Winter is here! Believe in the benefits of outdoor fitness and you’ll never look back.
- Being in green space reduces stress
- Training outdoors is 30% better for mental health than training indoors
- Variable terrain makes us fitter and stronger
- Our body can’t get complacent so we achieve our goals quicker
- Indoor fitness is boring
These benefits exist whatever the weather, whether we are training under street lights or under daylight. In fact, there is a deep satisfaction gained by not letting weather beat you.
If you have struggled with exercise habits because you frequently give up with excuses such as “I don’t have enough time,” “I’m stuck at work,” “I can’t get the kids looked after,” these are valid, but we often don’t look hard enough for a solution. Make time, commit to leaving work at a certain time, arrange a babysitter. Every time you submit to one of these reasons your physical goals move further and further away. “I’m not going to train in that weather,” is not a valid reason, it’s just weather, and as Billy Connolly once said, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing, so get yourself a sexy raincoat and live a little.”
If you let that stop you doing what you want to do, where does that path take you? Be the person that doesn’t let anything stand in their way! Be the person that finds a way to get to their goal!
Here are some suggestions for how you can keep getting the benefits of outdoor fitness through the winter period.
Weather
Fabric technology these days is amazing; you can get ultra-light weight waterproofs at very reasonable prices. (Burn It Tech Pack)
Don’t make the mistake of wearing heavy clothing. Remember you are not going to be standing still for an hour and after 10 minutes you will have warmed up.
Wear layers of clothing so that you can remove / add layers as required. If you are looking to invest in some winter clothing then we recommend a good base layer under our Tech Pack. Last year some of our trainers taught sessions in just a base layer and a t-shirt.
It very rarely rains for the full hour, we can count on 1 hand how often that happens and we all know the weather is always worse through the window.
Snow is fun. Not turning up because is snow is literally robbing yourself of the most fun and effective workout, winter has to offer. Snow shovels and sledges at the ready!
Dark
In all of our locations there is sufficient street lighting to ensure the sessions are safe, and run without interruption. Take care when exercising; be a little more aware of your footing, icy conditions and fallen leaves make the sessions slightly more risky, but just as fun. A Burn It Instructor won’t leave the park until everyone has left or has suitable transport home.
Cold
Some of the equipment we use is steel, so getting yourself a pair of lightweight running gloves will ensure you can fully participate, it’ll also keep any windchill off your hands whilst running. When the ground gets frosty, the instructor will pick a safe route, again, just pay more attention to your footing.
Motivation
When it’s cold and wet outside you are going to find it harder to leave your warm cosy house. But nothing that was ever worth achieving was easy, right? You need to recognise that every workout you miss is a step away from your goals.
What are your goals? Why are they important to you? How will you feel when you have achieved that goal? How will you feel if you don’t achieve it? Is it possible to achieve your goal whilst sitting on your couch watching Stricrly whilst eating Doritos?
Writing down your goals will make it much more real for you. If you have a calendar start keeping track of every workout you do. If that gap starts to slip it will be a visual reminder for you to get out and do something!
At Burn It Fitness, your goals are more important to us than the weather!
