How to Win Your Fitness Battle During the Winter Months.
Winter often brings cold weather, shorter days, and a temptation to stay indoors. Many people find their exercise routines faltering during this season, despite numerous strategies designed to maintain consistency. Let's explore why most of these strategies fail and how you can effectively overcome these challenges.
Terrible Strategies and How to Fix Them
1 Setting Overambitious Goals
The Problem: Winter's more difficult outdoor conditions can make it tough to meet lofty fitness goals. When goals are too ambitious, the likelihood of falling short increases, leading to frustration and demotivation.
The Solution: Set realistic, achievable goals that accommodate the season’s limitations. Focus on maintaining rather than drastically improving your fitness. A good personal trainer will help you establish realistic goals and then break them down into the smaller, easy to achieve daily tasks required to attain your goals.
2 Ignoring the Need for Adaptation
The Problem: Sticking to a summer routine without adjusting for winter’s demands can be discouraging. For instance, running in the dark or cold can be unappealing and less effective.
The Solution: Adapt your routine to fit winter conditions. This might mean exercising at different times of the day, changing your workout type, or moving your exercise indoors – especially on those cold, rainy days.
3 Lack of Accountability and Support
The Problem: Exercising alone can be particularly challenging in winter when motivation wanes. The absence of a support system can lead to skipped workouts.
The Solution: Find a workout buddy or good personal trainer. Having someone to share the experience with can provide mutual motivation and accountability. At Club Forma we now have two-on-one sessions available if you would like to try training with a friend.
4 Underestimating the Importance of Mental Preparation
The Problem: Winter blues and seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can sap motivation, making it hard to stick to any exercise plan.
The Solution: Prioritise mental health by incorporating mood-boosting activities, such as sound frequency therapy, social interaction, and ensuring adequate sleep. A positive mindset will significantly enhance your commitment to exercising. Ask your Club Forma personal trainer which sound frequencies help boost energy levels and where you can easily access them.
The Best Strategies for Winter Success
Create a Flexible Plan: Develop a workout schedule that allows for changes. If you can't go for a run, have a backup plan like a strength training workout at a personal training studio or a yoga session.
Embrace Technology: Use fitness apps and trackers to keep your routine on track, exciting and varied. Tracking your workouts, in a fitness app such as Trainerize, and knowing that your trainer will see whether you have completed it or not also provides accountability, support and motivation.
Focus on Enjoyment: Find winter activities that compliment your gym routine and you enjoy, such as indoor swimming, dance classes, indoor rowing, or even winter sports like skiing. Enjoyment can be a powerful motivator.
Manage Expectations: If I’m not feeling like doing my workout, I tell myself I can take it easy and do an 80% intensity session. This gets me on the gym floor working out and fosters consistency. It’s not reasonable to expect to train full-blast every session. Next time you’re having an internal motivation crisis, give it a try!
Establish a Reward System: Give yourself something to look forward to after a workout. This could be a warm bath, a favourite healthy snack, or watching an episode of a beloved TV show.
By understanding why common strategies fail and implementing strategic solutions, you can maintain your exercise routine throughout the winter. The key is to stay flexible, find enjoyment in your activities, utilise the wealth of knowledge your personal trainer has for keeping things interesting, and adapt your plans to fit the season's unique challenges.
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