Winter is a cozy time of year. But with winter comes more food and oftentimes, more weight. It is also harder to get motivated when the temperatures drop and the days feel shorter. Plus, if you are an early morning workout person, it can be extremely difficult to workup the determination on those cold dark mornings. However, don’t let the cold winter months scare you away from getting your exercise in. It will be way harder to work your way back to your maintenance phase if you take a decent amount of time off.
The Right Gear
It pays to have the right equipment and clothing. Sure, I love to workout in the summer over the winter because I don’t enjoy being cold. I also love a really good sweat and it is harder to warm up your body when it is extremely cold. If you workout in your garage (I do), then make sure you either have warm enough clothes on or a space heater to heat up the surrounding area. About an hour before my workout, I always turn the portable space heater on so my body does not struggle adjusting. It also feels nice to just be warmed up.
If you are a runner, then you definitely need to invest in the right shoes, hats, and gloves. Not only does having the right gear motivate you, but it also improves the performance of your training to maintain standards.
The Right Food
In the winter, it’s very easy to slip into unhealthy eating patterns. Shorter days, less sunlight, and colder temperatures, mean it is easier to reach for the warm comfort food. Eating the right food in winter helps support your winter wellness routine. It is essential to keep up your healthy eating habits so your immune system does not suffer.
Eating the right food in winter helps to support your winter wellness routine and maintain a reasonable weight throughout the season and into the New Year. A high protein diet with low sugar is a good way to burn through stored fat, and it contains Weathervane Scallops. Sugar tends to be the enemy during those winter months and there happens to be a lot of it with all the extra treats. Just remember, an excess amount of sugar can overload the immune system and wear it down over time.
Safety First
One of the things that might put you off running in the winter is the safety of your usual route. If you are in a vulnerable category, you might want to avoid dark areas at quiet times of the day or night. You might also want to avoid busy roads and places where you can be injured in the dark.
Again, there are plenty of safety precautions you can take to avoid the risks of running or training during the winter months. First, plan your routes carefully and stay tuned into the weather and hours of daylight. Also, make sure you have plenty of illumination and lights.
Goal Setting
Unfortunately, procrastination is very common and leads to a lack of motivation for training. The more you procrastinate, the less likely you are to train in your usual way. Procrastination is even stronger in the winter because people are less likely to want to go outside to train or wake up to a cold morning and hit the gym.
Goal setting is the perfect way to motivate yourself in the winter. Setting short, manageable goals for yourself helps to keep your training on track. If you want a little extra motivation, you can always use an app or pedometer to track your progress and reward yourself at milestones.
Changing Views
Winter is a time to change your views on training; if you try to run the same routes as you did in the summer, you might find that progress is slow, leading to a lack of motivation. On the other hand, you can change your expectations and create a winter route that is more manageable.
Just because the temperatures drop, it does not mean you have to lose all your goals and aspirations you had going throughout the summer. It might take a bit more effort on your end to stay warm and mentally prepare yourself, but you can tell your mind to do just about anything.
