With the arrival of November, winter is well and truly here. The temperatures are dropping fast, and as a personal trainer, you need to keep your clients’ motivated and prepared for outdoor personal training sessions throughout the chillier months ahead. It’s not surprising that client motivation has a habit of dropping during the colder months. It’s essential to support trainees and encourage them to keep working towards their goals. After all, summer bodies are made during winter!
There are plenty of benefits to getting outdoors for a PT session both physically and mentally as the temperature drops. Unfortunately, at this time of year, many people opt to stay inside their warm homes. So, pulling on their activewear and embracing a chilly workout is something that requires discipline and a bucket load of motivation. That’s where you come in!
At Personal Trainer Clothing we’ve put together our top tips for keeping those outdoor training sessions going and motivation high throughout the winter season.
Keep yourself and your clients motivated throughout winter!
As a personal trainer, you are your client’s biggest motivator all year round. Encourage your clients to seek support outside of your sessions if they find keeping up with their training challenging. This could be by buddying up with a fellow fitness enthusiast or being accountable to their friends or family by sharing goals with them. Remember you are there once or twice a week. The other five to six days may need additional motivation to keep up the great work.
If they don’t have anyone they want to rely on for support outside your sessions, perhaps suggest some apps to keep them motivated and their training on track. Also, don’t forget to check in on them to see if they managed that cold, wet, 6 am run. Clients who feel accountable will often perform better, and they are more likely to get up and out if they know you’ll be checking in!
Spend a little longer warming up your client
There’s nothing more likely to turn someone off their winter training than an injury—especially one that could have been avoided with an extended warm-up. Our joints, understandably, take a little longer to warm up in colder weather. Depending on your client’s current fitness level, it’s worth considering spending a few extra minutes warming up their joints to minimise the risk of injury and speed up their post-workout recovery.
Get the right gear
Something worth discussing with your clients is being prepared for a winter training session. What do we mean by prepared? It’s about layering up in a way that keeps the chill off but doesn’t cause you to overheat and sweat, which in turn will make you cold despite your efforts to keep warm.
Your trainee should wear layers and moisture-wicking materials to avoid sweat, making you and your clients wet as you train. Our performance fabric t.shirts are perfect to create the ideal balance of comfort and warmth as the temperature plummets. In addition, you should encourage your clients to wear garments that can be easily peeled off as they warm up during a session to avoid overheating and insulating them in the early part of their work-out.
Early morning trainers should invest in some reflective gear, so they are visible during the darker mornings. Choose clothing items with reflective details or consider investing in a reflective vest or belt.
You and your clients shouldn’t forget about your extremities. If your client’s hands, feet, nose and face are suffering and you start to lose feeling in them due to the icy conditions, make sure you cover up to protect them and keep comfortable.
As a PT, you will want to layer up but in a different way. While your clients are sweating, you’ll be there to motivate and guide them without getting as warm from a workout as they are. So without the proper gear, you are likely to feel the worst of the elements. On those extra chilly days, we suggest adding a lined, waterproof jacket and warm hat to stop you from really feeling a chill, especially if you are outdoors for back to back training sessions in wet, windy conditions.
Icy conditions are common during the winter months, so it’s sensible to have workout shoes that offer some traction and good grip. Unfortunately, those worn-out trainers used during the summer months probably won’t cut it. Some companies even sell traction grips that can be fitted to shoes, the shoe equivalent of snow chains.
Change up your client’s programme.
With the weather changing and darker morning arriving, many of us find it harder to get out of bed and move in the morning than in the summer months. However, changing things up can give your clients fresh motivation and new goals to work towards. If they have made significant progress, tell them and re-programme them to level up their training.
The change of season is a perfect time to discuss how your client is progressing with their training and hitting their goals. If their initial goals are not being met, it’s a good time to mix things up, reassess targets, and refocus on what they want to achieve to keep their motivation up during winter.
Have a Plan B
Despite your best efforts to continue outdoor personal training sessions, there will be days where the weather is so bad it would be unsafe and impractical to do so. Your goal is to keep your clients moving, whether that’s indoors or outside. When setting winter goals with your trainees, be open and discuss what would happen in adverse weather conditions.
If a client misses a cardio session because of heavy rain or snow making it impossible, then going to the gym or completing a HIIT workout at home could be just as effective. Your job is to make sure they hit their daily goals without hindering their overall progress. Of course, you and your clients may prefer to train outside, but there is no harm in working indoors when conditions call for it.
During winter personal training sessions, you and your clients’ top priority should be keeping safe and staying healthy while enjoying the benefits of the great outdoors. Remember to be flexible in unpredictable conditions and take some downtime during the winter months to refocus on your own goals.
