M e m b e r Pe r s p e c t i v e
Don ’ t Let Winter Ice You
How to Stay on Your Fitness Wagon
by Andrea Kay
training plan that includes Shakin ' It , you ' re going to want to hit the sauna . It ' s just good sense . What feels better than really hot dry heat when you know it ' s 20 degrees outside ? Nothing , and you ' ll sit in that sauna with your 5k shakers and revel in how awesome you all look and feel and maybe even feel a little bit bad for all those people who are at home still wearing their winter coats even though they got home an hour ago . You know you all do it . There may be some days you want to skip this step , and that ' s ok , but just remember that Shakin ' with a sauna chaser is always better than without it .
4 . No list would be complete without my last entry . Yoga , but it ' s freezing out so I ' ll suggest Hot Yoga . I know , I know . I ' m such a nag . I ' m still going on about this yoga business , but I know there are still some of you out there that are still not convinced . Prove me wrong . Get all bundled up with your 5k shakers and head to a hot yoga class this winter . Commit to doing it for four straight weeks , and I guarantee you will be at the gym at least four more times than you would have been if you hadn ' t . I kid , of course , but you get my point . If you ' ve never tried hot yoga , or haven ' t been in a while , there is no better time to ( re ) start than in the winter , and it just makes sense to put yoga into your 5k winter training plan to stay bendy .
You know what I love most about fall ? It ' s not too hot or too cold , and the leaves are so lovely and better good hair days than bad hair days . Sure , I have to put away the flipflops , but it ' s not yet winter coat weather so getting outside to go for a walk , run , or even ride is totally doable ; I even look forward to it . The thing about the fall season is that it never lasts long , and those fall leaves blow away , and the days with frost on the car window outnumber the days without it , and then the ice on the sidewalk , and it ' s easy to slip right out of fitness on all that ice . Avoiding that slip is important because before long the leggings and Uggs turn right back into bikinis and flip flops . Poor decisions now will show bad results in the spring . Here are a few good decisions to help get us all started .
1 . I ' m going to start big and just say double down on the cold . Yeah , that ' s right . Just go ahead and sign up for some ridiculous mid-winter 5k . There are plenty of local runs that happen throughout the winter , or you know what , get crazy and sign up for one in NYC . Make a day of it with friends .
Yes , it ' s a bit outrageous , but it will definitely motivate you to keep on top of your training because running a 5k in the dead of winter is a little bit ridiculous , but running one in the dead of winter untrained is just plain torture . So get a few friends and find a fun 5k to sign up for , and get to training for it .
2 . Gather the friends you found for the 5k and add Shakin ' It to your weekly gym routine ( if you haven ' t already ). You know Shakin ' It . It fits all the criteria for a perfect cross training workout . It will elevate your heart rate , you ' ll sweat , and you ' ll tone your muscles in ways just running can ' t . Most importantly , you ' ll have a blast doing it . One class of Shakin ' It a week easily turns into two a week , which then turns into a class you will absolutely never miss , and what more could you ask for in January and February when you ' re trying to stay on the fitness wagon ?
3 . So after you ' ve gathered some friends , signed up for a February 5k together , and laid out a basic
I think we ( and by ' we ' I mean ‘ me ’) can all agree that winter just isn ' t as good as summer . It ' s cold and icy and then the not-fresh snow . It ' s just so easy to let things fall off and sit by the fire and commit to full runs of shows on Netflix , but fight the urge to do that . Find those friends and work your way down my list together . You ' ll be thankful you did , come spring when you overhear everyone else talking about how they wished they did .
Andrea Kay is a longtime FI member , Tri-Athlete , 50k runner and a frequent contributor to these pages .
Holidays 2016 FIT to Print
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