Winter Blues

This time of year has always been tough for me. It was worse when I was growing up back east, where the winter weather kept us indoors much more than here in Northern California. Every year, after I’d broken all my New Year’s vows about eating right and exercising regularly (usually a day or two after making them), I’d get discouraged. I felt paralyzed, and depressed.

Years later, I learned there might be an organic basis for some of this—Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, in which the lack of sunlight during winter causes true clinical depression. Some people are extremely susceptible. Others are less susceptible, so that although they suffer many of the same symptoms, it’s less obvious what’s going on.

We all know that exercise can elevate your mood, but once the blues get you, it’s harder and harder to get yourself out the door. You tell yourself you’ll feel better, but it seems impossible to actually get moving. Besides, you’re feeling so low that you’re not sure there’s really any point. Over the years I’ve picked up a few tricks to help me deal with the winter blues. Here are some of them:

• Stay home. If getting out the door is a problem, don’t try. Get some videos and exercise at home. Lots of you have written to our online community praising Tae Bo. Tae Bo videos are easy to find; your local video store may even have some used copies for sale (mine did).
• Take a Spinning class. If you belong to a gym that offers Spinning classes, give them a try. Spinning is a much higher-intensity workout than traditional group exercise classes, and is very safe as long as you follow your instructor’s guidelines. Spinning is one of the most instantly addictive forms of exercise I’ve ever tried, probably because the high intensity gives you a huge rush of endorphins. The first class I took nearly killed me—until it was over, when I realized how great I felt. I was hooked, and since then I’ve seen the same thing over and over with other first-time Spinners. This winter mood elevator is legal, good for you, and keeps you on track for your fitness goals.
• Join a local team. Soccer, softball, whatever appeals to you. My local women’s soccer team is so short of players that they’ve even asked me to join. I’ve explained several times that they really don’t want me: I’m completely uncoordinated, can’t kick a ball to save my life, and have no sense of strategy. (I’m not just being modest either—it’s all true.) But they still keep asking. My point is that you don’t have to be good to get involved with a local team. You’ll need time for the team thing, of course. But it just might turn out to be the motivator you need.
• Take up a new sport. If it’s too snowy to jog, get some of those new-fangled high-tech snowshoes—they help you get a killer workout. If you live somewhere rainy, like I do, go mountain biking. Sure, you’ll get covered in mud. But that’s the fun part. It’s like being a little kid again.