As the winter has drawn in, bringing with it darker mornings, colder temperatures and often an increase in lethargy, keeping fit and healthy under those bundles of layers often seems too much to ask. Motivation often wains as Christmas draws closer, and that ever prominent thought of ‘I’ll begin in January’ begins to circulate your mind.

But let me stop you there! Don’t let January dictate your health – break the trend! The phrase ‘Summer bodies are made in the winter’ rings a finer tune. Keeping yourself fit throughout winter will be of benefit in many ways; increasing your germ fighting processes, improving mood and keeping you warmer as you exercise! So where do we start?

Change up your routine
A new routine can help break down plateaus and boredom from your fitness training. Trying new exercises or a different activity all together during the winter months may well help adherence, giving you a different focus and learning curve. Likewise, mixing up your diet and trying out different foods can be beneficial. Swapping the summer salads for some winter vegetable soups or stews is a good healthy transition.

Try some classes
Structured classes are a great way of exercising within a group, and can help with accountability and morale during activity. Trying new classes is a great way of mixing things up, whether that be attempting some yoga, Pilates or a more intense circuits class to keep your motivation high this winter. Alongside classes, new sports and activities can increase motivation, adding in a group and, perhaps, a competitive element to exercise.

Set goals and monitor
Having something to aim for is vital if you want to persist over time, but if you stick with the same goal year in year out this can get monotonous. Why not push yourself to a new goal over winter – instead of trying lose ‘X’ amount of weight, try to work on a strength goal such as building up to performing push ups or pulls up, or a fitness goal such as improving your 5km running time or the distance you can cycle. Setting shorter goals more regularly keeps your eyes on the prize, and helps you to see frequent improvements.

Allow yourself a break
Allowing yourself a break from your fitness routine isn’t a bad thing. Depending on your goal, a break can often help you improve more, allowing the body time to rest and repair adequately. Having a structured goal helps with this, as you can add in a break when needed, or following a certain event or particularly intense activity week. A cheeky winter weekend break is never a bad thing!