I don’t know about you, but I find it SO HARD to stay active throughout the year! And during the winter, it is EVEN WORSE!

In Toronto, where the weather has the mood of a pubescent teen, it’s so easy to make excuses to stay in bed an extra hour in the morning when it’s storming + windy, or make an excuse to grab a yummy breakfast out because it’s the one sunny day you’ve seen all week.

This winter I made sure to find the best ways to motivate myself + so far it’s been working like a dream!

I’ve partnered with Sport Chek to share with you my top 5 ways to keep motivated to stay active this winter :).

1. Freshen up your workout closet !

· It doesn’t hurt that athleisure wear is so on trend right now and everywhere you turn you can find active wear inspo. Sport Chek is one of my favorite places to shop for my fitness gear because they carry all the best brands from Alo, Nike, & Lorna Jane.

· This season I’ve been loving the cropped tops/sweaters, panelled leggings that give the illusion that you have the longest looking legs, and not your typical looking outer shells. I love mixing shapes and even patterns in my active gear! Plus, I like to pick outfits that I can wear as streetwear too so that I can do some work or run some errands after a workout session + still feel stylish / put together.

2. Join a group class

· For me, joining a group class gives me a sense of accountability. When I sign up for a series of classes + start getting to know the instructor and other attendees, I find it helps me commit to working out better because I don’t want a whole class of people knowing I’m skipping out ! :p

· Plus, it’s so fun making new friends + sharing in the satisfying exhaustion of an hour long workout class.

3. Sign-up for an online workout subscription

· This winter I’ve joined Glo yoga, which means I can do yoga from home on my Apple TV.

· Although group classes are definitely one of my favorite things, I find that sometimes scheduled classes (especially yoga classes) are always somehow at the worst possible times. All the yoga studios around me always have their classes when I have meetings or need to be shooting campaigns so I had to find an alternative.

· I’ve absolutely been loving having the freedom to do a session whenever I want – whether it be extra early because I woke up with my mind racing, or in the middle of the day when I have writers block. Finding a way to workout at home is a great way to avoid making excuses not to be active for when you’re “too busy”.

4. Track your progress

· Gadgets like a Fitbit, which are available at Sport Chek, are great motivators because I personally love seeing my goals reached and my progress increase! Plus, I’m also a sucker for awesome graphs and stats, which fitness gadgets like this provide.

· Not a techie? You don’t have to have a fitness tracker to follow your progress because you can always go old school with a notebook/journal!

· For those of you who are “ free spirits” and don’t really care about finding out exactly how many calories you burn each session, you can set simple time goals like 2-3 x hour long sessions a week. The Canadian government recommends that adults accumulate minimum of 2.5 hours of moderate to vigorous physical activity a week. It might not seem like a lot, but for those of us who have hectic and unpredictable schedules, it can be challenging to meet that goal every week. Something that I’ve found that helps is doing shorter 30 minute sessions in the morning before you head out the door or when you come home before you fully unwind for the night.

5. Try something new!

· We all have our favorite workout styles + activities. Mine are yoga, running + tennis, but sometimes it can get repetitive and boring! So every season I like to take on a new type of class or try a different sport.

· This winter I’m attempting spinning… again. I’ve tried it before, but I could never get into it. I think it’s because I’m so used to running where my legs are able to move freely, having them strapped to a bike didn’t work for me. But with all the new spinning places popping up and those spinner’s legs + bootays I’ve been envying, I’m willing to give it another go.

I hope that these tips were helpful + that it will keep you active this winter !

I’ve also put the links to my outfit below along with some of my other favorites !