As much as we love sweater weather, those cozy knits come at the price of chilly mornings and shorter, darker days. When your alarm goes off for a 6 a.m. workout and the weather app says it's below freezing, staying under the covers can feel like the only sensible choice.
So how do you keep moving when everything about winter says hibernate? Here are five ways to stay motivated, and why it's worth the effort.
Why keep exercising through the winter?
Nutrition is only one piece of the health puzzle, and movement is another big one. Exercise often takes more motivation than eating well, especially when it's dark at 5 p.m. and your bed feels like a warm burrito.
The payoff goes beyond a post-workout glow. A large review of randomized trials found that exercise, including walking, jogging, yoga and strength training, meaningfully reduced symptoms of depression, which is worth remembering in the months when many people's mood dips. Regular activity also keeps your fitness from sliding over the holidays, so spring doesn't feel like starting over.
If you need a target, the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity a week, plus muscle-strengthening work on two or more days.
1. How can you adapt to exercising outside in the cold?
Winter adds obstacles, but it's still worth getting outside when conditions are safe. In a systematic review comparing the same walk or run done indoors and outdoors, people who exercised in natural settings reported more energy, more enjoyment and a greater intention to do it again. The studies were small and short, so treat that as encouraging rather than settled.
A few things make cold-weather sessions easier:
- Dress in layers you can peel off as you warm up, and cover your hands, ears and head.
- Watch your footing. Icy paths are the real hazard, so slow down or pick a cleared route.
- Enjoy the change of scenery. A trail or park beats staring at a treadmill dashboard, and time outdoors is a break from stale heated air.
Being outside can also make it easier to settle into a rhythm. If your mind wanders, your legs may happily wander a little further too.
2. What should you do when the weather keeps you indoors?
If you can't adapt, change. Some days a blizzard or a sheet of ice simply rules out going outside, and that's a good excuse to get creative.
- Try a new class. Spin, hot yoga, pilates or a dance class can make a winter routine feel fresh.
- Balance high intensity with recovery. If you usually go hard, mix in yoga or mobility work to stretch out tired muscles.
- Do yoga at home. Plenty of free videos and apps will guide you through a session in your living room.
- Join a team. An indoor league gives you a competitive fix and a social reason to show up.
- Head to an indoor pool. Swimming or aqua aerobics works muscles in a completely different way.
3. Is it okay to slow down in winter?
Yes, and some traditions build it in. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, winter is associated with yin, the quieter, inward-facing side of the seasonal cycle. You don't need to follow that framework to borrow the idea: winter can be a good time for lower-intensity sessions, longer walks and more mindful training.
The point is consistency, not punishment. A gentler routine you actually keep beats an ambitious one you abandon in January.
4. Should you work out in the daylight?
If the dark mornings have you hitting snooze, try moving your workout to lunchtime or the weekend, when there's light outside.
Daylight seems to matter for mood. In one study of healthy men, the brain's production of serotonin was lowest in winter and rose with the hours of bright sunlight on the day of measurement.
Don't count on winter sun for vitamin D, though. In a classic study, skin exposed to clear-day sunlight in Boston from November through February produced no vitamin D at all, and the gap ran from October to March in Edmonton, Canada. If you live in the northern half of the US, food and supplements have to do more of the work in winter. Our guide to sources of vitamin D covers the options.
5. How does accountability help you stick with it?
Put a friend in charge of your accountability. Whether it's a fitness tracker or a real-life workout buddy, setting goals and sharing them makes them stick. A meta-analysis of 45 studies found that goal-setting programs had a medium-sized effect on how active people were, especially when goals were specific and paired with feedback.
Winter can be a great time to work toward a big goal, since there are fewer summer distractions. Pick something concrete, such as a spring 10K or a strength target, and write it down.
How can nutrition support your winter training?
Training in the cold still needs good fuel. A protein shake after a session is an easy way to support recovery, and So Lean & So Clean gives you 23 grams of organic pea and rice protein with no added sugar.
For dark early mornings, some people like a pre-workout. Renewable Energy has 90mg of organic caffeine plus an adaptogen blend; if you're new to pre-workouts, read what a pre-workout is and when to take it first. And if winter leaves you dragging, our tips on having more energy naturally are a good place to start.
It's natural to want to hibernate in the darkest months, but staying active will keep your body and mood in better shape all year round.
