Now that we’ve experienced the first snowfall of the year, it’s time to hunker down, pull out our sweatpants, stock up on hot chocolate, and get ready to spend the duration indoors on the sofa. Right?
Wrong. Forget about binge-watching your winter away. This is no time to let your fitness routine suffer. So here are a few tips for keeping your motivation up no matter how low the temps dip.
Visualize Summer
Do a little mental time travel and transport yourself to summer, or that beach vacation you’ve got planned. Don’t you want to be ready, fully fit and in shape? Keeping up your fitness routine all winter means you’ll be ready to jump on a bike, get back to hiking in the wilderness, or whatever your usual summertime activities are when the heat finally returns.
Feast to your heart’s delight
Food gets heavier this time of year. Parties, family dinners, the return of chocolate covered pretzels, and all sorts of wintery treats can be too much to resist. So don’t! Keeping up your fitness regime means you can have that extra piece of turkey or chocolate-covered yummy without feeling guilty. And you won’t even have to count the calories in your New Year’s Eve champagne!
Natural exuberance
Winter is depressing. There’s no sun, we’re hardly outside, and cold and flus are wreaking havoc with our health. You’re probably feeling sad, prone to recline on the sofa; you may even have picked up some Vitamin D. But you probably haven’t thought much about how exercise can affect your mood. Yes, the best part of exercise is that it’s a natural anti-depressant. So hit the gym and burn off the winter sads. Your body and your mind will thank you!
Need more motivation? How about the fact that winter is a great time to try a new class and discover tasty new recipes that make the most of winter produce. All those starchy vegetables will give you the energy to push through your workouts.
So stop hibernating, and start sweating!
