Tell if this sounds like you. You’re in a solid and consistent routine and making progress on your fitness goals and then all of a sudden, the days get shorter and colder. You lose your motivation. The couch seems so much more inviting than going outside in the cold. This happens to me every single year. Let me tell you, I am counting down the days until the daylight stays beyond 6pm (16!).
In the mean-time I am trying to fit in activities wherever I can. Lunch break and not freezing? Go for a walk. Collecting the mail? Go the long way and take the stairs. I am planning on joining the gym soon so I can attend classes, but have been hesitant due to COVID. With any luck, my vaccination appointment sticks and I can feel more comfortable with the idea in about a month. I need to get back to working out regularly!
What are your best tips for fighting off the early days and staying active?
It has been a while since I’ve posted! My apartment complex has opened the small gym back up, but I still have not felt comfortable going due to coronavirus concerns so I have been focusing on running.
I have officially completed the Couch to 5k program! My 5k time is slow compared to the amount of time the app gives (they have it as 30 minutes), but I can successfully jog a 5k without stopping. My next goal is to complete the Couch to 10k program. I will need to figure out when to fit the runs into my schedule now that I am back in the office, but I think it will be manageable. This portion of the program is 5 weeks long, so hopefully I’ll be running a 10k soon! I still plan to repeat weeks that are too tough, so who knows how long it will actually take me. If I am successful, I plan on getting myself fitted/analyzed for new running shoes as a treat.
I knew looking at the program that it was not actually a beginner program. I’m no marathon runner, but I am definitely better at running than when I first started so I thought I would be okay. I was wrong. I ended up with terrible shin splints, which have never been an issue for me. I am not saying it’s the program’s fault, but it absolutely ramps up too quickly.
If you’re not familiar with this program, it is a 3-week guided training that is meant to be for beginner runners. It is available through Fitbit Premium and I gained access to it through the 90 day free trial they were advertising. Here’s the breakdown of the second half. Check out my previous post for the first half!
Week two workouts:
Day 1: Start Jogging- Alternate between a medium walk and a jog for 29 minutes. Estimated calories burned: 147
Day 2: Jogging Mindfulness- Warmup with a medium walk for 3 minutes. Power walk for 9 minutes, jog for 8 minutes and then complete a cooldown walk for 3 minutes. Estimated calories burned: 147
Day 3: Going Steady- Warmup with a power walk for 3 minutes. Jog for 5.5 minutes, walk for 2 minutes, jog for 6 minutes, walk for 2 minutes, fast jog for 6 minutes and cooldown with a stroll for 3 minutes. Estimated calories burned: 148
Week three workouts:
Day 1: Going Steady- Warmup with a power walk for 3 minutes. Jog for 5.5 minutes, walk for 2 minutes, jog for 6 minutes, walk for 2 minutes, fast jog for 6 minutes and cooldown with a stroll for 3 minutes. Estimated calories burned: 148
Day 2: Jog It Out- Warmup with a walk for 2 minutes, medium walk for 2 minutes, power walk for 7 minutes, medium walk for 2 minutes and a cooldown walk for 3 minutes. Estimated calories burned: 90
Day 3: The Joy of Jogging- Warmup with a medium walk for 3 minutes, jog for 30 minutes and cooldown with a walk for 3 minutes. Estimated calories burned: 175
My biggest criticism (aside from my poor shins) is that there is no room for flexibility. You pick the days in the beginning of the program that you want to complete the runs on. If you complete one of the runs on a different day, it will not count. They need to incorporate a rescheduling feature because life happens and things get in the way.
My other main criticism is that again, this is not really a program for beginners. The last day has you jogging for 30 minutes. Before that day, the longest stretch is 8 minutes. There needs to be more of a transition.
I also have to ask, what’s up with week 3 day 2? It’s called Jog It Out, but it only makes you power walk.
If you are actually a beginner and want to start running, I highly recommend trying Couch 2 5k instead. There are a ton of free apps for it and it is much better with pacing for a beginner. I even decided to start it again to hopefully warm my body back up after having issues with my shins. I took a week off, and am now on week 2 of the program. So far, I’m pain free!
If you’ve tried any running programs that you recommend or even any of the Fitbit programs that you have enjoyed, let me know!
Fitbit has given out 90-day free trials of fitbit premium, so I decided to try it. I have been working on improving my running so I wanted to try their Beginner Running program. Plus, it has an added bonus of getting me outside, which we all need right now (I am still keeping my distance from anyone while I am out-no worries!) This program is 3 weeks long with 3 workouts a week and I am just about at the halfway point (4 workouts completed) so I thought I would check in with my experience so far.
Week one included the following:
Day 1: Walking Interval Medley – Alternating between a recovery stroll and medium-power walks for 37 minutes. Estimated calories burned: 217
Day2: Mindful Walking – Started and ended with a stroll and had a regular walk and medium walk in the middle for 20 minutes. Estimated calories burned: 102
Day 3: Fartlek Fun – Alternated between a medium walk and a fast jog for 35 minutes. Estimated calories burned: 237
Week two workout:
Day 1: Start Jogging: Alternate between a medium walk and a jog for 29 minutes. Estimated calories burned: 147
My thoughts so far:
The difficulty of the workouts seem all over the place. If I was truly a beginner, I would have been struggling hard on the third day. The order should have been Mindful Walking, Walking Interval Medley, Start Jogging and then Fartlek Fun. Also, how ridiculous is that name? It is pronounced how it seems and they continue to joke about it during the workout.
I have enjoyed the coaches so far. I like the encouragement they provide throughout the workouts and their instructions are easy to follow. The estimated calories are also pretty close to what my fitbit records – I have the blaze model with a heartrate monitor.
I will check back in at the end of the program, but so far this does not seem to be for beginners. It does seem to be for someone like me that is not a consistent runner and is getting back into it. I am enjoying it though!
I can’t be the only one that struggles with this. The days get shorter and the temperature drops, along with my willpower. Every winter I struggle to stay active.
I recently started a new job and have a consistent schedule. While I am still working on getting into a set routine, I thought I would have an easier time fitting in workouts (although really, I should know myself better than that). I have managed to go on a run once a week, but that’s not cutting it. Part of the challenge has been dealing with the apartment gym renovations. They’ve been redoing the floors and the gym has been closed for most of the month. I struggle with motivating myself enough to do workouts at home, but I am usually fine as long as I get to the gym. They are supposed to reopen it this Friday, so I’m hoping that will help.
My plan going forward: Fit something in as soon as I get home from work. I know if I stop moving and relax, I’ll be done for. Even if all I do is go for a walk some days, at least I’m moving. I also want to create a set schedule instead of just aiming for 4-5 workouts a week. Consistency is key…hopefully.
What are your habits/tips to stay active in the winter?
It is my hope to develop this blog into
a place where people new to fitness or people who just want
refreshing ideas/views on topics can come and learn new things. At
the least, I hope you can find an interesting post and enjoy
yourself! I plan on posting my experiences throughout my health and
fitness journey. These posts might include things like reviews,
recipes, workouts and general discussions.
I hope you find something that piques
your interest. Thanks for stopping by!
Just Keep Moving 