Getting Over The Winter Blues

As I left for the gym around 6am this morning, snow was covering the ground where I was in the South East of England. It was cold. Winter is usually the toughest time to motivate yourself to go to the gym in the morning, particularly because of not only the weather but the fact that it is so dark and dull. I actually don't find it hard as I possibly could however. In fact I find it usually pretty easy. This is because when the clocks changed last Fall, I made a decision to get over it. Now this may seem like an easy thing to say, but I figured that if I started dreading getting up in the morning, particularly with the dark early mornings, I'd be doing it for the rest of the Winter. I didn't want to keep dreading every day, so I made a decision to basically deal with it. And not only do I get that tremendous sense of satisfaction after the workout, but I'm stronger mentally and physically because of it. Because I made the decision to get over the winter blues right at the beginning of the time change, I now don't have a problem getting up in the morning to go to the gym.

It was also just a few months ago that I transferred to a new gym. On my way to the gym, I am currently walking through a town centre where I am not the first one up- there are lots of delivery trucks dropping off stock to stores, people rushing to catch trains, etc, whereas before, my old gym was in a small community where I was the only one going to the gym at 6am. Now I'm at a gym where there is lots of activity- many people are working out before work. Going to the gym doesn't feel as lonely as it used to. So in perhaps offering some tips to help you get over the Winter blues beyond simply getting over it, I would recommend going to a gym in a happening neighborhood, and surrounding yourself by others who are equally motivated to get up on these dark mornings. Being around others who share similar goals can be really inspiring, and perhaps that inspiration can be your key to getting over the Winter blues.