Winter is coming…
Actually, it feels like winter has arrived early this year.
It’s cold and it’s wet here in Melbourne. I look out my window and the first thing I think of, is NOT let’s go to the gym.
So, it got me thinking…How many of you feel the same?
But, not only feel the same…How many of you allow winter to be your excuse?
It’s nothing to be ashamed of!
I’ve done it. I’ve allowed the excuse of winter to creep in to my life in the past.
The issue is not if you’ve ever allowed this to happen…The issue now is are you going to LET it happen this year?
It’s cold.
It’s wet/raining.
It’s dark when I leave work.
Yep, I know reading these you are probably thinking - No one would use “It’s dark when I leave work” as an excuse…but they do!
I can understand why.
It’s not motivating to walk outside after work and it’s already dark. It’s definitely not motivating to wake up when your alarm goes off at 5:30am, and it’s 5 degrees and raining.
But the questions you need to ask yourself are –
Do I want my goal enough to go anyway?
Do I want it so bad I'm going to the gym anyway?
At the end of the day this is what it comes back to. How badly do you want to achieve your goal?
You cannot rely on motivation!
Motivation will NOT warm you up or make it stop raining. Motivation will not carry you to the gym.
Motivation will come and go. It cannot be relied upon to get you to your goals.
So my top tips in avoiding a winter slump…
- Make sure your ‘WHY’ is strong enough! It must be something you want more than anything.
- You will NOT always feel like getting to the gym. Yes, it true, winter sucks! Accept this and move on!
- Don’t believe the hype around motivation! Motivation is great when it’s around – BUT it doesn’t stay around forever.
- Instead of relying on motivation – think about COMMITMENT! Commitment and education will help you through when motivation disappears.
- And finally – lean on your support network. If you train with other people, talk with them. I can guarantee you are not the only one struggling through winter.
If you don’t train with other people I highly suggest you do. Otherwise make sure you speak to the people around you, and make a commitment to them you will get to the gym ‘X’ number of times this week.
I hope these tips help you this winter. Remember these feelings are normal.
Winter will come around every year. We can’t escape it – so we need to put strategies in place to help us through. Otherwise we will start and stop year after year.
Court
