This Winter, don't hibernate - activate!
19/11/2008
During the long, cold winter months, it can be all too tempting to curl up at home and ?hibernate? until spring.
Our national activity initiative, Take To The Streets, has the backing of a major science report that proves the way to tackle inactivity is to have the motivation of a goal- so we?re urging the British public to challenge themselves to stay active over the Christmas months, in order to beat the winter blues.
With lower amounts of natural light, changes in mood and personaity can be a common occurance: this is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Side effects can include fatigue, weight gain, sleep problems, introversion and food cravings. With regular amounts of excerise and activity, these symptoms can be tackled head-on.
This is because excercise releases natural endorphins, which can have an immediate affect on lifting our mood on a cold and gloomy day. Keeping active also speeds up our metabolic rate and increases our energy levels, which can help make us feel healthier during the hectic Christmas rush.
To help encourage regular activity this winter, www.taketothestreets.org offers tips and information on motivating activities and events, as well as free use of our interactive Training Room.
Visitors to the site can also access expert coaching advice and personally-tailored training plans, keep their own training blog where race articles and photos can be uploaded and shared, and chat with others about their training experiences in its forum.
Our website also contains a special software programme called the Great Trainer. This enables you to transform your moblie phone into a personal trainer, tracking your training progress and giving feedback (both during training and on completion) in areas such as distance covered, time taken, speed achieved and calorioes burnt.
Setting the challenge of keeping active over the winter months with the use of the Training Room is simple and easy and will ensure you?re fighting fit for the New Year and fully prepared to undertake your own personal challenge in 2009.
With a focus on a variety of activities including running, swimming, cycling, walking, dancing and a soon to be launched gym category, whatever you choose to shake off those hibernating habits, Take To The Streets provides the perfect incentive for everyone to get active.
So rather then setting your body clock to snooze during the wintery months and cursing the cold, dark nights, there really is no better time to see the benefits of enjoyable, regular excerise.