With the cold dark nights, it’s very easy to want to stay indoors and hibernate. Over the festive season, we consume a lot more calories than normal, on average between 5000 – 6000 on Christmas day alone. On top of this, Christmas can be a stressful period for a lot of people with the pressure of money worries and dealing with hustle and bustle – it’s no wonder we turn to comfort foods and alcohol to de-stress.
However, overindulging can often leave us feeling guilty and even more tired and sluggish. Here are some of my top tips to help you stay motivated to train over the winter months
Make a plan you have to stick to
Rather than waiting for January to come and making New Year resolutions, sign yourself up to an event now which is a couple of weeks away. Whether it’s a walking event; 5k run or bike challenge. I have signed myself up to my first Dualathon in April 2020 and I want to get a decent time. This has given me something to focus on and I will have to train and prepare for this.
Train indoors
If the cold weather puts you off, you can easily work out in your home with just your body weight. There are hundreds of free workouts on Youtube that need no equipment. Even if you do ten minutes at moderate to high intensity then this is better than nothing at all. Here’s an example of a home HIIT workout to get your blood pumping, spend 1 min on each exercise:
- Jogging on the spot
- Burpees
- High knees
- Jumping jacks
- Press-ups
- Ski-skaters
- Squats
- Mountain climbers
- Reverse lunges
- Plank
Do something lower intensity
If you want something less energetic try swimming or a yoga workout instead. The stretching can help relieve tension and stress as well as improve our posture. Yoga encourages you to relax, slow your breath, and focus on the present.
Book a class or join a club
Trying something new can break up the workout boredom. If you’ve always gone to cardio-based classes then try resistance training classes, such as a kettlebell; TRX or body pump workout. Taking a break from your regular routine will help refresh your body and mind and will help reignite your excitement for fitness. Joining a new club can also give you an extra incentive to be active and meeting new people means that training will be more enjoyable and sociable.
Finally, workout because you want to take care of your body and you love how exercising makes you feel. It’s not about trying to compensate for what you are going to eat and drink, make it part of your lifestyle all of the time.
