As the days get shorter, and the temperatures get colder, it can feel nearly impossible to find the motivation to drag yourself out of the warmth of your bed to go workout.
Take a look at the top four ways to stay motivated to workout no matter what it looks – or feels- like outside.
4. Mix up your ‘workout’
Instead of fighting the cold, embrace the season, and all of its fun outdoor activities. These cold weather activities are really just workouts in disguise, so plan a few weekends each month to go skiing, hiking, ice skating, and even sledding. They might feel like fun, but they also get your heart and muscles working just like any other workout.
3. Get new gear
Seriously, just dressing the part can have a major impact on your workout. Scientists call it ‘enclothed cognition,’ which explains the influence clothes – and their symbolic meanings- have on the wearer’s psychological processes. Basically, if you’re dressed ready for a workout, you’re mind will be too.
Buying some new cold-weather tights, gloves, hats, and long sleeved layers will also help keep you warm, which makes getting outside in the freezing cold a little less painful.
2. Take it one day at a time
When the temperatures drop, it’s easier to feel discouraged and unmotivated to get out of your warm bed and workout. Instead of focusing on the rest of the week, and the even colder months ahead, just try to think of the day ahead since it’s easier to say yes to just one cold workout.
Taking it a day at a time also allows you to listen to your body when it really needs a day off without feeling like you’ve screwed up the entire week’s workout plan. As your body adjusts to the cold, it will get easier and easier to drag yourself out in the cold.
1. Plan ahead
Finding motivation to exercise in the winter can be tough when there’s no huge consequences of curling up with a book instead of hitting the gym since you’ll be covered in layers for months either way. Booking a spring or summer trip, or signing up for an athletic event like a marathon will help give you a goal, and a reason you need to stay in shape.
Since those kinds of physical commitments can’t be accomplished last minute, you’ll be inspired, and maybe slightly pressured, to keep up the hard work even on the most unmotivated days.
What motivates you to stay active during the winter months? Share with us in the comments below.
[Featured image credit: www.womenshealthmag.com]