After leading a sedentary lifestyle up to that point I saw quick results once I started exercising and eating right. As summer came to an end, the motivation to get up in the cold, dark and now wet mornings to exercise started to wane. The fact that I also didn't HAVE to get up because there was no one waiting at the beach for me to go walking also affected the motivation. It became easy to just kill the 4:30am alarm, roll over and go back to sleep. The chillier weather has also made it so much harder to eat correctly and drink enough water. I naturally gravitate towards the comfort foods when I'm cold. Who wants to drink water when you can have a nice cup of coffee and a rusk, right?
When I started, I promised myself I would not make excuses. I would own my mistakes and that only I could change my destructive lifestyle for the good. So I have decided to nip the winter wallow in the bud....NOW, before I am back where I started!
I asked a few of my friends how they stay motivated to train in winter.
My good friend, Lisa (who is an avid Adventure Bootcamper and fellow parkrun-addict) suggested putting out my gym clothes the night before or even sleeping in my gym clothes so that I can just get up and go in the mornings and keep warm. I have implemented this tip the last few days...and it works! So, thanks Lisa.
I also asked my trainer, Suzy. And this is what she had to say:
Until next time,
XX-L
TRAINING DURING
WINTER
Biggest thing about training during winter is that it is
emotionally A LOT harder than physically… Your main motivation should be the
reasons WHY you NEED to train during the winter and colder months…
You’ve already put so much time and effort into training the
last couple of months and to give it all up now because it is darker, colder
and harder to get out of bed….the question is – IS IT WORTH IT??? The answer is
without a doubt – NO WAYS!!!!
If you think about it:
- It is cooler so you can train twice as hard before you feel like you are over heating
- Your body uses more energy when you feel cold so you can burn more calories
- If you train during winter you will be fitter when summer start so you can achieve so much more in the summer to maintain your healthier, leaner body!!!
Unfortunately we automatically eat more during the winter to
feel warmer, drink less water and more coffee/tea so we will have to do that
little bit extra to keep the extra calories to turn into fat.
Comfort food looks a lot more appealing than a salad so we
have to make sure we think HEALTHY and make the correct choices.
So in order to stay motivated during winter you have to
focus on your end results – WHY did you start training in the first place????
Was it to loose weight, get fitter, feeling healthier, do
more with your children, shape and tone or even all of them????
Now, ask yourself are you going to get closer or further
from your goal by slacking during the winter???
Are you willing to start all over again in the spring??
Surely you are not
going to give up now….all the hard work, getting up early in the morning,
watching your food intake the last few months, getting better and better at
each walk/run you doing, getting stronger and healthier, being able to do more
with your kids without feeling out of breath immediately, feeling better about
yourself, fitting into a smaller pair of pants, old clothes feeling looser on
your body!!!! Was that all for
nothing??? Definitely NOT, I am sure this is more than enough motivation to
keep you going instead of starting ALL OVER AGAIN?!?!?!?!?
So the biggest motivation during winter should be – WHY DID
YOU START?????
I am very grateful to have Suzy on my team this winter...motivating me and holding me accountable by waiting for me at 5am twice a week (in the cold, dark and wet weather).
As the old saying goes: "Summer bodies are made in winter".
My winter training strategy:
- Never skip a day
- Drink enough water, no matter how cold it is!
- Research and implement healthy, hearty winter food
- Join the gym so that I can join my walking buddies again (have tried to avoid this one, but I think the time has come to cave on the resistance)
- Stay accountable by updating my blog more often
- "Invest" in winter training clothes/gear....I LOVE all the gadgets, the apps...all the things that give you feedback, stats etc.
Until next time,
XX-L
