How I stay motivated to train throughout Winter - Movember 10k

Last Sunday's gym... loveee running when it's crisp outside

I've been reading a lot lately on how to stay motivated throughout the winter months, as it's something I can really struggle with. My newsfeeds have moved away from beach photos, people getting stronger and more confident for their summer holidays, and instead has been replaced with cosy fire scenes, mulled wine and hearty, warming food photos. It's the most cliched thing, but the dark and rainy mornings, cold (and even darker) early evenings, and a hectic social life can really play havoc with my desire to get out and train.

I was really struggling for motivation mid-October, just before the clocks went back and when the mornings were exceptionally black. I wasn't training half as much and when I was, it was half-arsed. I could see my progress slowing and became agitated with my attitude.

credit: Pinterest

Over the past month, I've really made a conscious effort to up my training game and get back on it in the run up to Christmas.

I've not been perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I have made a conscious effort to maintain a regular exercise routine, and am actually happy with how I've managed to keep at it.

So if you're looking for that little bit of extra help with some motivation before Christmas, here's what I've been doing to stay on track...


1) Giving up alcohol

Yep, I've been 'that' person this month, giving up alcohol throughout November to do 'Dry-November' ("is that a 'thing'?" people ask. No, and I am well aware of that, and it's been hard!) I promised myself I'd be kinder to my body before the madness of Christmas kicks in and I'm 20 days in so far! I'm going to do a separate blog post dedicated to this, so keep your eye out for it but as I'm sure you've guessed, a lack of hangover has meant it's been far easier to train.

2) Indulging in 'the best' 

So I might have given up alcohol but believe you me the treats have been non stop this month. Knowing my social life was going to pick up means I've eaten out loads, which has also kept me motivated to keep on training.

Whilst I usually make a balanced choice eating out, for me, it's also important to treat yourself. Hannah from Wedges and Weights passed off some great advice at her festive supper club last year, and one of the key pieces of advice was about indulging - indulge in the best treat that you want every now and then, so that you don't constantly feel like you want more.

3) Preparation 

I've mentioned this in a previous post about fitness motivation (FYI this has a list of morning gym motivation tips if you're struggling here...), and I still stand by this one. It's so important!

If I'm going to the gym in the morning, I pack allllll my gym kit, work bag, work clothes, spare clothes (if I'm out after work) the night before, and make my lunch and breakfast for the day ahead the previous evening too.

Choosing my outfit for the next day is such a time saver as I faff about what to wear all.the.time. I also like to have everything packed up and ready to go as usually, I'm the only one awake and don't want to wake anyone up! Packing ahead also (perhaps more crucially) means that I can spend more time in bed asleep so is always a winner for me.

4) Pre-book

In a similar vein to preparation, booking on to various classes, races, events (whatever floats your boat!) is a great way to keep you in check.

At the Men's Health 10k Survival of the Fittest

In the past month, I've done the Men's Health Survival of the Fittest 10k and today, the Mo Running Movember 10k, which has 100% absolutely played a part in motivating me to train!

My motivation for training for this was definitely increased as the Movember PR team asked me if I'd like to take part in the run to raise awareness for the charity (I still bought my t-shirt to donate to the charity, it's a great cause!).

The run was at Heaton Park but the Mo Running team have organised 17 runs up and down the country throughout November to support, raise awareness and money for the Movember Foundation, which aims to 'stop men dying too young'. It's an amazing umbrella charity that wants to take on key global health issues that are affecting men worldwide - prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. It's not just about trying to grow a mustache!

We did really well in the race (which was muddy, slippy, narrow and hilly! ~getting those excuses in now~), coming in 62nd and 63rd out of over 400 runners, at 50mins 31secs - a time I'm happy with! I'd love to get this down to sub 50 though, 45 minutes would be insane.

Booking onto an event and committing to it gives me a set goal to work towards, which helps me focus and gives me a kick to keep it up at the gym. Crucially, it also gives me purpose which in turn makes training feel worth something. This definitely works for me.

Like I said I'm not perfect and there have definitely been a days over the past few weeks where the morning gym alarm has been snoozed (or called off altogether), so if you have any other winter workout motivation advice, pleeease share them with me!

Franks x

Current Favourite HIIT Workouts

Over Christmas, like many I didn't have access to a gym, but still wanted to keep fairly active over the festive period - mainly to offset the barrage of wine and Stilton I planned on enjoying!

To get the smugness out of the way quickly, I impressed myself by getting a few 7 / 8 mile runs, a couple of 10ks and a cheeky Parkrun in, and it was really nice to be able to get out so much. Normally in Winter I'm restricted to running on weekends, so it was good to have the freedom during the day to pound about.

Running 10k over the holidays

In true British style, the rain over Christmas was sometimes too much to bear, so I used HIIT training to mix things up.

I'm a massive fan of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), and incorporate it into my regime at least three times a week. More on the benefits of HIIT here and here.

I thought I'd note down a few of my fave workouts at the moment, in case you fancied some inspiration over the coming weeks. The workouts below include both home and gym based workouts. Obvs, I'm not a PT, I'm just sharing what I've been doing for the past couple of weeks. If you're not already, get on and follow the bloody gorgeous Joe Wicks on Insta etc, as all his HIIT workouts are great. He got me into it in the first place, especially the first workout..

Workout 1
Equipment: treadmill
This is my absolute go-to for a 'killa' workout if you're pushed for time.

Naturally, you'll need to adapt the sprint speed to suit you, I usually set this to between 17 - 18kph (18 being really challenging for me).

• 1 min walk warm up
• 2 mins run 11kph
• 45 secs sprint at desired speed level (17 - 18kph)
• 30 secs rest
• 45 secs sprint
• 30 secs rest

.. repeat until you hit 20 minutes. Trust me, it's an absolute beast. I love it.

If you've not done sprints before, or don't feel comfortable hopping on and off the treadmill edges, speak to someone in the gym - I did this when I first started because I wasn't confident with the speed, and getting someone to walk me through it really helped.


Workout 2 
It has two parts to it, A & B, and takes me around 40-45 mins.
Equipment: treadmill, weighted barbell, kettlebell, bench
I do these sprints with the treadmill turned off, to make it really tough. I grab the front handles of the treadmill, and push until the belt moves, then run as fast as I can (with my hands still gripped) for 20 seconds.

A)

• Treadmill (turned off) sprint for 20 secs
• Rest 30 secs
• Treadmill (turned off) sprint for 20 secs
• Rest 30 secs
• 10 barbell weighted squats (I'd probably use a 20kg barbell) - pulse up and down 5 times at end
• 10 Burpees

Repeat 5 times

B)

• 10 dips on a bench / chair
• 10 kettlebell swings
• 10 deadlifts (use the barbell for this, adjust the weights as necessary for you, I'll increase the weight here)
• Upper body get ups (sometimes called moving planks)

Repeat 5 times

Workout 3

This one's adapted from one of Joe's, it's a ladder workout and great to do at home as all exercises are bodyweight based. 

The method for this one is easy.

10 secs on, 10 secs off (each exercise).

20 secs on, 20 secs off,

30 secs on, 30 secs off,

40 secs on, 40 secs off,

30 secs on, 30 secs off,

20 secs on, 30 secs off,

10 secs on, 10 secs off.

You do as many of the below in the time available. Once you've completed all the exercises, you adjust the time. 

• Burpee tuck jumps
• Mountain climbers
• High knees
• Press ups
• Squat jumps
• Lunge jumps
• Plank

So, you'd do each of the above exercises for 10 seconds, resting for 10 seconds in between each exercise, then move on to 20 secs and so on. 

This one's sneaky; you're doing burpees for ten seconds thinking what the hell is all the fuss about, but just you wait until you're on 30 / 40 seconds. I had to remind myself not to get cocky!

If you have any favourite HIIT workouts, send 'em my way!

Morning Workout Motivation

image credit: http://running-copenhagen.dk/tours/morning-running-tour/

I am not a morning person. By any stretch of the imagination. So you can understand why I find getting up for the gym in the morning before work a struggle. Especially in the winter when it's pitch black and bloody freezing.

..and your bed looks like this.

Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of getting up early before the masses; seizing the day and packing in a few extra hours of productivity or leisure (and isn't there something so unbelievably smug about doing this, hangover free, on a weekend?!), but I'd be lying if I said I found it easy.

Which is why I wanted to share my tips on how I drag my arse out of bed when the alarm goes off at an ungodly hour. I think it's especially relevant as we enter the festive period; there are post-work events and evening dos coming out my ears, tempting my post-work workouts away, making morning workouts all the more important.

1) Get everything packed and ready

Packing my bag the night before saves a good fifteen minutes of faffing in the morning (read, an extra fifteen minutes in bed), and means you can just throw your kit on and get out the door. 

I pack everything so my bag is ready to be grabbed in a bleary eyed hurry the next morning, without me having to think about whether I've packed a bra or deodrant (forgetting your towel and having to dry yourself with your sweaty gym leggings is never ok).

2) Don't wash your hair the night before 

Something I find that spurs on my morning gym routine is not washing my hair the night before. Is that gross?! I would never usually wash my hair on a weekday morning as it takes far too long. So, if my hair could *probably* do with (/really needs) a wash, I purposely won't wash it the night before, as it helps me get up and get to the gym, where I'll wash it quickly (for some bizarre reason I'm always about ten times faster in the gym shower than I am at home. Why?!?). Whereas if I have freshly washed hair I'm less likely to go. Bizarre, but it works for me.

3) Go with a friend

I went through a phase of going swimming before work, and my god it was made so much easier going with a friend. We'd arrange to meet at a particular time and go together. No one wants to be waiting on their own in the dark or cold, and no one wants to be that friend who lets your partner in crime down. 

4) Plan your workout 

If you know what you're getting up for, it instantly gives you more purpose and drive, I find. I tend to map out my workouts the night before, jotting down the areas of my body I'll focus on, and specific workouts to do. I find Instagram really useful for workout inspiration (hashtags like #wod, #workoutoftheday, #hiitworkout, and accounts like @thebodycoach are good places to start). 

5) Reward yourself with your favourite breakfast 

I always have a really hearty, tasty breakfast on training days. If I train in the morning I'll train fasted, and I always look forward to eating my overnight oats at the office! 

Plus...you get to post smug Instagram photos such as the one below!

These points help me get up and at em on a weekday morning, you might have even better ones - I'd love to know if so!