises included could be enhanced on a vibration plate.
Don’t be put off by the name and the association with big necked beefcakes… bodybuilding.com have a big range of workouts for every level and fitness goal, even if you have no desire for muscle gains.
Treat yourself
When you are feeling less than inspired to avoid box sets and sofa sessions, it might be a good time to look for new bit of workout wear. With most high street brands stocking their own range of fitness clothes isn’t doesn’t need to break the bank. Perhaps it’s even luxurious cushioned socks!
Working out outdoors? Look for something reflective, thin and breathable - clothing you can layer up or down. Bulky hoodies and ski mittens might appeal on a frosty morning but pretty quickly you’ll warm up and regret the cotton weight dragging you down.
Re- discover your party tunes
Sometimes all it takes is a shiny new playlist that you can’t wait to listen to when you next hit the treadmill. Over a cup of coffee or glass of wine give yourself an hour or two. Look back over your favourite albums of the last year, or browse playlists on Spotify. Listening again to your favourite tracks from the summer is sure to give you a little more winter workout motivation. Take bpm (beats per minute) into consideration too. Here is an article on running to music that includes a great cross trainer playlist.
Most of all – be kind
It’s not unusual to feel less motivated this time of the year, coughs and colds sweep through work places and schools like a bargain hunter in the January Sales.
Don’t be hard on yourself if you really can’t face it or aren’t feeling well. Listen to your body, bung a bit more veg in your diet and when you do feel ready again, start off slowly – perhaps you can just spend some time stretching to a yoga video on YouTube.
It can be helpful to say to yourself ‘I’ll get my kit on, I’ll do 10/15 minutes of workout and if that’s it, its ok.’
You often feel more energised once you get going, but losing the pressure on yourself to clock in a long session can be just the motivation you need.
