How Seasonal Changes Affect Your Fitness Routine

I love it when the seasons change. Except when it goes into summer, my least favorite of the seasons. I feel like it’s a good time to set goals for the next three months and it’s a doable timeline to accomplish things in, not too short nor too long. I also enjoy doing different things in different seasons.

I love hot chocolate in winter, but I have no interest in it in summer. Horror books are best to read in the fall, specifically October, because it fits the season best and even though you can read one whenever, a Christmas themed book will hit harder during that time of the year than in the spring.

In my experience, this is a fairly common occurrence. To change things up based on the seasons. However, I never hear about this happening when it comes to working out. Granted, in a lot of cases, the weather doesn’t always play a factor since a lot of people workout inside but there are other things to consider here.

The changing of the seasons will affect your motivation so rather than working against it, and insisting on the same routine year-round, why not consider changing it up based on the seasons and how they make you feel.

For me, I start to get cozy in the fall, I hibernate in winter, I am very active in the spring, and I am definitely mostly inside during the way too hot summer. However, in the past, I have always done the same sort of workout, and I never gave it a second thought because I work out inside. However, I have noticed that after doing the same thing over and over again, I get bored of it, and I lack motivation to continue doing it.

I never considered applying the seasonal changes to this but in retrospect, I have found this to be true as well. I work out the most in the spring, sometimes okay in the summer, my motivation falls off in the autumn and forget about it during winter.

What I want to experiment with now is finding a new set of workouts, and ways to work out and add movement to my day that fits in with how I’m feeling, and the level of motivation I have.

I like the idea of continuing to do my inside workouts during the spring. In the summer, I could try swimming. I enjoy being in the water and it would be cooler if I must be outside anyway, to be in a pool or a lake. This would allow me to get the movement in and the change of scenery but working with how I’m feeling in the season. It would also provide a good movement contrast to the spring, where I’m mostly working out inside.

The motivation to workout in the fall and winter is difficult to keep up. One thing I would like to try is doing more outside movement during the fall. I love watching the changing leaves on the trees, seeing them fall, feeling that crisp nip in the air, that distinct smell of autumn that comes as the season changes. I can do activity bundling here, where I go and drive around to find pretty parks and places and then go outside and walk and take photos. This could provide me with a natural way to add movement in my day while also keeping my motivation up.

As the days get shorter, I can walk during the beginning of sunset, which is my favorite part of the day, and just enjoy the moment or take more photos. I also like the layering that comes with autumn and feeling the cooler air helps me move more happily after a really hot summer.

As fall gives way to winter, things change. The daylight hours are so short that it’s nearly impossible to do something outside during this time. While in some cases, it might be possible to do morning workouts, that’s not really my personal style.

On the other hand, I love winter sports. Skiing and snowboarding, while fun, are too expensive to engage in routinely so they could be a special occasion event during the winter for me. Ice skating, on the other hand, is an excellent lower body workout with balance and flexibility focus as well. It’s also a fun activity to do together with loved ones but beyond that, it’s a workout that doesn’t feel like a workout.

The only thing that would make it better, for my introverted heart, is if I could do it without all the people at the rink, or better yet, have a rink I can create in my backyard. But in the meantime, it’s still a fun activity and you can, for the most part, avoid too much peopling, since most people are doing their own thing at the rink anyway.

If you’ve been feeling like you’ve been in a rut when it comes to workouts, why not try to add some variety by working with the seasons instead of against them?

What is your usual workout routine and what activity do you want to try to add this season?