Winter Training Can Be Gruelling

Training in winter can feel tougher than normal. Even getting out of bed requires a lot more effort compared to warmer seasons. It’s important we maintain our workouts, even in winter. This is so we don’t undo the progress we’ve made in previous seasons. We’ve rounded up a few ways to help you keep the momentum in this taxing season.

1. Define Your Purpose

The most important part of anything we do is defining why we’re doing what we’re doing. When we find this, we are more motivated to stay on track despite the increasing challenges. Take time to reflect and ask yourself, what is the most important reason why you’re working out. Is it for your family? For your friends? Or for yourself? Let that reason propel you to give your best performance!

2. Set a Goal

When you have defined your purpose, you also have established a vision for yourself. Once you’ve done this, you’ll need to create measurable and achievable goals. Don’t overwhelm yourself with your vision nor the size of your goals. This can be a sure-fire way of losing motivation. If you do that you won’t be able to achieve anything. Instead, break it down to smaller daily and weekly goals that are doable and actionable right now.

3. Plan Ahead

Winter presents more challenges to even those most intent on achieving fitness goals. Saying this, we must work smarter to ensure we don’t get tempted to go off track during the season. One of the most effective ways of doing that is to plan ahead. Plan your workouts and familiarise the timeline early on. Forecast what challenges might arise ahead to equip yourself in handling such things.

4. Get Organized

Believe it or not, studies show some people thrive in messy workstations and life in general. But for most people, staying organised is crucial to maintaining that elusive motivation. This is particularly the case on cold, dark early mornings when you have to fight to get out of bed. Prepare your things the night before and put them somewhere near your bed.

5. Get Some Gear

Avoid cotton as it tends to stay wet when you sweat. Add a layer of fleece to keep you warm. Get a good pair of gloves as well, as your hands become more susceptible to feeling the cold. A good pair of footwear is essential as well to avoid slips and falls – and to keep your feet warm!

6. Drop it Back

They say that the worst enemy of good is perfect. And what is most important is we maintain the momentum even during winter. Strip your workout routine to the core parts to make sure you get things done. And when you have the extra energy to do more after, that’s the time to spend it on doing the supplementary stuff.

7. Engage

In planning your training session, incorporate workouts that you enjoy to your routine. Doing something you like will help you stay motivated. It will also help you get more done. Think of your training sessions as a time for you to reflect, to clear your mind, to think. This will shift how you view training from work you need to do, into something you do for yourself.

8. Stay Accountable

When even getting out of bed is a struggle, having someone counting on you to show up will give you the extra push for you to show up. Have a friend to train with, or sign up for a club or group. Have people around who are as passionate as you in bettering yourselves. It will make your training sessions more enjoyable. You’ll be surprised how much you’ll look forward to training when you know you’ll have good company.

9. Routine

In working out, nothing surpasses consistency. It is so easy to undo the progress you have gained by losing motivation after many skipped days. We suggest to incorporate your training sessions into your daily routine. Make it a part of your day-to-day to avoid missing it. It will also help you think of training as an integral part of who you are. It becomes more than something you simply do. It becomes part of you.

10. Reward Yourself

You’ve have a tough workout session for the day in the harsh cold. Now, go ahead and give yourself that much deserved reward. Soak up in a warm bath, sleep in, book yourself a massage, have dinner with a friend. Think of something you love and let yourself do it. You might not be able to do it every day, but plan for the reward. This will actually keep you motivated for the long haul, which is what we are aiming for.