Its hard to motivate yourself to get back into gear after a long cold winter, especially up here in Canada. Its too cold and icy some days to go for a run outside without fear of falling, so I am often forced to keep my workout indoors. I just have to keep reminding myself that if I keep it up the next few weeks inside, then my reward will be getting to go back outside. Some of you in other parts of the continent already have great weather and I hope that you’re taking advantage of this and getting out there to enjoy the freedom of not having to stay in a gym.
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| I wish that I could workout like this right now in Canada! |
There are a couple of things that you can do to help motivate yourself to keep up the workouts until spring comes along and we’re more inclined to head outdoors.
Mix up your cardio – You don’t have to stay on one machine the entire time to get a great cardio workout. On days that I’m just not feeling like staying on a treadmill or elliptical the whole time, I will mix it up. I might do 15 minutes on the treadmill, 15 minutes on the stationary bike and then 15 minutes on the elliptical. I’ll get a good 45 minutes fit in, but it goes by much faster than if I’d stayed put the whole time.
Bring along a friend – If I want to make sure that I’ll head to the gym after work, I’ll make plans to go with a friend. If I know I have someone who is counting on me to show up I won’t chicken out and head home instead. Plus I get to catch up with them and have a visit too!
Try something new – When I really start to feel my motivation swaying, I try to find a new, fun activity that I’ve never tried before. Look for classes at your local gym, or call up another sports club to see what they offer. Most places will let you go for the first time free or cheap. Its a great way to try something new without spending much money.
Workout at home – If I really don’t want to walk to the gym in the cold/snowy/rainy weather that is so common this time of year, I will stay home to workout. I’ll pop in a DVD, look up some fun YouTube videos, do my Couch Potato Workout or maybe even just some stretching and Bedtime Yoga.
Whatever you chose to do, its just important to get moving and challenge yourself. No matter how much I don’t want to workout, I always try to tell myself that if I do 15 minutes and don’t like it, I can quit. I find that once I get going I’ll feel better and won’t want to quit anyways!
For this week’s playlist, I went back to my love of older music from the 50s and 60s. There is something about this music that just gets me singing along and breezing through my workout.
Playlist – Oldies but Goodies
