Discover How to Stay on Track with Winter Fitness Motivation and Build Your Summer Body Early
While summer seems like a far-off mirage right now, building that beach-ready body should start before we hit peak hoodie season!
Getting a head start on your summer body plan with a hoodie season hustle will set you up for spectacular results because the longer you give yourself to implement your muscle-building or body transformation plan, the better your chances of success.
That’s why crafting summer-ready physiques should start in autumn or winter. Starting now lets you implement and entrench sustainable changes and build a solid base of strength and fitness before summer arrives.
Out-hustle your hormones
However, following a body transformation plan through winter comes with many challenges. For starters, it’s easy to lose strength and muscle, and gain weight in winter because we change our behaviours and our biology shifts.
The colder weather and shorter days make motivation a scarce resource because we’re programmed to want to slip into a state of semi-hibernation during winter to conserve energy.
From a biological aspect, the changing durations of night and day alter our internal clock, or biorhythm, which is set based on our exposure to sunlight. Lower vitamin D levels linked to reduced exposure to sunlight can lower energy levels and motivation to exercise.
This often results in missed gym sessions and lower overall activity levels as the colder conditions make outdoor activities less appealing and accessible.
To counter these effects, get outdoors more often in winter to get some direct sun exposure. You can also supplement with additional vitamin D to support your body and potentially address waning levels.
Hibernation Hunger
Some research¹ suggests that hormonal changes related to shorter days and less sunlight exposure can also increase appetite.
Changes in daylight hours can affect hormones like melatonin and serotonin, which play a role in regulating appetite, mood, and energy levels. Increased melatonin can lead to fatigue and cravings for sweet and salty foods, while decreased serotonin can impact mood and potentially lead to comfort eating.
This is linked to a primal urge to eat more in colder months, like animals preparing for hibernation. That’s why it’s not uncommon for cold weather to trigger cravings for warm, calorie-dense foods that are typically higher in carbohydrates and fats.
It is important to focus on eating whole, unprocessed foods like lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats during winter. These food sources provide sustained energy and essential nutrients to build muscle and support recovery. It is also important to keep your calorie intake in check with portion control.
Train for Summer Success
Winter is the ideal time to build your strength base and add some metabolically active muscle in preparation for the summer slim-down phase.
Training with heavy weights builds strength and develops muscle, which boosts your metabolism, helping you burn more calories throughout the day, even at rest.
Aim to include weight training sessions that target major muscle groups with heavy compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, pull-ups and chest presses at least 3-4 times a week in winter.
And don’t ditch the cardio. While strength training is crucial, include a few moderate-intensity workouts or high-intensity interval training (HIIT) like incline walking, running, stepping or cycling to improve your overall fitness while burning additional calories.
Supplement Support
With your focus on strength and muscle development during winter, your supplement plan should include products that support these goals.
Creatine is well-researched for its ability to enhance strength, power, and muscle mass. Primal Creatine 5000 can help you push harder during your workouts, leading to better results. It’s beneficial year-round, but maintaining intensity in winter can be challenging, making creatine a valuable ally.
When training with added intensity, protein is essential to support muscle repair and growth. Protein powders like Primal Whey, Primal Blended Whey or Primal Egg Protein offer a convenient way to meet your daily protein needs, especially after workouts or when time is limited.
A meal replacement like Primal Diet Shake can also help curb those winter cravings, helping you stay on track with your healthy eating goals. With added probiotics, fibre, digestive enzymes, l-carnitine as well as essential vitamins and minerals, this product can also help manage your weight.
For anyone who needs an extra spark to overcome the lack of motivation and power through those chilly winter workouts, consider a potent pre-workout like Primal Pre Workout.
Each serving contains a key combination of critical ingredients formulated to enhance training and increase performance.
Implementing these changes over winter is key to achieving your summer body goals. Embrace winter as an opportunity to lay the groundwork for the ultimate summer body makeover by prioritising a healthy lifestyle, building your strength base and limiting weight gain. When you nail your hoodie season hustle, you’ll be well on your way to feeling and looking your best when summer finally returns.
References:
- Cahill S, Tuplin E, Holahan MR. Circannual changes in stress and feeding hormones and their effect on food-seeking behaviors. Front Neurosci. 2013 Aug 7;7:140. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2013.00140. PMID: 23966906; PMCID: PMC3735984.