MOTIVATION DURING THE WINTER MONTHS

Long nights, frosty mornings and rainy evenings, it’s not hard to see why Winter can be so demotivating when it comes to exercise. We are all missing a bit of vitamin D in our lives and Christmas has certainly left its mark. So how can we combat motivation when all we want to do is hibernate until Spring? We have a few tips to help get you started…

Prepare the night before There is very little more frustrating than rising early in the morning and spending 15 minutes which you don’t have spare, hunting around for your sport socks. Make mornings as smooth as possible by preparing the night before. Start your day off right by putting out or packing whatever you need in advance. Adjust your lighting As humans we are affected by the seasons and in Winter we can suffer with vitamin D sufficiency which in turn affects our moods. Investing in a lamp which simulates natural daylight which will help start our day the right way.

Turn up the thermostat No one wants to get out from under a warm duvet, but a warm room will certainly make it a little easier . Time your thermostat so that you are not getting ready in a cold room and the temperature change is not such a shock to the system. If you can conquer getting out of bed you are already halfway there… Equip yourself They say that you can train in almost any weather if you can equip yourself to do so, be that wind, rain or snow. So invest a little time and money in making sure you have the right equipment to make training as successful as possible no matter the weather or visibility.

Keep it simple Eliminate the obstacles between you and your goals, for example if travelling becomes an excuse to not go to the gym, look for a gym closer or commit to a personal trainer which will hold you accountable for your actions. Find ways to make the excuses less feasible. Set yourself mini goals If Rome was not built in a day, you can be sure that reaching your goal will not be something which happens overnight. So set yourself mini goals which in turn create mini victories along the way in achieving the bigger picture. Mix it up It’s not uncommon to get bored occasionally with the exercise you do on a regular basis, so make sure you mix it up! Change the intensity, add classes, start learning something new, and make sure you give yourself time to recover properly.

Log your progress Sometimes it’s nice to exercise for the sake of moving and enjoying the process, but if you are working towards a goal it is important to log your progress. If not it makes it a lot harder to see whether you are remaining on track, you can also feel proud on the days you really excel, marking a point in which to work towards on your next session.     Thanks for reading PT Workspace   P.S If you are interested in finding out about personal training or studio hire at PT Workspace you can contact [email protected]. In addition why not take a look at some of the personal trainers who already work with us here.