talkhealth Blog

Darker mornings and evenings, freezing cold weather and constant rain all make it very difficult to motivate ourselves into staying fit and healthy during winter.

If you’re struggling to stay inspired to stick to a fitness regime, or would just like to start being more active, here are some easy ways to achieve your goals this time of year.

1 – Take Public Transport

If you drive to and from work every day, plus sit at a desk all day, your body is not getting much of a workout. Instead, consider hopping the bus or train to work and, if possible, attempt to get off a stop earlier to increase your step count.

To increase your activity levels even further, you can also walk to and from the station if this is possible.

If you absolutely have to drive to work, try parking further away if possible to increase your step count.

2 – Try a free fitness workout at home

A gym membership can be expensive and if you’re not motivating yourself to go, it is wasted money. If you have space at home, head to YouTube, there are free videos available to stream for every ability. You can also find videos that require no equipment, stretches and workouts for beginners and loads more varieties.

3 – Track your steps

The recommended amount of daily recommended steps is 10,000, which can sound like a lot but you can achieve these with a few tweaks to your daily routine.

The first step is tracking your steps to help motivate you to hit your target. You should have a free tracker on your phone but there are also dedicated pedometer apps. Of course, you can also purchase a Fitbit or similar device too.

Once you’re all set up, try taking the stairs at work, walking to another colleague’s desk and commit to getting out of the office on lunch. If you’re at home, pop on a warm coat, take your umbrella and take a stroll around your local area to get your step count up.

Even light exercises like squatting while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil and lifting your legs at your desk can all contribute to staying active.

4 – Get an accountability buddy

If you have committed to the gym or a winter fitness regime, chances are you’re more likely to succeed if you share your goals and achievements with a ‘buddy’ or even complete those goals with them.

One study shows that participants who told someone about their goals had a 65% chance of completing it. This shot up to 95% if they committed to meeting up with that person in real life.

5 – Spend quality time with your friends & family

Staying active doesn’t always involve heading to a gym or forcing yourself to try a sport you just don’t enjoy. Did you know ice skating and bowling can burn up to 100 calories per hour? It doesn’t sound like much, but it all adds up! Plus you can make memories with your friends and family.

If you have kids, you can play for hours indoors and outdoors with them during the winter and also make chores into a fun game to help keep them active too.

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