How to stay motivated with exercise throughout autumn

Lots of people lose motivation for exercise when the clocks go back in the autumn.
Competitors taking part in a Tough Mudder event.Competitors taking part in a Tough Mudder event.
Competitors taking part in a Tough Mudder event.

The shorter days, darker mornings and colder nights can cause us to feel run down, low on energy and under the weather.

So, it’s no wonder that people just want to curl up in front of the fire and hibernate all winter.

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But, that’s not going to help your fitness, your waistline or your energy levels.

Being inactive will just make you feel more lethargic.

Getting your workout done will fill you full of energy. It will lift your mood and mental state and give you focus, alertness and increase your productivity.

You just have to get the motivation to get out of the house and do it.

Here’s some tips to get your motivation back and beat the winter blues:

FLIP YOUR MINDSET

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Instead of moaning about the cold weather, flip your mindset … this is one of the most beautiful times of year for scenery. Embrace the autumn colours, the crisp in the air, it’s one of the best times of the year to workout outdoors!

TREAT YOURSELF TO SOME NEW WORKOUT GEAR

When we look good, we feel good, and we feel motivated to do a little more. So, owning activewear that you feel comfortable in is really important!

A good tip is to get your workout gear ready the night before so you can jump straight into it when you get out of bed.

Or if you’re working out on n evening, get changed straight into it when you get home from work.

MAKE PLANS

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Just as with most things, setting out a plan to your goals is a great way to stay motivated. Instead of waiting for New Year's resolutions, start now to set those goals.

Whether it's to feel better about yourself, change your body or even just de-stress.

Once those goals are set, create a plan to get there even if it's just adding the workouts into your calendar – it'll give those sessions more importance.

Prioritis e your workouts, write them in your diary and make sure nothing stops you from getting it done.

REWARD YOURSELF

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Giving yourself a reward can really help with motivation. If you go out for a run in the rain or complete an outdoor boot camp on a cold night reward yourself with a nice hot cup of hot chocolate and a hot bath with epsom salts to soothe your aching muscles.

Obviously, be careful if you’re rewarding yourself with food, you don’t want to go over the top and consume too many calories so that your workout is counterproductive.

JOIN A CHALLENGE

Fitness challenges don’t have to be gruelling events like running through fields of mud, climbing over 8ft high walls and crawling under barbed wire.

As long as the challenge gets you out of the house and gets you active, then it is well worth doing.

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I’m running a free 300,000 Step Challenge throughout November.

The aim is to clock up 300,000 steps over the month (an average of 10,000 steps a day).

It’s not a massive number of steps but it requires you to be consistent with your activity levels over the 30 days.

If you’re consistent with your steps, come the of the month you’ll be in a good routine and feeling motivated going into December.

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The challenge is being run in a private Facebook group and is completely free to join.

Just go to www.facebook.com/groups/seahamshapeup for further information on the challenge

I’ll be providing simple and effective daily tips that can easily fit into your daily routine to help you reach your target of 10,000 steps per day.

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