Here’s a typical scenario many of us living up north go through on a given winter morning. We wake up happy, ready to hit the gym or attend early yoga class, then proceed to look out the window and see it’s snowing heavily . . . motivation now gone. Not only has motivation been ripped out of our bodies, but new thoughts enter our heads; like, “Damn, I have to shovel out my car”, or, “Do I really want to go to the early class now?”
Many times this has happened to me, leading me either to skip the gym for a day or to reschedule a yoga class. Welcome to life of a New Yorker in the winter. This is one of the many reasons why so many of us New Yorkers long to retire to south Florida and forgo the unpleasantries of the winter season. But living in Florida doesn’t mean you won’t experience bad weather. A good heavy rain or tropical storm can wreak havoc on getting out of the house and also on your motivation.
I’m someone who does not like to miss a day training. So, over the years I have learned to find ways to overcome the attack of the motivation snatchers, by simply creating home exercise. Here are two home workouts that you can try:
1) Take a yoga class via your TV or computer. Most cable providers usually offer “on-demand” yoga classes—so set up your yoga mat in front of your TV and find a class you like. You can also easily find yoga classes online and stream them from your phone or tablet right to your TV, or simply watch them on your device.
2) You don’t need any weights to fit in a decent workout. Your own body weight is sufficient at home. Try a circuit rotation of Push-ups to Squats to Sit-ups. Depending on your strength and training level, rotate through the three exercises, doing ten reps of each, ten times around. If after that you feel you could have done more, add more sets. You can increase the number of reps for each exercise the next time you do this workout.
First and foremost, motivate yourself to get out of the house and get to your yoga class or to the gym. But in a scenario where weather conditions make it dangerous to drive or commute, then try these home alternatives! Always push yourself, no matter what scenario presents itself, and always stay positive!
Mike Arciprete is a New York City Firefighter, Certified PT and Health & Fitness coach. Mike is an avid cook and enjoys teaching about clean eating. He has been practicing yoga for ten years.
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