how can i get myself to exercise when it's cold?

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  • cincysweetheart
    cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
    edited December 2014
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    Excuses. Nothing but excuses. You have a gym membership and you have a fitness center at your apartment complex and you are still complaining about it being too cold to work out? Just be honest and admit that it's something that's not that important to you right now. And that's okay! It's okay to have different priorities at different times. And you don't have to work out to lose weight anyway. But be honest with yourself. If it was important to you, you'd find a way… even if it is cold. Bundle up long enough to get to your car so you can go to the gym… then you can strip down to whatever is comfortable for you to workout in. Guaranteed you won't be cold for long!

    Edit for typo
  • Therealobi1
    Therealobi1 Posts: 3,262 Member
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    i work from home and used to actually think i have no time to exercise. I now see i was just making excuses. Hopefully you will realise that soon and just get cracking. You are so lucky to have to walk 3 mins to a gym.
  • JenniDaisy
    JenniDaisy Posts: 526 Member
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    it's not because you're cold, it's because you're lazy. Seriously, you can't put on a coat and walk 3 minutes outside?
    How do you go to work? or the store?
    If you don't want to exercise don't, but stop making rubbish excuses.
  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
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    I think I know how you feel about going outside in the winter. I work from home and I literally will go whole weeks without stepping outside Between November and March.

    Having a contingency plan for working out inside your apartment will do two things:

    1. It will tell you if it's really the cold that's stopping you, or if you just don't want to exercise

    2. Assuming it's the former, it will give you an alternative workout for cold days.

    I'm sure you can find tons of bodyweight routines on the Internet. Push-ups, crunches, bodyweight squats and burpees are a good start.

    If you find your motivation is lower in winter for just about everything (not just exercise), it might be worth looking into the possibility that it could be seasonal affective disorder. It's common and very treatable.
  • Therealobi1
    Therealobi1 Posts: 3,262 Member
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    fitnessblender.com is a great website. this is what i use each day. i think the fresh air will prob do u good though to get out.
  • kk1084
    kk1084 Posts: 51 Member
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    I'm extremely sensitive to the cold as well. I'm cold in any temp under about 70! I also have Raynauds in my hands and feet, which makes it even MORE fun to be in the cold (ha ha). But I have never let that stop me from hitting the gym or getting in a good work out :) I find that the regret I feel in NOT getting in a planned work out due to reasons I could have controlled is worse than bearing the cold. If it's important to you, bundle up, hit the gym, sweat a little, and hurry back out to the car and into a HOT shower! :)
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    How do you feel after a workout? What is the reward?
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Tearaway pants.
    championshipchinos1.jpg&h=160&w=228&zc=1
  • tmm_0127
    tmm_0127 Posts: 545 Member
    edited December 2014
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    I load up on YouTube workout videos. Don't even have to leave the house!

    I'm a shut in. :'D
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    edited December 2014
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    Here in Canada, 53 degrees north, we have lots of tricks to keep us warm. I say be warm. Also, change in to warm clothes as soon as you return to your apartment. I bundled up in my couch blanket as soon as I got home from my run yesterday.

    Fingerless gloves:
    Grip-Factor-Gloves.jpg

    http://www.marks.com/shop/en/marks-marksdefaultsalescatalog/ladies/ladies-underwear/womens-thermal-underwear

  • TaoOfChow
    TaoOfChow Posts: 5 Member
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    I know what you're going through. I am very sensitive to the cold too, so what I have to do is work up a sweat to go work up a sweat. Seriously, do jumping jacks until your body is warm enough to make the mad dash to the gym! To waive my own freak flag - I work out inside on either my ski machine or exercise bike, and I don't take off my robe until I'm warm enough to handle it. But I do get warm enough to handle it, and eventually, hot enough to welcome the quick cool down!
    -
  • mpaulson89
    mpaulson89 Posts: 24 Member
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    great question, I'm glad you asked because I needed help too! Usually work out with a bootcamp at 5 am and lately it's been freezing outside so I just go back to bed.
  • TaoOfChow
    TaoOfChow Posts: 5 Member
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    Oh yeah, one more thing I do in winter to warm up fast is drink warm water instead of cold. Sometimes I put lemon juice in it.
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
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    Go when you're already out and about. Stop on your way home from work (take your gym bag with you and don't go home until you've hit the gym). If you don't work, stop after you've gone out to run errands or whatever else you do to leave the house.
  • lmr0528
    lmr0528 Posts: 427 Member
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    Remind yourself that once you start your workout, you won't be cold anymore!! You'll be too hot and sweaty, you'll wish you were cold still.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    snowflake930 wrote: »
    Like Nike says, "just do it".
    I am 63 years old. I live in Minnesota. In 2014 I have walked out side every day except one (it was -29 below zero, with wind chill in the -70's below). If you dress correctly, it is fine. Motivating yourself to go to the gym should be easy, you are doing this to be healthier, and that is a good thing.

    ^^This. Last winter was a bear, but I never missed going to the gym because of the cold. It's just an excuse, IMHO.
  • lisaanne1369
    lisaanne1369 Posts: 377 Member
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    Move to Florida, high of 70 today!
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    slemonfit wrote: »
    well there's a small fitness center in my apartment complex but the thing is that to get there i have to walk outside a while its not too far like 3 minutes but still being cold for that 3 minutes is really discouraging, the thought of going from indoors to outside really cold dressed up in shorts (i can only work out in shorts, i feel restrained running in any kind of pants), and i just cant get myself out the door sometimes. i dont really like bringing a coat because its not that far and there isnt really any place to put a coat (its a pretty small fitness room). i went today, but i still felt cold, i just get dressed in a tank, workout shorts, and i brought a small jacket with me but its still chilly

    sounds like a whole lot of excuses. i'm sorry that you have mentally made all of these restrictions on yourself.

    but i can sympathize. when i first started getting into fitness, i was similar. i didn't want to workout in anything but pants because i hated my legs, and long sleeve shirts because i hated my arms. but when it was cold out, i didn't want to bundle up too much for my runs.

    but i got over it. you should too. not wanting to take a coat on your three minute walk is very silly. and being sensitive to the cold? no one really likes the cold. bundle up properly, and get out there and work out.
  • Mrsc89xx
    Mrsc89xx Posts: 2 Member
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    I just use the New York Times 7 minute circuit workout. You can do this at home or anywhere. Weather is not an issue. If you need a longer commitment of workout time, repeat as necessary. It really works out well.

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