The winter is drawing to a close, and, we won’t lie, we couldn’t be happier about it at boot camp!
Warmer weather is far more conducive to doing good training sessions, (which is why we keep whisking campers off to Marbella to train in the sun!)
There are merits to training in the dark, the cold and the wet. Former European and Commonwealth 400m gold medallist Iwan Thomas always made a point of doing a particularly tough training session on Christmas Day.
He said he was convinced his rivals wouldn’t be doing the same thing, and he knew that by the time the summer track season rolled around, he would have a slight psychological edge because he’d been out doing hard reps in the depths of winter “while everyone else was sitting at home, eating peanuts.”
If you’re not a world-class athlete, motivation can be tough (it can be tough even if you are one – Iwan Thomas was notorious for partying particularly hard!). As we’ve talked about a lot on this site, maintaining motivation in the winter months can be hard.
There are times when the weather is simply going to get the better of you: when the rain is hammering off your window pane and you’d rather just close the curtains and stick the TV on instead.
We’ve given lots of tips for ways in which you can stay motivated and hit those targets- check out our blog about setting goals here, but the reality is, the vast majority of people will be carrying a little more than their ideal weight by the time the winter comes to an end.
There is light at the end of the tunnel, of course! The days are growing longer, the weather is getting (slightly) warmer and by the time we head into March, conditions should be generally better for going out and getting yourself into shape.
And it’s never too soon to start.
First of all, work out what’s motivating you this year. Maybe you’re doing the Great North Run, or similar, this year. Perhaps you want to lose a bit of weight for a holiday, or maybe you’ve been meaning to lose weight for a while and see this as the perfect time to start.
Then you need to work out what your goals are. What you want to achieve, and by when. If you want, you can share these targets with us via our Twitter feed – we can offer encouragement, hints and tips if you need them.
Then, you need to work out some sessions and get started. There are ideas for sessions on this blog: see our Advent Abs series of blogs for ideas for core strength exercises or our guide to achieving the perfect press-up, which both make great starting points.
Not every session needs to be structured, of course. You could just go for a short sharp run or cycle, as long as you warm up with a light jog first, and warm down with some gentle stretches once you’ve finished.
Just get out there and do it – and make sure you let us know on social media how you’re getting on!
