As the cold nights draw in, bleak morning jogs give way to extra duvet snuggling while we indulge in lie-ins and comfort food.
Lawrence Booth on how to avoid the descent into seasonal sloth
If it was hard enough keeping fit during the summer, you might just have noticed that Mother Nature is starting to up the ante. The days are getting shorter, the evenings colder, and the nights wetter. Your sofa has adopted an alarming, come-hither countenance, and the only reason you're braving the evening chill is to hustle for the warmth of the pub. So how, as the no-prisoners-taken British winter approaches, are you supposed to get up, get moving and get into shape?
The first hurdle to confront your creaking limbs is that of motivation, which is easier said than done when your alarm clock goes off while the streetlights are still on. "I usually ask my clients to write down between three and five goals," says Amelia Watts, a holistic exercise specialist. "Looking good for the Christmas party is a classic aim, or going on a skiing holiday, or heading somewhere warm. I might get them to stick notes on to their mirror at home to remind them.
"On a more immediate note, you can try keeping your gym shoes or kit by the front door. Often it's the hassle of having to think about it that puts people off. Or block some time off at the start of the week for exercise, so you can't use the excuse later on that you're seeing your friend down the pub."
The fitness and diet expert Joanna Hall recommends a lateral approach. "It helps if you look at exercise as you do your wardrobe: try to adopt a sense of seasonality. If you're fed up with jogging, for example, then think of November as a very good month for cardiovascular activity and weight loss because December is the month for parties. In other words, it's good to get some cardio in the bag. Then, in December, you might look to do more posture-orientated work - quick-fix stuff, without neglecting your daily walk."
"Posture can make people look leaner. Pilates can help, plus some abdominal work. January is another good month to look at posture and in February you're back to weight loss. In a sense, it's getting away with as little as possible where people don't have much time, but without neglecting the health aspect."
A spokeswoman for the National Register of Personal Trainers confirms that the last three weeks have seen a big increase in the number of clients signing up, a trend she puts down to the fact that parents have been freed from the constraints of the school holidays. And Watts, whose company - Benefit Personal Training - offers home-based assistance, agrees that November is the time that business starts to take off. August, she says, is the quietest month of the year.
It seems, then, that we are aware that the potential food-and-drink excesses of the pre-Christmas months require decisive and pre-emptive action. Research suggests that the winter months require most of us to up the level of our activity, simply because the cold persuades us to cut back on a whole raft of simple-but-effective calorie-burning activities, such as walking to the shops or doing the gardening. A recent study by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that heart attacks in the US were 53% more likely during the winter, but there are good psychological reasons for staying fit as well. "SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is the most common form of depression and it affects many people at this time of year," says Claire Smith of Leisure Connection health clubs. "Regular moderate exercise releases essential endorphins to keep the blues at bay."
Jogging remains popular, but the weather means you have to plan more carefully than you did during the summer months. Warm up before you head out, take three layers - one to absorb sweat, one for insulation, and one to protect you from the elements - and if the wind is up, run into it on the way out and with it on the way back. But there are problems. Slippery pavements can be especially hazardous in the dark, and not everyone feels safe jogging alone. There is also the risk of coming down with a cold if you sweat and are not insulated properly.
The gym and the swimming pool present obvious indoor solutions, but unless you live in a five-star hotel or have a regular exercise partner who will make you feel bad about letting them down, the chances are you're going to have to brave the winter evening by yourself to get there in the first place. It can be enough to put anyone off - even those of us who don't regard the gym as Dante's 10th circle of hell.
"The best place to start is with easy exercises that you can do in your bedroom or a small, confined area," says Dale Naylor, the clinical director of Physiotherapy Network and physiotherapist for Surrey cricket club. "I'd suggest five or six exercises to do for 30 minutes, three times a week. There are abdominal exercises such as the plank, where you lie on your forearms, raise your body off the ground and hold the position. Then there are star jumps, which give great mobility through the spine - although it's important to make sure you have had no back pain before.
"Hamstring exercises are also important, such as lying on your back and lifting your hips up towards the ceiling with your knees bent at about 30 degrees. Then there's the exercise I call the Superman, where you are lying on your stomach and you raise alternate arms and legs, about 10 times on each side. The push-up is very important too. Once you've got into the process of exercising it becomes self-motivating."
Enjoyment is crucial, says Watts, "as you are more likely to push yourself to do something you find fun. And you can try keeping a record of all the positive effects from your exercise routine - if you have lost a pound, for example, or you are waking up more refreshed." As well as floor-based exercises, she also recommends walking up and down the stairs and skipping.
But outdoor activity in the winter need not be considered a last resort. In fact, it is probably a necessity - it's just that we might be doing it at the wrong time of day. "You miss out on sunshine and vitamin D during the winter," says Watts, "so get out of the office and do some exercise during your lunch break." A brisk half-hour walk ought to get the circulation moving.
So, you've got the motivation, you've got the variety, you've got the exercises. You know exercise is better when you're having a laugh and you're doing it with a friend. The last, crucial, piece in the jigsaw is to avoid the old trap of easing off completely in December before sticking a little too obsessively to your new year's resolution. "How many people drop off over Christmas, then reach January and overdo it?" asks Dale Naylor. "They kill themselves, sometimes literally." Boring though it sounds, steady and constant will almost certainly win the race
