Stay Fit This Winter
Outdoor Fitness|December 2019
Stay Fit This Winter
Mark Bailey
Stay Fit This Winter

1.TEAR UP YOUR TRAINING PLAN

I keep a pretty regular training routine, but I think autumn and winter is a good time to be more flexible. That’s partly for practical reasons: if it’s pouring with rain all day, you might want to go for a swim indoors instead; or if you get a nice bright blue sky, it is worth getting out for a run instead of wasting time in the gym. But it’s also psychological: motivation is always trickier over winter, so being flexible means you’re more likely to do something rather than nothing. You don’t want to beat yourself up for not fancying a five-hour bike ride in sub-zero conditions, just because that was written on your training plan.

2. TRY DIFFERENT SPORTS IN DIFFERENT SEASONS

Over summer, I spend hours on my road bike but that’s not so good when the roads get icy and wet. So I hop on my mountain bike and head off-road instead. It’s great fun riding around the Yorkshire Dales in the mud. You’re keeping your fitness ticking over but you’re blasting through puddles and enjoying it. If you get muddy on a road bike, you’re annoyed. On a mountain bike, it’s just part of the fun. Plus, mountain biking builds leg strength and improves your bike-handling skills. If it snows, I’m straight out on the mountain bike.

3. REDISCOVER SOME OLD-SCHOOL ADVENTURES

This story is from the December 2019 edition of Outdoor Fitness.

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This story is from the December 2019 edition of Outdoor Fitness.

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