Rain, no pain: How to plan your workouts in the monsoon

The environment around you has a huge say in determining your habits. So much so that even though the brain is considered to be in charge, it is the weather that often has an outsized influence on the most basic of decisions.

For instance, walking on a hot day might make you crave for a glass of cool lemonade or an ice cream, and waking up to a cold morning might make you long for a cup of hot coffee or tea. And the monsoon rains might keep you indoors — forcing you to take a break from your usual outdoor activities, including workouts.

Lethargy is a common byproduct of rain. When it’s pouring outside, and when work and the daily routine must be prioritised, exercise and workouts take a back seat for many. This could even lead to a situation where you could end up losing all your gains over the course of a monsoon.

The trick in such a situation is to not let things slide into a procrastination loop, say fitness experts, while giving tips on how to effectively plan workouts during the rains.

How workouts get affected in the monsoon

Both slight drizzles and heavy, continuous downpours can come in the way of exercise routines, especially of those who run or brisk walk or have to commute to gyms or park gyms (outdoor gym equipment in parks) to exercise.

Gyms see more cancellations of training sessions in the monsoon season.

“When it rains, it causes a break in the workout schedule,” says Sunil Kumar, a fitness trainer from Bengaluru. “It usually creates a doubt in the mind — people then tend to skip the day’s workout and [might] keep on doing so if it continues to rain. Especially for people with goals and a set target, the entire routine gets affected, [affecting] the whole fitness journey.”

Why work out in the monsoon

Today’s sedentary lifestyles makes it all the more necessary for people to make time for exercise — come rain or shine. Plus, inclement weather is known to impact people’s dietary habits.

“The rains can also have a negative effect on people’s diet,” says Syed Tanzeem Pasha, a personal training coach at FITTR, Bengaluru. “People start eating fried and crispy food that throws their nutrition out of balance. The weather will make them want to stay cozy and relaxed, [preventing] them from being physically active. Both of it together can take a toll on their fitness.”

Strategise your workouts

You should not wait for the rain to stop, because procrastination won’t help. Finding other alternatives to keep fit is essential. Here are a few ideas suggested by experts that will prevent the monsoon from frustrating your fitness journey.

1. Keep yourself motivated  

Embracing fitness as a part of life and not considering it to be an extracurricular activity will motivate you to work out even during the monsoon.

“Conditioning your mind and having fixed goals and target is crucial,” says Kumar. “One should be internally motivated to stay fit — this will [also] prevent people from [using] monsoon as an excuse.”

2. Plan your workouts

Make sure you have a plan in place for when it rains.

“Get in touch with your trainer and ask them for an alternate routine that can be done at home without equipment,” says Kumar. “Ask them to monitor the form when you are doing the routine and do a couple of reps of those exercises to get a solid foundation to perform the exercise on your own. Later, whenever it rains, you will have a workout ready.”

Keeping tabs on the weather forecast and rearranging your outdoor workout timings help.

3. Set up a home gym 

If you have the right knowledge, setting up a home gym can be a good idea.

“There are a lot of exercises that can be done at home itself,” says Pasha. “Animal Flow, yoga and HIIT routines can be done at home alongside online training sessions. If you have weights at home, resistance workouts can also be done.”

Kumar adds: “One can do stair climbing as an exercise.  People who go to the gym can do indoor workouts that provide the same benefits.”

4. Work on other fitness aspects

People who are into sports and athletics can use the monsoon to do low-intensity exercises that promote active recovery as well as maintain fitness.

“You can work on your postural balance, and ankle and hip mobility,” says Pasha. “If you have had an injury and have been procrastinating, you can use this time to recover instead of continuing to train in the rain.” 

Takeaways

• The rains may be inevitable, but don’t let that make you quit your fitness or workout routine.
• Since people tend to become inactive and stop working out in the monsoon, they should be especially conscious of their diet at this time and make sure the food intake does not increase.
• Tips to continue working out in the rainy season include keeping yourself motivated, planning workouts and setting up a home gym.