Tackle Toowoomba winter head on
Winter doesn’t mean you have to take the heat out of exercise.
EFM Health Club’s Sue Watson shares some tips on how to remain active over the cooler months.
Create a timetable
As most of us would agree, winter brings on a change to our lifestyle. Create a seasonal timetable and change things up by taking your gym clothes to work so that early morning workout you don’t want to get out of bed for becomes your afternoon ritual — no excuses: straight from desk to sweat. Diarise your workouts by committing yourself to a minimum number of workouts per week — it’s okay to set the bar a little lower in winter but just make sure you stay focused and committed.
Think about a training partner
Having a training partner can help a lot if your goals and motivation are on the same level, but sometimes it can work the other way and pull you down.
Use indoor training
If you want to burn some serious calories and give your metabolism a boost, then get on your bike — an exercise bike that is. Spin classes focus on strength, endurance and HIIT so you get an invigorating workout. Crossfit ticks a few boxes with weight-loss, strength, power, speed, stamina, co-ordination and flexibility. Treadmill running when it’s dark and gloomy can mean you’re in control of the tready, whether you want to be a speed demon or take a casual jog.
Mix up your training
If you are training for something specific then a training program needs to be monitored and changed every six to eight weeks. This is to ensure there are no signs of overtraining such as a decrease in performance, irritability, fatigue and increased illness just to name a few. For general training it really depends on your individual goals — if they change then your training may also need a change. If you become bored, look for something that will bring your motivation back. It depends on the session you attend, but at the most your training should take no longer than 60 minutes. Any longer and your body begins to produce Cortisol, which is released in response to stress.
Start well
Write yourself some goals, find a gym that you would feel comfortable to train at and ask for a free trial before you tie yourself into a contract. Hire a personal trainer to help show you the correct techniques and get you started with a good training program that will match the goals you have set for yourself.