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Lacking motivation in the cold weather? Emma Seibold has some tips for you

Baby it’s cold outside. After eight lovely years living in Sydney (in Bondi no less!), I’m back in Melbourne and facing a pretty cold winter. I have a pretty special superpower that I’d like to share with you...somehow, some way, I have always been able to get out of bed and do my yoga practice, even on the very coldest 6am winter mornings. Magic? Perhaps, but mostly effort, commitment and forward planning.

In the eternal words of Nike – just do it! Seriously, you just have to do it. If you exercise in the morning, the biggest hurdle is getting out of bed. I recommend you make a deal with yourself to get out of bed, clean your teeth and get ready to do your workout. If, once you have done all that, you still want to go back to bed, then give yourself permission to do just that. That said, I suspect that once you have gotten over the initial “wake-up shock”, you’ll be good to go. It also really helps to put your heater on a timer it’s nice and cosy when you get out of bed. If you exercise later in the day, use that extra morning time to get your gear ready and prepare a pre-workout snack so hunger doesn’t become an excuse.

When it’s cold and miserable, you need to make the commitment to yourself that you are going to stay fit and healthy throughout the colder months. We are already probably eating a little more for warmth and most likely eating heavier, starchier foods, so we definitely need to counter-balance that by continuing to exercise.

This is definitely last, but not least. Think about summer. Think about swimming. Think about bikini weather. Before you know it, spring and summer will roll around and there will be the usual mad rush to get yourself beach-ready. Save yourself some time and stay fit over winter. Think of it this way, spring is only just over eight weeks away!

Emma Seibold is a holistic health & wellness coach, yoga and barre teacher, mother of one beautiful boy, and founder of Barre Body yoga and barre studios..