With summer vacations in the rearview mirror, now’s the time to ease back into your workouts and get serious about your goals.
The end of summer can feel melancholy. With less daylight to burn, you may feel like the best fitness of the year is behind you. But Michael Crandall, a Tier X coach at Equinox Hudson Yards, says that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Fall allows you to reset your fitness routine and focus on your workout goals without the (fantastic) distractions summer brings.
According to Crandall, the fall season is marked by a New Year’s-esque fitness attitude. “Once Labor Day ends, my schedule tends to be packed all day,” says Crandall. “Vacations end, school has started, employers expect their people back in the office, and it sort of rolls over into fitness. People are ready to get back in shape after missing workouts in July and August.”
Plus, cooler temperatures make it more feasible to get outside with friends — no matter the time of day. “If you enjoy working out outside, there is a sigh of relief that comes with finally not seeing 80 to 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity on the calendar,” says Crandall. Those glorious 50- and 60-degree temps make sports like running, hiking, and biking more welcoming this time of year, so if you’ve been hoping to pick up an outdoor activity, now is the time.
Below, Crandall shares his five best tips for starting over again in late September. So enjoy your final taste of summer fitness, then shake things up.
1. Partner up.
Crisp fall weather is the perfect excuse to grab a friend, family member, or significant other and get outside for some exercise. According to Crandall, co-exercising keeps you motivated and accountable while helping you connect with those you love. “Commit to a workout with someone you trust and who will help hold you accountable,” says Crandall. “A morning run doesn’t sound nice? I’d bet a four-mile walk with a coffee and good conversation with someone you care about sounds great.”
One study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that those who worked out in pairs saw improvement in their performance and spent more time overall working out. So text a friend to meet you for a walk or at your local Club, and make it a consistent thing.
2. Use walking as your primary mode of transportation.
“Working out requires a certain level of motivation to put the clothes on, get the shoes laced up, and head to the Club,” says Crandall. If you find yourself lacking inspiration when it comes time to go to the Club, he recommends wading back into your fitness routine with something simple, like a walk.
“If the motivation isn’t there, it’s much easier to say, ‘Hey, I’ll at least walk the two miles to work and back.’ Now, if you do that five times a week, you’ve really raised the basement for yourself,” he says. Once you get in the rhythm of walking or biking your commute, you can slowly start incorporating strength training, classes, or other fitness habits you love.
3. Know your willpower peaks and valleys.
Human beings aren’t 100 percent motivated 100 percent of the time. We have preferences about when we feel inspired to exercise — and Crandall recommends working with those preferences rather than berating yourself for “not being a morning workout person” or “never making it to the Club after work.”
Ask yourself: When do I feel the most motivated? How can I make room for my workout routine during that time? “If your plan is to workout in the evening, it most definitely should be something you are looking forward to and not dreading, or else you have a whole workday to talk yourself out of it,” says Crandall.
4. Keep it simple.
When you’re at the Club, Crandall says you have a single mantra: Keep things simple. “Reduce the barrier to entry to the lowest point that it would be so silly not to do it,” he says. “If you’ve struggled with a consistent routine in the past or your goal is to work every day, build the habit with the path of least resistance.”
The path of least resistance can look like a quick 15-minute workout on the Equinox+ app twice a week or a 10-minute outdoor run one day and a class at the Club on the other. “When I made the switch from working out in the afternoon to the morning, I started with only two exercises per day,” says Crandall. “It took 15 minutes of my time, and it would almost be silly to not get that done. After a few weeks, I was up to four to five exercises per day.”
5. Ask for help.
If the change in seasons leaves you feeling stumped about how to work out, remember that help is all around you. “We have the whole world in our pockets, not to mention there are Equinox coaches and trainers at every location dying to share their advice with you,” says Crandall. “Ask for help or educate yourself, but remember, you can’t outsource the work.”
Prefer to learn in groups rather than one-on-one? Consider signing up for an Equinox class you haven’t taken before and learn your new fall skill that way.