LOOKING GOOD
FIT IN YOUR FITNESS Coach Adam has some timely advice on how to stay active over winter. WORDS ADAM BERRY IT’S WET … and this year it seems wetter than ever. It’s also cold, dark and dreary. What a joyful start to this article. Firstly, thank you very much for being here, and reading my article. I truly hope you find it useful and helpful, and if you have any further questions when you are done please feel free to reach out and drop me a message. My name is Adam Berry, also known as The Gym Starter, and I know winter weather well – because I’m English – and if we abandoned our fitness just because it is cold, wet and dreary we would have about a two-month window to get keep fit. Today I am going to tell you exactly how to balance your fitness during the winter months to hopefully give you some ideas and help you set some realistic expectations. There are three pillars you need to focus on: PILLAR 1: SLEEP When it’s dark outside we tend to hibernate a little bit more – and with this can come very different behaviour relating to your sleep. You might start going to bed later, and not wanting to wake up as early. The reason for this is likely down to reduced activity during the day – you will be out and about a lot less as you can’t do the outdoorsy things you enjoy and this will impact your sleep in two ways: 1. You will not feel as tired at bedtime. 2. You will lose sleep quality. It is important you improve your sleep hygiene. It is very easy to watch Netflix late into the evenings or scroll on your phone as you try to get tired, and this will impact the amount of deep REM sleep you get, combined with pushing back your bedtimes. What occurs here is then a compounding effect on your energy levels – lack of sunshine and warmth, lack of activity and poorer sleep means you will feel more tired throughout the day. Exercise helps you sleep. Sleeping helps you exercise. If you start with improving your sleep, you will kickstart the wheel to looking after your fitness during these darker months, and your motivation will return. PILLAR 2: EXERCISE Within your fitness regime it’s always very important to change your expectations based on the changing circumstances you’re facing.
40 covemagazine.com.au
– Issue 91
To expect the same output from yourself in terms of energy for working out might be doing more harm than good for you over winter. If you’re the type of person who gets energy from the bright sunshine it might be a good idea to have some self empathy over the winter months, and reduce the frequency with which you are working out, or the intensity, or both. Winter is only three months – which might sound like a long time, but it isn’t really, and you won’t lose all your progress in that time compared to giving up entirely. Then, once winter is done you can go back to what you did in the fairer weather. PILLAR 3: MANAGE YOUR DIET It wouldn’t be a fitness article without the proverbial ‘eat a balanced diet’ would it? But there is a reason a cliché is a cliche, because there’s always an element of truth to it. Fundamentally calories give you energy to do things. When trying to lose weight you restrict your calorie intake which causes a reaction in the body to move less. This is known as Metabolic Adaptation.
Your body is subconsciously moving less because it wants to stay the same … and this is one reason why dieting for weight loss can be difficult. If you’re struggling with energy in winter, and you’re trying to lose weight by reducing calories, then you’re compounding two problems. And lower energy levels will likely mean less adherence to your exercise regimen. Keeping your calories up a touch might be a great idea in winter. If you’re currently trying to lose weight, then take a ‘diet break’ during the colder months and bring your calories up to your Maintenance Calories – this will help you have more energy for exercise. You should also pick up your calories from nutrient dense foods, fruits and vegetables to help minimise the effect of the extra calories on your physique goals … this will positively impact your fitness too. In winter, the goal is to keep your energy levels as high as possible, then invest that energy into your fitness again. The pillars of this are exercise, diet and sleep, and they all impact each other. Prioritise sleep, as that will make the other two more likely to fall into place. thegymstarter.com
