Lady jogging to keep healthy. Picture: iStock
Winter has set in and it’s getting colder every day. The early mornings and late afternoons are becoming chillier – and these are the times that most people choose to train.
And if there’s one thing that easily prevents people from training, it’s the cold weather.
But as I say, there’s no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing. Then there’s the mental element of it all. If you can change your mindset and find other ways to motivate yourself, you can definitely overcome the challenge of training in winter.
Our minds can get us to do anything. Think about the reasons why you train during the warmer seasons of the year.
Whether it’s for strength, weight loss, energy levels or general health and fitness, they are the same reasons that should apply during the winter months.
Maybe you have a particular dress or a pair of pants you’ve been working towards fitting into, continue with trying to reach that goal even in winter. So in essence, remind yourself of your goals and keep yourself accountable to them, even during winter.
We all have big goals to achieve. When it comes to physical activity, your goal might be to run the Comrades Marathon one day.
If that’s your goal but you’ve never run a 5km fun run or even a 10km run, that’s exactly where you need to start… small.
I’m not telling you to forget about your ultimate goal. What I mean is, set smaller, achievable goals and build up slowly. Build up to running your first 5km, then increase it to 10km. Try a 21km next and maybe 30km before targeting a marathon at 42.2km. Take one step at a time and remember to celebrate each milestone.
So when you tick off that 5km, celebrate. When you tick off the 10km, celebrate. And so the trend continues.
This will ensure that it’s a pleasant journey for you to wards the Big C when you eventually get to it. Savour each moment and celebrate your small (and big) wins along the way. There’s nothing like a pat on the back to motivate you to keep going.
An accountability partner will help to keep you on track. It’s easy to give up or stay in your warm bed on a chilly morning, but if you’ve set a training time with your accountability partner, they will help you get you out of bed.
The great thing about good accountability partners is that they will constantly remind you of your “why”. They will remind you of your goals and hopefully motivate you to get up and keep going. Your accountability partner can be anyone, anywhere.
They don’t have to live with you or even in the same town. It can be someone you merely check in with daily. It also doesn’t have to be one person. It can be a group of people in a WhatsApp group where everyone posts their workout achievements daily.
In this way, when one person slips up, there’s an entire group to account to. That’s often a good-enough reason and motivation to keep you moving. I hope these tips will help motivate you to keep moving this winter. Good luck.
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