It’s time to change your mind. Winter is a whole new season, so embrace the time of year by sitting down and planning out what you’d like to accomplish during the next few months. It’s easy to let the weather get you down, but there are many options for you stay fit while avoiding running in the cold. If you can’t seem to muster the energy to work out this time of year, try “playing” instead. You can burn quite a few calories playing indoors or out. The best part about playing is that it doesn’t feel like working out—though you can still get your heart rate up and have an excellent cardio session. Get your friends out for a play session, go ice skating or swimming at a heated pool, try rockclimbing or head to an indoor sport centre like Aussie Indoor Sports. If you’re more competitive, take up a winter sport. There are the obvious choices such as skiing and snowboarding, but you can get involved in a team as well with hockey. Even just tobogganing down a hill can burn those calories, having to get back up the hill of course!
You could try signing up for a new class or joining an indoor sports league to get you up and moving during chilly months. By trying something new, you reignite your motivation for fitness, even in the cold. Whether it’s indoor volleyball, a dodgeball league, a bootcamp class or even tennis lessons at a local indoor racquet club, participating in a regular activity that you’ve paid for (or have teammates counting on you to play in) is a fantastic way to get motivated and stay active in the winter time. You might even make some new friends or learn some new skills.
Setting goals is another way to motivate yourself in the colder months. If winter weather leaves your motivation to exercise colder than an icicle, heat things up with a challenging, new goal. It could be a goal to loose weight or even to be able to do a full push-up, but choose a goal that you really want and that will stretch you beyond your comfort zone to reach it. Setting a smart goal that you then break down into smaller, achievable action steps is a great way to start. This allows you to narrow down the activity you want to be involved in and makes the task less intimidating.