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How to Stay Motivated to Exercise Through The Winter
When you wake up to natural sunlight, buzzing hot weather, and plenty of holidays lined up, it’s not much of a slog to workout. Fitness motivation is much easier in the summer but it’s in the winter that most people’s exercise regime goes tits up!
This time of the year, many of us will find it hard to jump out of bed – never mind hitting the gym.
You’ll have that familiar little voice convincing you to stay cosy a little longer (then create your own rush hour), go in the evening instead (but you won’t) or leave it for another day (and beat yourself up about it later on).
Add on top of that, there’ll be an abundance of festive activities from now ‘til Christmas – dinners, catch-ups, night outs, parties – so plenty of heart-warming calories; ready for the ’New year, new you’ stampede.
But don’t fret. There’s no reason why you can’t indulge at times, spend quality time with family and friends and still keep up with your gym sessions.
Here are 2 simple ways to help you stay proactive:
1) Schedule your ‘fitness’ meeting
One phone call or email and your gym time could be out of the equation. As much as we’re more hyper-connected than ever before, you have to prioritise what’s important to you. Your training session should be scheduled as a client/business/work meeting and it should only be changed as a last resort.
This will then ensure you stay consistent. A common theme I often see is once you start neglecting a session over something minor, it starts compounding.
Start blocking out at least an hour out of the diary 3-4 times a week – you’ll be surprised the accountability and positive difference it makes.
2) Pack the night before
“What should I wear?”
“Black or green socks?”
“Do I have enough time to cook breakfast?”
“What time’s my train?”
When you’re still a bit drowsy out of bed, the last thing you want is overloading your brain. This can easily stop people from being proactive about their day ahead. One setback or a few too many decisions will likely push you off the wagon.
Instead, have your gym outfit laid out. Prep your breakfast (and other meals) so all you have to do is either heat it up or simply pack it in your bag. Heck, even go as far as having your morning cuppa ready and enough water in the kettle.
Make your morning life easier by less thinking and more doing; you’ll find yourself in the groove relatively quicker.
Mental energy should be saved for the important stuff.
As you may agree, there’s nothing magical with what I’ve suggested. But if you find the winter months are harder to exercise (especially in the mornings), I would recommend taking action now.
Nothing major needs to be done, it’s usually the subtle changes that will keep the consistency.
This will ensure you don’t need to jump on the NY resolution craze, but to just continue pursuing your fitness goals – even after a few too many mince pies.
Our mission is to help people live their best lives outside of the gym by providing the best possible standards of personal training in London.
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