The season of spring is the season of renewal. As the clocks change our thoughts turn to long sunny days spent outdoors. For many, this signals the beginning of the outdoor training season. Of course among the hard-core crowd this season never really ends but for the fair weather warriors the thought of taking their activity outdoors during the cold, dark winter months just isn’t on the agenda. If winter is the season of the turbo-trainer, the treadmill and of the indoor gym work, then spring signals the start of the trail running, road racing and outdoor activity season.

Training in the great outdoors has many benefits, changing terrain offers up more of a diverse challenge than a predictable simulated surface, the sun’s rays provide nourishing vitamin D when absorbed by the skin, the fresh air is good for the lungs and the green scenery has numerous positive effects on mental health. We shouldn’t however feel guilty when forgoing outdoor training when the weather turns however. The convenience of indoor training means that we’re less likely to skip sessions due to adverse weather and can provide a safer alternative if you like to work out early or late when the sunlight is scarce. Additionally it’s often much easier to access a variety of kit in an indoor setting like a conventional gym meaning workouts can be more diverse.

In performance sports, athletes usually train in cycles, known as macro, meso and micro cycles. Each micro and meso cycle will lend itself to bringing a specific adaptation into the overall macrocycle that aims to peak conditioning and performance prior to an event or season.

Although the average person doesn’t need to dissect their training to this degree, we can take cues on how best to structure goals and targets to fit the seasons. A great example of this would be to set goals around building strength and power during the winter months. This would typically lend itself well to workouts being orientated indoors and allows us to align our energy intake with our natural want to overconsume calories during the winter months. Typically gaining strength involves increasing mass and workouts are often of an intense nature with added emphasis on working the entire body using large progressive compound movements, the recovery from which requires significant fuelling. This can then be opposed by introducing goals that are oriented around cardio fitness or body composition during the spring and aiming to peak for the summer, again capitalizing on the natural desire to consume lighter, fresher food such as salads and the ability to train outdoors in fair weather when the daylight is plentiful even before or after work. 



Learning to work with the seasons and not against them is key to creating a solid routine that encompasses different forms of training and plays to the pros and cons that each distinct portion of the year is sure to bring. As with anything fitness related, the plan will succeed or fail based on the planning and preparations made as well as the consistency with which they are executed.