Couch to Pavement: how to establish a winter routine
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Let’s break the winter cycle.
Welcome to our new ACTIVE series called Couch to Pavement. Visualise us sitting on the couch (in our Ugg boots), chatting about winter wellness. Why? Because finding an “activity rhythm” is your long-term insurance policy.
Establishing a new winter routine is exciting; however, it’s also intimidating (for some). Research suggests that “most” people aren’t getting enough exercise, and studies indicate that during the colder months, people exercise for less time, are less motivated and reduce active travel. So, how do we motivate ourselves from our warm, cosy couch to the pavement – especially when the habits haven’t been formed before winter really hits?
Making movement part of your daily routine doesn’t have to be complex. Tiny, consistent changes can make a huge difference to your lifestyle and wellbeing.
I asked our JIM Belconnen (a new infrared fitness studio) community what helps keep them motivated – and the two top responses were:
- Have a weekly plan
- Set a short-term goal.
A quick recap – in part one of Couch to Pavement, we discussed:
- Monitoring sedentary behaviour. It’s often the little movements that count – getting active by vacuuming, gardening, cleaning the car, etc.
- Find a fun group. There are lots of indoor activities to embrace over winter, such as Aquacise, Pilates, yoga, Hydrolates (Aquatic Pilates), 10-pin bowling, dancing, indoor rock climbing/bouldering, indoor futsal, and infrared workouts in 40-degree heat.
- Layer up. Comfort is king. If you do love working out outside in the elements, be organised.
- Hydration. Many people forget to drink enough water in winter and then wonder why they feel depleted post-exertion.
Here are four tips that you can use straight away:
Short term planing
It’s a simple question: when is the best time for you? Set a time each day when your energy levels are highest. If we know our barriers, then it’s easier to overcome them.
Sure, long-term goals are great. But let’s get through winter and get some consistency first. If we don’t have a base to work with, our plan won’t stick. Maybe you need to embrace the cosiness, and do your workout inside?
Schedule recovery days
There’s no point in finding a rhythm if it’s not sustainable.
In elite sport, recovery days are planned with the same precision as training load. Planning your “activity rhythms”, scheduling lighter days, and building regular recovery windows into your weekly routine isn’t indulgent – it’s what allows us to adhere to our rhythm. There are plenty of recovery centres that are opening around Canberra. Which one is your favourite?
Share your short-term goal
Sharing your exercise goals can boost accountability and motivation if you tell the right people. Personally, I like to have a few different groups, depending on what type of movement I’m tackling (trail running friends, hiking/adventure friends, JIM friends, tennis friends, riding friends, etc).
Who’s your accountability buddy?
Schedule a warm-up before you leave home
Do you warm up before your planned session?
Prehabilitation and preventing injuries will keep you consistent. A scheduled warm-up won’t completely shield you against injury, but it will lower your overall risk. Here’s a leg strength warm-up workout to assist your hips and legs. I’d recommend scheduling this program before you step out the door – warm the body up before you hit the pavement. Once you get moving, the endorphins will kick in, making it easier to finish what you’ve started!
For those interested, here is a Pre-Exercise Screening System User Guideline.
How can we make your weekly activity rhythm consistent, sustainable, with small, attainable, and achievable goals?
Until next time!
