While it’s awfully tempting to stay curled up on the couch over the winter months, it’s important not to lose sight of those fitness goals. Believe it or not, there are some added benefits when it comes to exercising in cooler weather. The biggest perk is that you burn more calories because your body has to work harder to stay warm.
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If that’s not motivation enough for you, Personal Training Manager at Virgin Active Health Clubs, Dan Andrews, provides his top tips to help you avoid the winter workout rut.
1. Plan ahead:
It can be easy to come up with excuses to escape the cold during the winter months and avoid a workout. If you schedule your workouts into your diary just as you would for work appointments, you’re more likely to stick to it. The key to achieving results is simply attention. Whatever you focus your attention on grows stronger. Discipline is like a muscle, the more you exercise, the stronger it gets!
2. Phone a friend:
Organising to meet up with a pal for a workout can help to keep you accountable, motivated and less likely to cancel last minute. It’s a win-win. You can raise your heart rate plus catch up on the latest goss all at the same time.
3. Variety:
It can be easy to repeat the exercises you’re most familiar with when you’re working out, but it’s important to keep things varied so you don’t get bored. An added benefit of mixing your workout up is you’re going to see better results than if you repeat the same exercises. Working out new muscles with new routines means your body has to work harder. Why not try something new that mixes fitness with fun! Get physical at a boxing class, shake it at a Zumba Step class or try a rock climbing wall.
4. Get a personal trainer:
A personal trainer can help to give you that bit of extra motivation that you need. With the help of a professional, you can push your fitness further than you might when exercising solo, and learn new exercises for when you’re working out on your own. Whatever your goal a personal trainer can help you get results – quicker.
5. Treat yourself:
To reach your fitness goals, it’s important to put the work in, but equally important to reward your hard work. Why not treat yourself after your workout and beat the winter chill by relaxing at the spa or sweat it out in the sauna. Saunas are a great way to relieve stress and relax tired muscles.
