Don’t let the grey winter weather mess up your exercise routine! Get out of the house and into the gym with our guide to staying active during the rain, wind and snow.

Summer’s over and as the nights get colder and darker, all we want to do is hibernate. Watching mind-numbing TV and eating rubbish food might seem like a good idea for a few days, but it will soon make you feel sluggish, grumpy and demotivated.

Fear not! Virgin Active is here to help you through the winter months. With some great tips from our fitness guys, plus a host of exercise innovations, we’ll have you out of the house in no time. Plus, you’ll be looking fit and fresh in time for the Christmas party.

‘When we join the gym for the first time, we usually feel motivated, because we have a clear goal in mind’, explains Nick Hudson, National Fitness Manager at Virgin Active UK. ‘If, for instance, the goal is to drop two dress sizes, then the prospect of what we’ll look like when we reach this goal excites us. We picture the ‘new me’ and the positivity of this image is what keeps us going.’

‘Then’, explains Nick, ‘we discover that keeping up a regular exercise routine is tougher than we thought. It may even hurt at first. Plus, we don’t see results straight away, so our motivation starts flailing. Our goals get fuzzy, and we feel like giving up.’

At Virgin Active, we’re all about bringing the fun back into exercise so you won’t feel like throwing in the towel at the first hurdle. We’ve put five steps together to help you keep on track even when all you want to do is curl up on the sofa under your duvet.

1. Choose your journey

Forget the tired old mantra ‘no pain, no gain’. Rediscover how much fun it is to move. Put on your happy face, and remember how excited you felt when you first decided to join the gym and get your bikini body– from picking out your new gym kit to the exhilaration you felt after your first good workout.

2. Stop imagining, start moving

The key to success is commitment to a regular exercise routine. So stop pretending, and make it real by putting all your goals down on paper. That way, it feels more like a contract. Or if you prefer pictures to words, find an image that inspires you, jot down a few notes next to it and stick it on your fridge. Be specific about your goals and keep them outcome-driven. Also, write down how you’ll feel once you’ve reached your goals.

3. Spring into action

Now that you’ve chosen your journey, you need to find your rhythm and roll into action. Let’s say your immediate goal is to lose weight. That means you have to move more. Write down what changes you need to make in your life to reach this goal. For example, if you don’t exercise at all, you could aim to go to the gym at least three times a week. At the end of each week, look at what you’ve achieved and where you’ve failed. Consider the reasons for your failures – you may have set your goals too high and may need to revise them.

4. Take a holistic approach

At Virgin Active, we believe that a healthy lifestyle is all about balance. Get it wrong and you could be feeling low on energy and motivation. Take various factors such as exercise, diet, hydration, sleep, and mental health into account before making changes to your lifestyle. For example, if you’re stressed, sleeping badly and eating poorly, then choose your exercise carefully in order to reduce your stress rather than adding to it. Don’t overdo it, and do what you enjoy and what makes you feel good.

5. Don’t go it alone

When you’re a Virgin Active member, you’ll find plenty of like-minded people who will help you stay motivated and keep you coming back. Having a regular training partner whom you meet at the gym will help you commit to regular workouts, because you’ll feel like you’re letting them down if you don’t go.

Look out for new classes at Virgin Active over the next few months – and reward your hard work by coming to one of the Christmas social events!