As the days are getting shorter, the nights are getting longer and the weather is growing evermore unpredictable, it can be hard to stay on track with your training.
Keeping motivated when it’s cold and dark outside is a mammoth task. Especially now that Strictly is back on our screens, the Champions League is underway and Sky Box office is chock-full of movies.
But as lethargy strikes, the perfect antidote is to actually get back out there.
According to the NHS website, even though you might feel like heading out for a run or swim is the last thing you want to do, “Regular exercise will make you feel less tired in the long run, so you’ll have more energy. Even a single 15-minute walk can give you an energy boost, and the benefits increase with more frequent physical activity.”
We’re preaching to the converted though, right? You know that as well as we do. So how can you get over that hump and back into the swing of things?
Hire a personal trainer
According to Statista, in 2011 there were roughly 15,000 personal trainers in the UK. Since then, this figure has increased by more than 50% and there are now more than 22,000 PTs working up and down the country.
You can expect to pay upwards of £20 per hour for a one-to-one session, but the benefits are huge. They’ll hold you accountable, work you harder than you’d work yourself and are as keen as you are to see results.
Use an app to keep you on track
If the monthly outlay for a personal trainer isn’t in your budget at the moment, how about using an app instead? There are plenty available, many of them free and you can find an exact match for what you’re looking for. How about…
The brilliant NHS Couch To 5k app – and podcast – has successfully helped thousands of people go from doing absolutely no exercise to running a whole 5k. Regardless of where you are, the app helps you through the journey step by step at your pace, so you can push past your previous limitations and get running.
Nike Training Club
This free download from Nike offers more than 200 workouts in multiple categories such as strength, endurance, yoga, and mobility. It creates plans according to your goals, the amount of equipment you want to use and how many times you’d like to work out each week. The app also makes suggestions according to your training history, and shares videos on how to perform exercises properly.
There are free apps available for every fitness discipline imaginable. This isn’t quite an app, but can still be accessed on your phone via Youtube. Yoga With Adriene is great – packed with free yoga classes for every level of budding yogi.
Workout with a friend
Exercising with a pal is a great way to get your fitness mojo back. Agree on a set day and time to meet and move your body and don’t let each other down.
This way, you get to hang out with your buddy and keep your training on track. Win. Win.
Consider a supplement boost
Losing your zest for life and exercise at this time of year is totally normal. Our vitamin D levels drop, our circadian rhythms change and our desire to hunker down and do nothing doubles. It’s a lot.
Boosting your reserves with a vitamin supplement could give you the pick-up you need to get back out there. Ei8ht oxygen drinks are a great place to begin. They’re made from natural ingredients (our favourite is yuzu, lemon and lime) and can power the body’s oxygen transportation and performance. The sachets, which you mix with water, also contain caffeine B3 and B12 to help combat feelings of fatigue.
Get fit with podcasts
Work, Play, Love with Lauren Fleshman and Jesse Thomas
This poddy’s bio tells you all you need to know; ‘Lauren Fleshman and Jesse Thomas are world-class professional endurance athletes, authors, speakers, and co-own a nationally distributed food products business called Picky Bars. They also happen to be married, still, and are raising two small children. They use their experience, stories, writing, and humour to answer listener questions about sports, family, business, and the balance between all three! It’s a circus, but hey, we’re all in it together!’ A light-hearted listen that might just give you the nudge you need.
Want to get into running but don’t want to listen to boring running podcasts? Voted Best Running Podcast last year at The Running Awards, this podcast blends inspiring interviews with runners and athletes with relaxed, funny chat between the two hosts. Great for getting up and running or just for keeping you entertained (but probably not suitable for the whole family).
This wellness-focused podcast by Emily Abbate hears the host chats with everyone from elite athletes to top CEOs about their highest highs, toughest moments, and everything in between. It’s inspiring and honest. Just what we all need right now.
