The colder months are a great time to establish your habits for the rest of 2022 …
Yep I already know your reaction : insert eye roll here and then follow up with a statement of great “another blog on how summer bodies are made in winter” But please hear me out.
We are at a tricky part of the year, we are just coming off a pretty long summer, where the warmer weather stuck around and played mind games with us…. Giving us a slight glimmer of hope that we might not get a wet, dark, cold couple of months. Then all at once the shortest day hits, the sky opens up and someone turns down the temp 5-10 degrees.
Our consistent routines take a dramatic detour and we start to get into a very relax winter habit.
we start to say things or get into the flow of ...
F..K it to our early morning alarm and roll back over in our warm bed
We trade our balanced eating for a warm pie or some comfort food, because we all know how good these things taste in the colder months…. Well at least until after you eat it
Or a slight call into the pub on your way to the gym which in turn makes you never get to your training session.
Don’t worry I’ve been their to, yep I know … “but you own a gym, you can train all day and you must survive on uncle Ben’s Rice and Tuna” but I’m hear to tell you thats a : Big NO !!!
I like a beer just as much as the next guy/ girl or have my vices in the food department.
So I thought I would write something up to try and help anyone who might be in a bit of a funny place this time of year … below I have written 10 things that I find help both myself and Amanda when we feel a bit “unmotivated” as winter hits or just anytime.
Find a training time that suits your schedule … obvious yes, But I mean lock one in, once you have established this then put in your diary/planner as a “meeting”. Why ?? Well you would never miss a meeting or turn up late for one right ?? So this should be the same for your goals and your “ME TIME”
Find a Training partner/partners that you know will hold you accountable and also want to see you succeed.
Write down something that you want to train towards in a place you see everyday.. this can be anything : a holiday, a reunion, anniversary or a competition … this comes down to what you want .
Set a alarm on your phone and place it away from where you’re sleeping or working .. that way when it goes off you physically have to get up to turn it off. And I mean seeing that your already out of bed or away from your work station … you might as well get ready to go to the gym.
Have boundaries.. yep its a interesting time we live in now: we work from home, in the car, after hours on the weekends and even on holidays … we are just so easy to access . However when its your time “ME TIME” switch your phone off … everything can wait 60-90 minutes and just enjoy the moment of working on yourself.
When it comes to “Food” or “drinks” give yourself rewards… if you put in the work through the week then go out for a few drinks or that pizza and catch up with friends. We don’t have to be fine tuned everyday in order to succeed , we want this to be balanced and attainable throughout our life.
JUST MOVE SOMEDAYS… we all have those days where we are low on energy, stress from work or just day to day life just hits, these are the days you just need to move at a slower pace. Hit a conditioning piece, go work on some low intensity bodybuilding , stretch or just come in and hang out.
Following on from 7 (above) on slow days .. make it a goal to go in and complete just the “warm up” then if your feeling ok after that hit the “strength/skill piece” then if your ok after that move to a workout … if you need to pull the pin at anytime you have still ticked 20-40 or even 60 minutes of training off and had the chance to catch up with friends.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help… their are so many people in your corner that want to see you succeed on your journey and will do a lot to make this happen,
Last but not least… Yep its cold, dark and sometimes wet . But what I will say is …. You are going to warm up when you train, their are always lights on at the gym and its always dry inside (well I hope so )
So their you go , I hope this helps you if you are in a bit of tricky position at the moment… I will leave you with a quote I go by everyday..
“we don’t have to do anything each day … we get the chance to something everyday” so make it count. You deserve it.