It's So Cold....

   Yes, it's colder than Antarctica right now. It's so cold, you have to use an ice scraper on your glasses when you walk to your office. It's so cold, there's no hot air left in Washington, D.C. It's so cold, you just want to cuddle up in a blanket and stay on the couch all day, watching old movies and drinking hot chocolate.
   That's how I started my weekend and I might have stayed on the couch, had it not been for those pesky New Year's Resolutions made less than a week ago. Ya know...that thing about working out consistently?
   These are the times when a little voice starts yapping: "Go ahead and relax. It's too cold to go out. Just for today. You can make it up later. Start tomorrow."
   I give credit to my friend Kim, for blasting me off the couch by telling me via Facebook that if I work out, I would feel "righteous" and then blog about it.
   Hence, today's blog. What motivates you to work out when it's dark, cold, snowy and generally inhospitable to humans?

• Talk to yourself. Not in an off-her-meds way but in a positive self-talk voice that counteracts the couch potato voice. "C'mon, you're tougher than the temperature. You can do this."
• If that doesn't work, bargain with yourself. Tell yourself, if you just put give it a try and go to class, you have permission to go back into couch mode later.
• Start a motivation board on Pinterest or a file of cold weather warm-ups. Include pictures of a beach vacation you're planning and a bikini you'd love to fit into.
• Post your intention to work out on social media. Then check in on FourSquare or Facebook so everyone knows you followed through.
• Make a date to meet a friend in class and put it on the calendar. You'll be less likely to bail if you have a workout buddy.

   Most of the time, if you can make it to class or the gym, you'll be glad you did.
   And I was.
   The class was packed with other former couch potatoes who laugh in the face of windchill. Fara, the instructor, got the music going and I got moving. Soon I ditched the sweatshirt and before long we were all groaning and moaning and sweating together.
   What are your tricks to get moving?