Winter is coming, which means it may get tougher and tougher to get your morning workout in at the gym.  As the days grow shorter, and mornings get colder, hitting the snooze button over heading to the gym might seem like a no-brainer.

Fortunately, keeping up the habit of an active lifestyle when the temperatures drop has never been easier. Here we’ve included tips to keep your gym routine alive and boost your fitness to sustain you through a long winter of partying, panto, present shopping and let’s be honest, eating too much.

Make it social – Training with friends is one of the best ways to increase motivation and also accountability.  Making the commitment to train with someone else means you’ll need to keep to a set schedule, instead of putting off the gym until it’s too late to go.  You’ll also be pushing each other to achieve and enjoy your time training more than you would have done alone.

Give yourself a goal  – Setting a goal to work towards plays a big part in keeping motivated and focused.  You’ll have heard us say it before, and you can bet you’ll hear it again, because it really does work.  You can read a more in depth article on setting goals here ohlc.blog/goal-setting or speak to one of our fitness instructors when you’re next in.

Change your playlist – Something as simple as switching up your playlist can have a positive effect on your mentality while working out.  Research shows that the best music to exercise to has between 120 and 140 beats per minute.  Pick songs that make you feel pumped, energised and empowered, like you could conquer anything!

Try something new – It’s easy to loose motivation and fall out of your routine when you hit plateau and get stuck in a rut with your workout plan.  Trying new training techniques or trying that strange looking machine in the corner you’ve never touched before could help shake up your workout and keep it interesting.  We offer all OHLC fitness members free 1:1 training sessions with our instructors, this is a great way to learn and try something new.

Treat yourself to some new gym gear – New clothes that you feel good in will make you feel more confident while working out.  The investment should also motivate you to get your money’s worth!

And don’t forget… Summer bodies are made in the winter!