6 Ways To Stay Motivated To Reach Your Fitness Goals In The Winter
A workout routine is no different from any other aspect of your life — it will go through peaks and troughs, highs and lows, and periods of fatigue. This is especially true during the winter months when people lose motivation due to shorter days, low vitamin D, cold temperatures and more time spent cooped up indoors. Sticking to a fitness routine can be even more challenging than other areas of your life since it is often the most physically demanding part of a person’s week and (unlike your job) there is little external pressure to keep doing it. However, you shouldn’t let winter get in the way of your workout regime, so here are six ways to reach your fitness goals in the winter.
1) Set a fitness goal for spring
Goals are a really important way to focus any aspect of your life, and your fitness is no different. A clear focus that you are running, swimming, or lunging towards on the other side of winter is a great way to keep you motivated, as it will stop you thinking about the individual workout (which can be arduous) and focus your mind on that sweet, sweet victory on the other side. This could be something like running a full marathon, achieving a weight-loss goal for your spring-time vacation or prepping for the start of the next sporting season.
2) Change up your workout routine
Boredom is the enemy of progress, so don’t let your workout routine become as monotonous as the rest of winter. New exercises can keep you engaged and excited about following your fitness regime, making it something you want to do rather than something you have to do. Combine this with your spring fitness goal since whatever you’re working towards — a marathon, kayaking a river, climbing a rad sport route — will help determine your regime and give you ideas about which new exercises to include. Beyond just breaking the boredom, mixing up your routine is also important for stimulating different muscle groups, building new muscles and avoiding overuse injuries.
A partner is a great way to stay motivated for fitness goals
3) Get a personal trainer
Remember that external pressure we mentioned? Well, one surefire way to keep that pressure on is by hiring a personal trainer. They will be the driving force of motivation if you falter! But, more importantly, they have the experience and knowhow to form your winter regime into something you want to stick with. They’re able to give you new and exciting exercises that will keep you engaged, recognising muscle groups to work on and those that may need a rest, as well as helping you establish your spring goals so you have something to work towards. They can also offer an understanding ear when you need to gripe about your winter fitness goals, which can be just as helpful as a personalised workout plan.
4) Partner up
Putting off your workout until tomorrow (which we all know will turn into the day after, and then the day after that) is a lot harder when your friend is waiting outside, lycra-clad and clutching a dumbbell. Having one or more people join you in your fitness regime can keep you motivated to carry on by creating a support network, as well as a little pressure. Finding people who are working towards the same springtime goals can be a great way to do this as you’ll push each other to success!
5) Watch your vit D levels
When developing a fitness regime, we always consider nutrition — a balanced diet that can help us achieve our goals. There’s one major consideration in the winter than can be easy to overlook — the sun! Less sunlight combined with people’s propensity to stay indoors during the cooler months mean that we aren’t as exposed to the sun and thus to our biggest source of vitamin D. A lack of vitamin D can cause you to feel lethargic as well as adversely affecting your mental health. There are plenty of foods that are rich in vit D, but the best source is the sun, so a simple solution is to get outside for your workout!
An outdoor workout will help you keep your vitamin D levels up
6) Don’t be alarmed
The thing that you should be alarmed about is your terrible sleeping habits. OK, maybe you have a great sleep schedule but that would make you an exception — bravo. If you have a morning workout routine, you might find yourself waking up to the piercing sound of your phone’s alarm, looking around blurry-eyed in the dark and then feeling sluggish for the rest of the day. Why? Because this isn’t how humans are supposed to function! We follow the circadian rhythm, which is, in very basic terms, a sleep/wake cycle that generally follows night and day. Breaking this rhythm by forcing wakefulness in the middle of a sleep cycle can cause lethargy and decrease motivation. A simple solution is trying out a ‘sunrise alarm clock’, which will mimic sunrise and gently bring your body from a sleep cycle to a wake cycle, resulting in an energy-rich day.
Motivation can be hard to maintain at the best of times, but winter makes it especially difficult. No single solution is likely to keep you on track to achieve your fitness goals, but trying out these six tips and then mixing and matching different techniques to see what works for you is a great place to start.