Tick, tick, tick, Halloween is past and November is here. Welcome Jack Frost, Old Man Winter or whatever you want to call it. In most parts of the country, the weather is cooling down and even if it’s pleasant during the day, it’s getting colder and colder at night. It’s getting dark earlier and earlier and even that early morning run is going to feel brutal when the cold air slaps your face and fills your lungs.
Your motivation for working out may be dwindling as more severe weather wanders in. Trips to the gym may decline and let’s be honest, who doesn’t have some jar of candy sitting around that you might snatch a piece or two out of when you have the munchies. Family events, school events, school and church pageants and more are all beginning to ramp up in the coming weeks. It can be really easy to get sucked up into the November funk and let your fitness plans and workouts fall by the wayside.
Here are nine ways to help you avoid that November Exercise Funk:
- Consider taking a vacation to a warm climate in the middle of winter, even if it’s just a three day trip, it’s a form of motivation to keep your fitness plans up so you can wear that bathing suit
- Join a club whether it’s runners, bicyclists, walkers, stroller moms or other – but it will give you a pool of people to work out with
- Look for a workout partner in your community either via your homeowner community message boards or other – you can post a note asking for someone who may enjoy walking or biking at the same time of day that you do
- Gaining weight in winter isn’t all bad, if you can keep it to around 5 pounds or so, because in winter time, our bodies naturally look to add some weight to insulate the body from the cold
- Adjust your workout to cope with the winter blues and funk feeling, if you normally exercise for 60 minutes a day, drop it to 30 – if you normally workout for 30 minutes a day, drop it to 15 minutes. The shortened workout keeps you active, but also takes some of the pressure off of you
- Adjust your workout time, for myself I prefer early morning workouts because I get them done and out of the way and while I know some people hate to work out first thing, but it can go a long way towards stimulating your metabolism and your mind
- Just halving the workout not enough for you? Try a 10 minute routine of continuous exercise where you don’t take a break between sit-ups, push-ups, stretches or treadmill – do this every day and you’ll still reap the benefits of a good workout
- Pick up a new workout DVD or tape, sometimes all you need is something new and different to generate more interest in working out
- Come back and visit here frequently and ask questions that you have – I know it can be tough to stick to a workout when it’s getting colder and you’re more interested in snuggling up with the kids or the spouses, but even a few minutes a day can pay off for you in the long run
How do you beat back the November funk?
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