Is it getting harder to get out of bed in the morning or is it just me?
Why is it that when it starts getting cold, bed just seems that much better? Only a few months ago and you could jump out of bed and start your day with boundless energy, and now it’s the hardest part of the day.
It doesn’t really get cold in Perth either!
But it’s not just getting out of bed that’s the hard part. It’s also getting out of the house. ‘You wanna go out tonight or you wanna rug up on the couch in front of the TV? We could get take out?’
It’s no wonder why it’s easy to gain weight in winter when we think like this!
What we need is a strategy to get us out of bed or off the couch and moving. Because its much easier to maintain our weight through winter than gain some and have to lose it when it starts getting warm again.
So here are my tips for exercising during winter.
For getting out of bed in the morning:
- Lay out your workout clothes and shoes the night before and have everything ready
- Set 2 alarms in case one doesn’t work or you sleep through one.
- Leave the alarms out of reach so you have to get out of bed to shut it off.
- Turn the light on and don’t pull the covers over your eyes.
- If you don’t have a heater on all night, leave a small heater next to your bed so you can turn it on as soon as you roll out of bed. Better still, set a timer so the heater fires up in the morning so you wake up to a warm room.
For getting out of the house on the weekend or after work:
If you have some work to do around the house, do your exercise first and get it out of the way. Then come home and do the work. Housework isn’t as important as your health.- Wear your workout gear to the hardware and do some curls with the timber, carry a few bags of potting mix on each shoulder and do some lunges up the aisles.
- If you are gonna train after work, change into your workout gear before you leave work or as soon as you get home and leave the house immediately. Do not sit down. Do not pass out on the couch. Do not collect drive through on the way home!
I know when it’s raining its harder to go for a run or work out outside, but that shouldn’t stop you from getting your training session in.
You don’t need any equipment to get a good workout in. And with some small, inexpensive equipment you can make the workout even more fun!
I’ve recorded a video for you below.
It’s a simple bodyweight cardio circuit using no equipment that you can play and follow along.
There’ll be more to come over the following weeks.
This one’s based on 20 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest using a Gymboss interval timer app that I’ve downloaded onto my iphone. You can even play your music over the top.
Just set it up for 8 rounds minimum (that’s only 4 minutes) but you should be aiming for 32 rounds (16 minutes). Rest a minute or so between rounds.
If you need more rest, then you can change the rest time to 20 or 30 seconds.
Do a 2-3 minute warm up before you start and stretch after you finish.
Don’t pace yourself. Go as hard as you can the entire time and rest when you need to rest.
The intensity is key to boosting your metabolism and burning bodyfat.
