As the leaves begin to blow and the temperatures start to fall, we tend to put our fitness and health goals on the back burner. Whether it’s not wanting to leave our warm houses to get outside and go to the gym or it’s the uptick in fall activities flooding your schedule, it’s no time to put your health goals on pause. Here are just a few ways you can continue to chase after your
health goals during this fall season.
Switching Up Your Workout Routine
If you’ve been training for any period of time, you know that once you find a workout routine that works for your body, you tend to stick to it. What we neglect to consider is incorporating new types of workouts. Especially if you go to the gym three to five times a week. It can seem like you’re just going through the same motions after a period of time. Just like your nine to five, continuously going through the same motions can get boring. That is perfectly normal; you’re only human and there is a solution. If you’re someone who enjoys doing various forms of fitness classes while you’re at the gym, you may want to try out strength and cardio exercises instead to change it up. There are many reasons to do strength and cardio training.
For example, if you’re participating in classes with the goal of losing weight, including some free weights in your next workout might help you more than you think. This is because building muscle mass can raise your metabolism by 15 percent. With fitness classes, you tend to do a little bit of cardio and strength training. While this can be great, dedicating entire gym sessions to a specific part of your body allows for more strenuous work on that area. It also allows for more time for recovery. There are many different types of workout splits you can try. Finding something new that peaks your interest and gets you excited to get back in the gym despite the chill in the air is perfect for boosting your health during these fall months.
Double Down on Self-Care
Your mental health is closely associated with your physical health. Especially during these beginning months when Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as seasonal depression, becomes common, we can use the extra help. Leaning into your self-care goes beyond just
relaxing. For example, getting quality sleep at night can be a great place to start, and is one of the biggest factors in improving your health. While this is not to be confused with getting more hours of sleep, quality lies in a few different aspects. For starters, falling asleep within 30-minutes and sleeping through the night undisturbed is what quality sleep looks like. In addition to sleeping, hiking a new trail to enjoy the autumn leaves, or baking a new high-protein treat can all be included on your fall self-care list. Trying out new recipes not only offers you a treat, it also allows you to stay on track of hitting your macro goals. While everyone’s version of self-care looks a little different, they all have the same
Goal – to reduce the amount of stress in your life. Cutting out as much stress as you can is
crucial in allowing you to hit all of your health goals.
Buy Some New Gym Gear
Changing up your style may be the final kick in the butt you need to get back on your health goals. Not only can having the right gear contribute to your sense of style while you’re at the gym, but it can also contribute to a successful workout. For example, staying warm on your way to and from your workouts—especially if you’re covered in sweat when you leave—can be vital to completing your session. For this reason, it may be a good idea to grab a new pump cover or oversized sweatshirt for the gym as the temperatures start to fall. Similarly, for those who typically wear glasses, making the switch to breathable contact lenses while you exercise can help to optimize your workout while you’re at the gym because you don’t have to worry about your eyewear falling off your face. The last piece of the puzzle you can try changing up is your shoes. As we all know, most of us have a favorite pair of shoes we love to train in. But, you
should think about adding a new pair into the rotation that excites you to wear them.
The Bottom Line
When the cold comes knocking on your door, you may find yourself struggling to get after your health goals. We assure you, that this is completely normal for this time of year. But just as you have relentlessly pursued your goals up until this point, this is no time to stop. With these helpful tips, we hope you find some that work for you to achieve your maximum potential. Even during the hardest months of the year.
Stay Strong Together
Jefit, named best strength training app by Sports Illustrated, Esquire, GQ, Men’s Health, Greatest, Forbes Health, and many others. We offer a community responsible for 92,000,000 workouts to date! The app, which recently passed 10 million downloads, comes equipped with a customizable workout planner and training log. The app also has ability to track data, offer audio coaching cues, and can share workouts with friends. Visit our members-only Facebook group. Connect with like-minded people, share tips, and advice to help get closer to reaching your fitness goals.
Read the scientific paper published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research using the Jefit app. Also, a great Jefit app review was recently published by MUO that can be found here.
