How To Exercise Safely During The Dark Winter Months – By A Professional

We will NOT wheel out the ‘new year new you’ cliché, but we can’t help but acknowledge that January is often a time when many of us want to get fitter after a festive period spent slumped on the sofa. The thing is, the weather is depressing, we have zero motivation and there’s about two hours of daylight - and sadly, women need to think of their safety when it comes to running in the dark. So, we asked professional sportswoman Pro golfer Annabel Dimmock – for works out five times a week whatever the weather - for tips on how she manages to continue exercising during the winter months.

Is there a ‘best time’ to work out?

You can train anytime of the day and get exactly the same benefits, but I hate training after eating big meals. Always wait two hours if you’ve had a substantial dinner. Everyone is different but I have to work out before I eat in the morning. I have my coffee and a protein shake while I’m weight training. If I’m going for a run, I drink half of my shake before I go and half afterwards. Careful though, some people find they get too tired if they don’t eat before training.

It’s not necessarily any better to work out outside. If you have a big enough space, inside is fine. For me, I like the chance to get out in the fresh air.

How do you stay safe when exercising outside when it’s dark?

I will always stick to roads that are well lit. I always have my phone on me strapped to my arm - I can’t run with it in my pocket. I’ll never run without my phone. I live on my own so I always tell someone when I go on a run – I’m in close contact with my sister, so she’ll always know where I am if I’m going out after dark.

How do you keep exercising over winter?

I would say for people trying to work out you have to set yourself goals. I’ve set myself a goal to work on my cardiovascular fitness. I've been getting into running and I always set my route before I go out and set myself a goal time. Sometimes I don't get the time, but when I do it’s an achievement. If I don't make it, it gets me out of bed the next day to try again. I've achieved about three of my goals so far, and once I do it, I set myself a completely new trail rather than continuing with the one I was doing, so it feels like a fresh start. I can track it on my Huawei Watch GT 2 PRO watch how far it is and I try and get my timings. And if you don't have the time to go and do a 40 minute run then I'll plan the amount of time I've got and think what can I get the most out of that time? If I only have 15 minutes, I’ll do sprints up and down my road. There’s so many things you can do, I just try to be creative with it and it really helps to change it up. Don’t do the same running route every single day, you’ll get bored and you’ll probably stop doing it.

I’m old school and I write down my goals, but I wouldn’t know what I’d achieved if it wasn’t for the watch. It tells me how far I’ve been, timing and, for me, it’s about heart rate as well. I want to keep my heart rate over 100 and the watch records this for me. If I really want to push myself it’s over 120 for me. But everyone is completely different so that number won’t be the same for others.

READ MORE: The Best Winter Running Gear For Cold-Weather Workouts

What are your tips and tricks for staying fit in awful weather for those who do want to get outside?

Goals and motivation. When you’re working out, it’s a good idea to get some sort of heart rate monitor where you can make sure you’re pushing yourself. Sometimes when you’re doing an exercise you think you’re sweaty and out of breath but actually you’re not, so it encourages me to push a bit more. They really motivates me for a session. You have to have goals – I find when I’ve set goals and I reach them it helps too.

How does tech help you work out?

The Huawei Watch GT 2 PRO is brilliant for working out. For me the heart rate tracking is key because when you play golf it doesn't make you cardiovascular fit for golf. It's one of the only sports that you can't get fit if you keep doing it. So when I work out in the gym, my downfall is that I take too much time in between reps and sets, which means that I'm not working as hard in my cardio. But the watch literally speaks to me and will tell me my heart rate every 10 minutes and will track how much I’m into my workout, so I can go through my plan and see where I should be by each point.

Want to get techy with your work out? Click here for the Huawei Watch GT 2 PRO which has advanced sports tracking, professional health monitoring, around two-week battery life and wireless charging. It is set to be a big hit with fitness fanatics and casual users alike.

Want to see more of the latest tech from Huawei? Check out the new MateBook 14 2020.

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