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How Steph Claire Smith is planning to keep motivated and stay active this winter
Yep, winter’s here. It’s cold, it’s wet and sticking to a workout routine gets a hell of a lot harder. It becomes so much more difficult because there’s less daylight, a much higher chance of rain and we can’t just step out in shorts and a tee.
Like anyone, I too suffer from the winter motivation slump, a byproduct of the above factors. Don’t go thinking that I’m motivated 24/7! I am right with you on the struggle of trying to pull yourself out of bed to and find the motivation to move in winter.
I actually found out a few weeks ago, that the winter blues are a legitimate thing. There’s actual psychology behind it all which I got to learn all about on our KICPOD episode with psychologist Bec. If you want to find out a little more about why you’re feeling more flat in winter you can listen to the episode here.
So when it comes to moving my body this winter, I know that it won’t be easy, but I ALWAYS feel so damn good after. So simply reminding myself of how exercise makes me feel is going to be a key thing to help keep me going.
Alongside this, here are five other things I’m going to do to help keep me accountable and get me motivated to move over the next few months.
1. Complete the Workout in Winter Goal Setting Journal
Goal setting is such an important exercise which I love setting aside time for. It helps to guide my focus, direct my actions and sustain momentum – and this is exactly why I have and will continue to set aside time to complete the Workout in Winter Goal Setting Journal over the next few months.
If you weren’t already aware, as part of the Workout in Winter Challenge the incredible KIC team created a goal setting journal which is designed to help you define your WHY to give your movement more purpose, direction and keep you motivated this winter. You can download your copy here.
2. Schedule my workouts
Regardless of the time of the year, setting aside time for movement can be SO hard with the pace of our modern day lives and it becomes even more challenging when you’re also caring for a tiny human (shout out to all my fellow mummas).
However in winter I personally find it SO much harder to commit to movement and so that’s why I’m going to be strategic about when I schedule my workouts.
On the days that I’m home or am WFH I am going to schedule my workouts during the day. That way it’s the warmest and brightest part of the day and I’m not dragging myself from my warm and cosy bed!
On the days that I’m not home or in the office I am going to schedule a shorter 15 minute workout first thing in the morning. Keeping the workouts shorter in the morning means I get a little more time with Harvey.
It’s all about finding what is going to work best for YOU.
3 Checking in with the KIC community
Our KIC community members are a bunch of legends. Their energy, honesty and support towards one another makes it a seriously special community to be a part of.
To help boost my motivation this winter I am going to harness the energy of the KIC Facebook Community. By checking in with the community I’m also going to feel increased accountability and camaraderie as we take on the Workout in Winter challenge together. The simple fact of knowing that we’re all taking on the challenge together and continuing to move our bodies over the winter months is a seriously powerful motivator.
Don’t underestimate the power of community.
4. Make some killer new playlists
I love working out to my favourite tunes. Music gets me pumped up and I know that whenever I’ve got a brand new playlist I get so excited to hit play and dive into my workout.
So knowing that music has an epic impact on my motivation to move, I’m going to make some new playlists for this winter. New playlist = instant motivation boost. I’m going to make sure that each playlist features my all time favourite workout tunes so that when I hit play all I’m going to want to do is get up and move.
Music is an instant mood booster and so when paired with a workout (another mood boosting activity) you’ll come to the end of your workout overflowing with endorphins. So get those tunes pumping!
5. Get organised the night before
Far too many times I’ve rolled out of bed with the best of intentions to workout only to find that I need to head to the laundry and pull out a clean pair of leggings from the dryer. Not only does this waste valuable time, but it gives me more time to psych myself out of my workout.
So this winter I’m going to try my very best to have my workout gear ready to go for those days when I’m working out first thing in the morning. It’s a simple thing, but honestly makes the biggest difference.
With all of this said, I am not perfect and I know there will be days where I won’t move my body and that is totally okay. The most important thing is that I am doing whatever I can to set myself up to keep moving throughout winter as it does wonders for my mind and body.
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