Keep Moving…
| October 4th, 2011
Once cooler weather in Wisconsin moves in, it can become hard to remain active and stay fit over the long winter months. The decreased amount of daylight does not help. The combination of these two factors can make coming up with an excuse NOT to exercise very easy. I know this from experience. We all know the health benefits of exercise, but how can we motivate ourselves to continue to be active over the long Wisconsin winters?
One of the best ways to stay motivated is to find a “workout buddy.” If you make plans to meet with someone at a set time and day, you make more of an effort to make it happen. You can motivate each other to stay fit. My workout buddy is my husband. He motivates me to exercise on days where if he were not there, I wouldn’t. I then turn around and become the motivator on days where he just is not feeling energetic. Sure, there are days where we help each other make some really good excuses not to exercise. But, more often than not, we help each other workout more than we would without the support person.
You should also wake up early and workout before going in to work. This does not work for everyone’s schedules, but if you can wake up an hour earlier and get your workout done at the start of the day, there are benefits. You feel more energized during the day, there are typically fewer conflicts or time demands at this time of day, and you free up time later in the day for other activities.
I recommend you vary your workout routine. Keep exercising exciting and fun by not doing the same routine every day. I often recommend alternating high impact activities (such as running, tennis, basketball) with lower impact activities (such as elliptical use, swimming, exercise bike) to help maintain joint health. Too much high impact activity can increase your risk of many orthopedic complaints such as shin splints, stress fractures, tendonitis, etc.
Go ahead and join a gym. Once you are at the gym, other distractions are limited. Many places of employment are also offering access to an exercise facility on site. This is optimal because you can use the facility even before you leave work and get home where, as we all know, there are many distractions.
Many people I know are also utilizing applications on their smart phones as a motivator. Some applications track running routes, showing how far you ran, how fast, elevation changes, etc. and map your route out on your phone. Your workout history is saved and can even be posted on social web sites such as Facebook. That way, you can even have a “workout buddy” that is not in the same city. You can post workouts to each other to help motivate one another. This does not have to be all running related. Some smart phone applications can be used to log different activities such as hiking, walking, canoeing, really anything. There are also web sites available where you can log your workouts and post them to others; this is not a motivator limited only to those with smart phone access.
I volunteered at the Fox Cities Marathon this year and saw many people wearing shirts that asked “what moves you?” and left an area for them to write in their own reasons. Many wrote in the names of family members. Improving your health is a great way to show loved ones you care. There were many other reasons people had for becoming more active. With the approaching cooler weather and shorter daylight hours, the question remains: what motivates you to remain physically active?
Anne Schultz received her bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences and her master’s degree in physician assistant studies from Marquette University. She is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. As a physician assistant, Anne provides diagnostic, therapeutic and preventative healthcare services to patients under the guidance of a physician. When working with patients, Anne said, “educating patients about their condition and treatment options is essential to achieve the best results.”
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