Fitness should not be seasonal. Don’t let the winter weather undo all of the hard work you put into your health and fitness during the warmer months. Here are some ways to achieve year-round fitness.

1. Layer Up

This might sound obvious but many people still train in their summer activewear in the middle of winter. Layering-up is not only important for people who train outdoors, but it’s also valuable if you’re an indoor gym-goer. When you’re cold and stiff there’s a higher likelihood that you’ll cause an injury, have a poor quality workout or even skip your workout altogether. It’s important to elevate your core body temperature before you just jump into high intensities. This ultimately warms up your joints and muscles, preparing your entire body for movement. So, by simply layering up and stripping away as you go, you might just prime your body for movement and improve the likelihood of getting a high-quality session in.

2. Warm Up Properly

Most of us have heard how important a proper warm-up is for improving performance and reducing the risk of injury, yet many of us still skip it altogether. When performing a warm-up, make sure you take your time, ease into it, and slowly build the intensity. Focus on full body dynamic movements. Avoid static holds as they have actually been shown to reduce strength output. Save those for post-workout.

An optimal warm up should be workout-specific. In other words, your warm up should mimic the movement patterns of the exercises that you will be doing in your workout. About 10-20 minutes should do the trick, but go for as long as you need until your body feels primed and ready.

When your body is cold and stiff, even a warm-up can be difficult. There are ways you can warm up before your workout through non-exercise interventions. Taking a hot shower before heading out into the cold to train is not a good idea. This can be counter-productive even though you think it’s working at the time. A hot shower will actually promote vasodilation i.e widening of blood vessels, allowing more blood and heat to the surface of your skin which will cause rapid heat-loss and nett cooling. Instead, try heating yourself up form the inside out with a hot pot of tea, then layer up and get moving!

3. Join a Gym

Let’s face it, the winter weather can be a barrier, especially if you are an avid outdoor exerciser. Sure, some people brave the conditions on cold, rainy and windy days, but a gym is a great place to get a workout if you’re not up for battling the elements. Joining a gym is also a great opportunity to change things up. By shifting the focus from your strengths to your weaknesses, you’ll likely make some impressive new adaptations in time for spring/summer simply by changing the stimulus to something different. Maybe you can spend more time doing strength training with weights, building some precious muscle, improving your grip strength, trying some group classes, circuits, the list goes on. Keep an open mind and never stop bettering yourself.

4. Utilise HIIT

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) or Sprint Interval Training (SIT) is a time-effective and very efficient way to reach your fitness goals. 
It’s short, sharp and over before you know it. So, if you’re somebody who likes to train outdoors in winter, at least you won’t be stuck in the cold for hours on end. In fact, a well programmed HIIT workout can be over in as little as 5 -15 minutes! Here’s an example of a HIIT workout that I like to do: I layer up and do a warm up for 5-10 minutes (rowing or jogging) until I have a light sweat and my muscles and joints feel primed and ready to lift the intensity. Then I jump on an indoor rower and sprint as fast as possible for 30 seconds followed by a recovery period of 30-60 seconds. I repeat for 5-10 rounds. I make sure that my working sets are completed with all-out effort and intensity. I try to get my heart rate nice and high during the working set and allow it to come down during the recovery period. After 15 minutes it’s done and dusted.

5. Try Bikram Yoga

What better way to beat the cold by working out in a heated room. You’re killing two birds with one stone here. You’re warming up your core temperature as well as getting a holistic workout and stretch.

6. Find a Workout Partner

A workout partner is a great way to keep one another accountable. Whether it’s an early morning run/ride outside or a session in the gym, winter can certainly get in the way of your training schedule. Find a workout partner who is like-minded, motivated, on a similar fitness level, and has no quit in them. It will ensure you both show up for your workout and push each other to reach new levels.

7. Invest in Equipment For Your Home

Whether it’s cardio apparatus like a rowing machine, ski erg, stationary bike, stair machine, or weighted equipment like kettlebells, dumbbells, barbells, battle ropes – the convenience factor of being able to workout at your home is an undervalued fitness tool. The good old home workout means you don’t have to commute, you don’t have to dress to impress, and you don’t have to wait for machines to become available. You can literally just decide to workout and within minutes be walking the walk.

8. Stop Relying on Machines – Become The Machine!

The truth is, if you’re limited for space or money, you don’t even need equipment to get a great home workout. Sure having machines/equipment can help, but don’t let it hold you back from being able to workout when you don’t have access to a gym. You can do a great full body workout with nothing but your bodyweight. If you can become a master at moving your body how it was designed to move, you will always be in control of your fitness, regardless of your environment.

I hope these tips help you to devise a workout plan that you can actually comply with over the winter. No more skipping sessions. No more excuses. I wish you guys nothing but movement and warmth over the winter months 🙂

RELATED ARTICLE: How to Maintain Workout Motivation in One Simple Step