It can be difficult to keep your motivation up with the training on the cold winter mornings and evenings. When it’s cold and dark outside, it’s tempting to stay inside instead of taking a walk in the gym or grabbing your running shoes. Especially when you also include the number of people who catch a cold and the chance that you yourself will get sick out in the cold. There are definitely some obstacles that stand in the way of your training.
Let’s take a better look at what you can do with your workout rhythm and nutrition to keep yourself on track and get in better shape over the winter.
WINTER TRAINING TIPS
# 1 Pack Yourself Ind
It sounds simple and a matter of course, but it is extremely important. When the temperature drops, your body temperature will be much colder when you enter the gym than during the summer months. This means that your muscles will be cold and tight. By wrapping yourself in warm clothes, such as jogging pants and a thick hoodie , you make sure you are warm, relaxed and ready for your workout when you step into the gym.
# 2 Warm Up
Wearing warm clothes is a good start, but it is still a good idea to warm up properly before you start strength training and lifting heavy weights. Be sure to take at least 3 warm-up sets with a focus on good shape to practice the muscle contraction and focus on the ‘mind to muscle’ connection. Remember that a good warm-up set prepares you for lifting heavy weights and should not pull you down or compromise your work sets. You need to lift about 40% of your 1 rep max for about 8 reps to get the blood pumping around and your muscles moving. So when you start lifting a heavy weight, you will not go in cold, which can increase your chances of injury.
# 3 Routine
Dark mornings and dark nights make it much harder to find the motivation to exercise compared to the summer months. It is important that you work hard to maintain a routine. Decide on a workout plan so you know what you are doing each week and you know what you are aiming to achieve.
Record your progress and set yourself goals. You may not have a beach vacation to prepare for, but that does not mean that you can not still strive for something, whether it is to increase the weight you lift or target the workout towards improving a particular body part. If you have a clear goal for your training, it will be much easier to find the motivation to achieve it.
WINTER Nutrition tips
# 1 Vitamins & Minerals
Winter always seems to be the season when everyone around you gets sick, and it can feel like it’s only a matter of time before you get sick too. Illness is one of the most disruptive factors that can get in the way of your training. So how can you change your diet to try and give your body the best possible chance of fighting unwanted bacteria?
A good start is to ensure that your diet is rich in fruits and vegetables as they are high in vitamins and minerals.
Vitamin D is especially important during the dark winter months, as this is a vitamin that your body usually gets from the sun. It is incredibly important for your immune system, and vitamin D deficiency can reduce your body’s ability to fight infections. Foods high in vitamin D include fish such as salmon and mackerel. These foods are also very high in protein, which is important for muscle growth and repair.
It may be a good idea in the winter to take the Complete Multivitamin Complex ™ every day, which contains a selection of over 30 vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin C, Magnesium and Calcium.
# 2 Avoid dehydration
When it’s cold, you’ll probably drink less water without even realizing it. It may seem less important when it is not hot and sunny outside, but it is still important for your health and well-being that you drink at least 2 liters of water a day. Water helps with normal body function, which helps your immune response, but it is also very important if you exercise as you will lose fluid when you sweat. Make it a habit to have a water bottle with you at all times, if possible, to ensure you get enough water to drink throughout the day.
# 3 Your macro
In the winter months, it’s easy to get a little out of training, and that’s okay. It’s good to have a balance and reward yourself, but avoid completely neglecting to pay attention to your macros. It can be very easy to turn to foods that are not so healthy, but try to maintain healthy habits in relation to your diet.
To do this, it may be a good idea to track your macros to make sure you are eating enough of the right nutrients.
Winter warming food
Fortunately, BULK POWDERS® has a range of winter warmers when it comes to nutrition that can help you keep track of your diet, as well as offer comfort on those cold winter evenings and mornings. Here is one you can try.
- Complete Protein Porridge ™ – with 22 g protein per. Portion and 35 g of low GI carbohydrates, making this product a great way to start the day with a slowly releasing energy source that fills you up.
Maintain motivation
The hardest part for many in the winter months is finding the motivation to keep exercising. It looks like summer is far away, so what are you training for? You need to find an answer to this question as it is what will motivate you to train and continue to develop. You might as well get the best out of a quiet gym before it abounds with new members in January.
About the author
Alex Genzel is passionate about health and fitness because he has been involved in a number of competitive sports from an early age. He has been writing about sports nutrition and training for a number of years together while pursuing his passion for bodybuilding and desires to become a certified personal trainer. In addition to writing for BULK POWDERS®, Alex also has his own blog where he shares his training experiences and advice on supplements.
