When it’s cold it can be hard to keep motivating yourself to
exercise outside. Yet I find there is nothing nicer than a bright cold
day to get out the house and just run your socks off. The first step is
always the hardest but if you wear a couple of layers to keep your core warm
you will find you quickly adjust to the temperature. If it is really
chilly, I always run with a pair of light gloves on and a lightweight hat or
beanie as I find cold fingers and a cold head hard to cope with on a long
run. With minus temperatures overnight you also need to watch
out for black ice on the pavements and the roads when you set off, I have
almost got caught out a couple of times over the last week. Remember to
also continue to drink little and often on your runs as even when it’s cold you
get similarly dehydrated without realising it.
At this time of year, I am not out cycling on the roads, I
am tucked up inside on my turbo trainer which is set up in my garage. I
know lots of cyclists are out still in this weather, but I am too worried about
skidding off and injuring myself so I am assigned to a couple of hours in my
garage on a Saturday morning for now. It was freezing in the garage at the
weekend but after a quick spin for five minutes I had a sweat on. The
trick to long cycling in the garage on a static trainer is to relieve the
boredom which thanks to the wonder of technology and gadgets is easily
done. While I play music and videos I especially love to ride
on Zwift, which is a turbo trainer game that you link your turbo up to your
computer and lets you ride with other cyclists in a virtual environment.
It may sound nerdy, and admittedly it probably is but don’t knock it until you
have tried it, it really is a fun way to exercise.
If you are still not convinced to running outside or
cycling in your garage then there are lots of warm gyms around Bath that will
welcome you with open arms. No excuses now, as it is far too early in the
year to break those resolutions.
