Stil, feeling motivated enough to do it can often be a hurdle. Use these trainer-backed strategies and tips from Charlee Atkins, CSCS, founder of Le Sweat, to combat winter workout blahs. (Don’t forget to start every work out with dynamic stretches, to help your body warm up and prevent injury.)
Schedule your workouts
Similar to meal prepping, Atkins says one of the easiest ways to make sure you stay on track during the winter is to sit down on Sunday night and mark the days you’re going to exercise. By writing them down, you take out the “maybe” factor and make them a definite. You can even take it a step further and write out exactly what workouts you want to do, which may help you save on time. “A gym session doesn’t need to be an hour,” says Atkins. “You can get your workout down in 30 to 40 minutes if you walk in knowing what you want to do.”
Sign up for a challenge
Stay accountable by joining a weekly challenge at your gym, try a Fitbit challenge, or commit to a weekly program (like this ab challenge on Le Sweat, which is only 7 minutes a day). By having a daily or weekly goal, you’re more motivated to stay on track. Plus, if you can see your friends and family crushing it, you’re less likely to slack off.
Use sticky notes
Use past emotions–good or bad– to inspire future action. “Whether you’re inspired from a runner’s’ high or upset that you missed a workout, expel your energy onto a Post-It and help use it to get your rear into gear,” says Atkins. Leave Post-Its on your mirror to help motivate you and remind you how you felt in the moment you crushed a workout or skipped one and felt crummy afterward. “Each scenario can help steer you to start sweating,” says Atkins .
