At this time of the year we have many conversations with people expressing a sense of relief that longer days and better weather are on the way.
They’re happy to be able to get back onto their fitness plans after the limitations of the Winter months.
Which is great.
Returning to exercise / activity always feels positive.
But should it be a return to exercise?
Or an evolution of what’s in place now. Assuming there is something in place currently.
Getting back to exercise always feels positive once we’re up and running (pardon the pun) but it can feel like an effort every spring. It might even feel like starting from scratch, depending on how long you've been out of the habit.
And sometimes this thought is enough to put people off.
Especially when you acknowledge that the exercise ‘off-season’ can actually be quite a long period of time.
People often say to us that they don’t do much during the winter, thinking that winter is a matter of a few weeks.
In reality, we see people tail off with activity when the clocks go back an hour in the UK, which is at the end of October, and then pick up again when British Summer Time begins which is at the end of March.
So, in reality ‘winter’ can bring with it a 5-6 month hiatus for exercise.
Which is why it can feel like a struggle to get going again.
Breaking the stop-start cycle
The best way to create sustainable results is to give some thought to a 12-month schedule of activity that suits you and your attitude to the seasons - wherever you may be in the world.
So, for someone in the UK, the routine could look like this.
Winter
Gym or home workouts, core training, stretching, indoor cycling, yoga, Pilates
Spring
Running, swimming, gym or home workouts, core training, stretching, park workouts, yoga
Summer
Walking, running, cycling, park workouts, open water swimming, team events like softball in the park
Autumn
Running, swimming, gym or home workouts, core training, stretching, park workouts, yoga
As you can see, there are plenty of options for activities throughout the year and no reason to ever be forced by weather or daylight to take a break.
And if you follow our usual advice of checking your weekly schedule to finalise the list of options that will work from the above list, you’ll always be on track.
Seasonal sleep and flexible food
While you’re in this planning mode, give some thought to seasonal adaptations you might want to make to your sleep schedule and your food routine.
We’ll explore this further in some posts to come but as a rule of thumb, you may benefit from a little more sleep during the winter months and there’s no excuse for scrimping on fresh fruit and veg at any point of the year. If you’re a fan of fruit and salads in the warmer weather, simply replace these with soups and stews at other times of the year.
As always, a little bit of forward planning will make both eating well and getting the appropriate sleep much more straightforward.
Deep-dive into seasonal wellness
If the idea of seasonality interests you, listen to this podcast from my good friend and amazing leadership coach Maya Gudka: