Posted on October 03, 2014 by Jenny Cromack

Oooh those darker mornings and nights have crept upon us and yesterday was the first morning when I begun to feel the cold (yes, for those of you who know me well it won’t be long until the 3 layers and thermal socks are out to keep me warm!). In my job as a personal trainer I know this will be the time of year when many of my personal training clients will start to struggle to keep themselves motivated to stay active as all they want to do is stay in and keep warm. So, I thought I’d share my secrets with you about how to stay motivated to exercise during the Autumn and Winter months.

Personally, I love the autumn for training, it’s lovely to set out for a run on a clear, crisp morning but with the autumn sunshine you soon warm up. I find running at this temperature much more enjoyable than running in the baking hot sunshine. So when you don’t feel like stepping out into the cooler air remind yourself you’ll soon warm up as you run.

Here are my top tips for how to stay motivated to exercise during the autumn and winter:

1. GOAL SETTING – To be honest I think you should always have a goal you are working towards. However, if you don’t then this is the time of year to set one! It will give you a reason to exercise. Remember goals should be ‘SMART’ goals.

S – Specific – Why do want to achieve it and WHAT do you want to achieve, the more specific the better!

M- Measurable – How do you know when you have achieved your goal? How are you going to measure it?

A – Achievable – Make them a little challenging too…..people are more motivated to achieve something which is more of a challenge than easy peasy to achieve!

R – Realistic – Whilst the above point is true, whilst you should make your goal challenging you also want to make sure they are realistic. You don’t want to set yourself up for failure.

T – Time Bound – Set yourself a specific time frame to achieve your goal otherwise you will keep putting off starting your exercise plan.

A good example of this would be Billy who wants to run a 10k in under 60 mins by January, the last time he ran a 10k was in 63 minutes so this achievable and realistic but still a little challenging.

2. CHANGE YOUR WORKOUT TIME – Or ‘me’ time as I like to call it! If you don’t like the dark mornings but in Summer you’re normally an early morning exerciser then start exercising later in the day – during your lunch break, after work, whenever….just make sure those workouts still take priority. Personally I do not like going for a run when it is dark (I fall enough when it is like, in the dark I’d probably end up running into a tree and knocking myself out!) so I make sure I train in the morning or lunch time. At the motive8 studio at Marshall Court we tend to find we get quieter in the mornings during winter but busier in the evenings. 

3. CHANGE YOUR WORKOUT LOCATION – If you’re a fair weather cyclist or runner and really can’t bear to be out in the rain or cold weather then why not join a gym for the cold and wet months so you still motivated to exercise during the Autumn and Winter.

4. EXERCISE WITH A BUDDY – We have blogged about this many time before but you will keep each other motivated to get out there and do something! Just make sure you choose a friend who is into exercise and not one is more likely to convince you that staying in with a hot chocolate is better, you don’t need me to tell you this will NOT achieve your goals! Many of our clients who have group personal training sessions or come to classes together rave about how it keeps them motivated on the days they really don’t feel like exercising.

5. GET PREPARED – I don’t think there is anything better than exercising in the great outdoors, but if you’re going to continue exercising outside then make sure you have the right clothing to keep you at the right temperature. There is nothing worse than running with cold hands, or getting caught in a rain storm mid session and cycling the rest of the way freezing cold and wet because you aren’t wearing the right clothes. Check out the motive8 shop for our own clothing range. Personally, I don’t like wearing loads of layers when I run, however in the winter I always make sure I wear gloves, a good quality base layer with a vest or t-shirt over the top and if the winter sunshine does come out I can always strip down to one layer…much better than freezing because I’ve not got enough layers on. I also can’t do without my running head band to keep my little ears warm!

Lucy and Kate have written some great blogs this week about staying motivated on the darker mornings and how to avoid comfort food so make sure you check these out.

And no excuses guys, just because it’s coming up to Winter doesn’t mean you have to hibernate. Give one of the personal training team here a shout if you need some extra motivation!

 

 

 

 

Lucy and Kate