5 Ways to Stay in Shape During the Winter

5 Ways to Stay in Shape During the Winter Make a pact not to leave your friend out in the cold! As we head deeper into the winter, it becomes harder and harder to motivate yourself to get out and exercise. From a guy whos done his fair share of working out in the winter, here are some tips Ive gathered along the way: 1) Make   A Pact Two years ago, I trained for my first spring marathon. It was Saturday evening before a   15 miler when I get a text from my running buddy asking, Have you seen the weather for tomorrow? I had. 10 degrees without windchill. With windchill: -3. Still want to run? He asked. Being my competitive, and stubborn self, I responded: Im game if you are. Honestly, even when we set off on our run the following morning I had doubts we would last more than 40 minutes. Sure enough, we ran for nearly 2 hours and completed all 15 miles. Maybe (or hopefully) you arent as crazy as my buddy and I, but it still always helps to have someone to motivate you. Better yet, get two friends and make a pact, the more the merrier. Having a workout buddy holds you accountable for staying on track. Knowing that sleeping in leave your friend, literally, out in the cold is usually enough to get out of bed. 2) Set a Goal (or two, or three) Motivation is all about goal setting. It feels good to accomplish something we say were going to do. To maintain long-term motivation, I recommend setting one big goal (by the end of winter I will complete a marathon, or lose 10 pounds) and two or three checkpoint goals (I am going to complete X miles this week, or lose X pounds in the next 2 weeks) to keep yourself on track. Small successes along the way makes it easier to keep your eyes on the prize. 3) Mix it Up! Mix up your routine to improve fitness and motivation. The winter is a great time to try something new. If your a runner, try heading to the gym to build strength. If you bike, head out on the roads or hit the pool for a bit. As with any activity, doing the same thing over and over, all year round can get boring, and the winterbecause of the lack of fitness events and because of the weather presents lower expectations in regards to exercise. Plus, more and more studies are showing that mix different exercises into your fitness routine both increases fitness levels and helps burn fat (http://www.fitsugar.com/Why-Mixing-Up-Your-Workout-Routine-Important-14965282) This makes the winter an ideal time to challenge your body differently so that when spring rolls around youll be mentally and physically fresh. 4) Embrace the Cold (and its warm rewards) I finish the final steps of a long run. Tired, I struggle to breath as I suck only cold air into my lungs. I havent felt my fingers in an hour. My face is red and my nose is frozen. My feet are ice. Despite my hard work, only a thin layer of cold sweat has accumulated underneath my hat. A few minutes later, I step into the shower. The warm water hits my cold hands; my frozen feet; my ice-red face. I can feel the numbness chased away as feeling returns to my limbs. I finish washing, but stand for a few precious moments just to feel the water run down my body. I dont know about you, but my favorite part of the winter is coming in out of the cold. How hard you reward yourself should be directly related to how hard you have to motivate yourself to do something. I know in the winter, its really hard to motivate myself to exercise, so I have to be sure to reward myself properly. A long, hot shower; a bowl of my favorite soup; a glass of hot chocolate; a bottle of my favorite winter beer (Peak Organic . Embrace the winter weather and its rewards! Jim Morrison once said, “Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.” The only way to truly conquer fear is to embrace it. Likewise, embrace the cold weather and the challenges it brings. It makes the rewards all the sweeter. 5) Have fun! All children love the snow because they dont take the time to realize their cold. Connect with your inner child and go for a run in the snow (and be sure to throw the first snowball at your partner). Slip on some ice, and laugh when you fall. If youre going to make it through a whole winter of training, you have to make sure you schedule in some time for fun (skip the run and hit the ice rink, or round a bunch of friends together for a snowball fight). After all, if we dont enjoy what we do, will be be able to keep pushing ourselves to do it? More importantly, would it be worth doing?