Adapt your exercise routine for the winter

Tags

5k charity run, accountability buddy, balmy summer evenings, bike rides, body temperature, bottle of water, bright trainers, clothing, cold wind, Corrie, December, dehydrated, ear phones, early evening darkness, effort, endorphins, enjoy, exercise, friend, go for it, goal, goose bumps, gym, H2O, hi-vis top, HIIT training, hot, ice cold water, interval cycling, ket, layering, lethargic, London to Brighton bike ride, motivation, online options, pact, partner, Pilates, pumping, quiet, refreshing, results, reverse, run, saf, shorts, sister, skin, skip, sofa, sweating, t-shirts, thermal, Thermal running tights, tired, train for a marathon, trainers, two litres, vest, warm t-shirts, well-lit route, winter months, work, work colleague, write down, Zumba

While you might feel like curling up on the sofa in your onesie and watching back to back Corrie, your mind, body and soul will thank you for keeping up with your exercise routine over the winter months.

The cold wind and early evening darkness might not be as inviting as balmy summer evenings for a run, but we have had a look at how to keep fit and strong, however chilly it gets.

Don’t stop moving
In the summer, we tend to exercise before it gets too hot, so in the winter you need to reverse this and try to workout before it gets dark and your motivation is lost. Either go to the gym before work, run during your lunch hour or plan morning bike ride that will get those endorphins pumping around your body for the rest of the day.

Get the kit
By the end of your jog you should be sweating, but before you step out of the door the goose bumps will be there if you are only in a vest and shorts. The key to winter success when it comes to exercise clothing is layering. Thermal running tights, bright trainers, warm t-shirts and soft socks won’t just look cool, they will feel good against your skin and help regulate your body temperature. If you are exercising in the dark, go for a hi-vis top and even a head torch so you can easily be seen.

Go digital
If you really can’t get to grips with exercising outside in December, tap into online options. Whether it is HIIT training, Pilates, interval cycling or Zumba, there’s a wide range of sporting options that you can do at home, but you still need to put in the effort if you want to see the results.

Get a buddy
One way to ensure you get out and get going is to have an accountability buddy. If you know you’ll let someone else down if you don’t hit the gym, it’ll be harder to skip your workout. Whether it’s a friend, sister, partner, work colleague or neighbour, find someone with similar interests and make a pact to do this together.

Have a goal
Just as it can help having someone to work with, it is also motivating to have a goal to aim for. Whether you are going to complete a 5k charity run, train for a marathon or take part in the London to Brighton bike ride, write down your goals, put them somewhere you can see them and go for it.

Drink
Ice cold water is refreshing in July, but it is actually essential all year round. When you exercise it is really important to drink plenty of water otherwise you can end up feel tired, lethargic and dehydrated which will take away your motivation to get moving. Keep a bottle of water with you at all times, sip little and often and aim for at least two litres of H2O a day.

Be safe
Whatever you do, let someone know where you are going and when you plan to be home. If you are exercising outside after dark, choose a well-lit route, wear bright clothing and be wise when wearing ear phones in quiet areas.

Enjoy!

Stretch Marks – What Are The Causes and How to Prevent Them

Tags

marks, moisture, moisturiser, moisturistation, pregnancy, prevent, reverse, skin, stretch marks, striations, supple, unsightly, weight gain

Unless you’re one of the lucky people who never get them, most of us are well acquainted with stretch marks, also known as striations of the skin. These unsightly marks occur during pregnancy, weight or muscle gain or sometimes if a teenager has a particularly rapid growth spurt after puberty, and are literally little tears of the dermis layer beneath the skin. The tears in the dermis allow the blood vessels below to show through, which is why stretch marks are often red or purple when they first appear.

Where Do Stretch Marks Appear?

The most common places for stretch marks to happen are on the hips, buttocks, inner thighs, breasts, upper arms, shoulders and sometimes vertically along the spine in people who’ve gained a few inches in height very quickly.

What Do They Look Like?

When stretch marks first appear, they’re usually an angry red or purple colour and look like lines of bruises. Over time they usually fade and will look like small white lines, however more severe stretch marks, like the ones which appear during pregnancy, sometimes still appear quite angry even years after giving birth.

Can They Be Prevented?

Keeping your skin well-hydrated and supple is the only way to try to avoid stretch marks, so using something deeply moisturising over your whole body and especially on the areas listed above will help. Opt for something like Dermalogica Ultra Rich Body Cream which is an ultra-rich, long-lasting body cream designed to help heal and relieve extra dry skin. This unique liquefying formula is also ideal for all-over, deeply-moisturising body massages.

What Can I Do If I Already Have Stretch Marks?

If you’ve already got stretch marks from a previous pregnancy or weight gain, fear not, there are things you can do to help. Obviously, losing weight healthily and on a balanced diet will prevent further striations from appearing. Decleor also produces the wonderful Sculpt Stretch Mark Restructuring Gel-Cream which deeply moisturises and nourishes the skin.

It’s a multi-functional product which prevents stretch marks from appearing but also helps the skin to repair and regenerate after damage has already happened. The best part is, all Decleor Perfect Sculpt products have undergone in vitro and ex vitro tests on the active ingredients, clinical tests on the boosting effect of AROMESSENCE™ Sculpt, and tests on pregnant women under the supervision of a gynaecologist and are proven to be totally safe for use in pregnancy.