Braxton Taylor
After a long winter of below-average temperatures, so many of us are ready for spring, but transitioning into spring can also come with challenges. You may not be prepared for spring activities, but there are ways to use the few short weeks before spring fully blooms effectively.
This guide offers practical solutions to help you enhance your spring experience, manage allergies, embrace longer daylight hours, reintegrate fitness into your routine, adjust to daylight saving time and execute spring cleaning efficiently.
Here is a list of activities to consider while we prepare ourselves for a new season of growth:
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1. Get Through ‘Spring Forward’
The first Monday after starting daylight saving time is a mental grind. While the evenings are brighter, our morning workouts or commutes will be dark again for the next month. Most of us are ready for spring, but not for “spring forward.”
If possible, try to go to bed 30 minutes earlier to make the morning awakening hour feel not as early. Take a nap if you can, but the best advice is to keep the schedule as normal as possible. The sting of the early morning wakeup will go away in a few days. You could also see it as another way to test your toughness by not complaining about the “lost hour of sleep.”
2. Prep for Allergies
If spring pollen affects you, start a few weeks early with over-the-counter antihistamines such Claritin, Zyrtec or what your doctor recommends. Starting early, you can manage potential allergy symptoms before they affect you. Typical reasons why people avoid the outdoors are usually related to allergies. Start early and stay on top of it if you can.
3. Extra Daylight After Dinner
Enjoy a brisk walk or spring cleaning of the yard or other areas of the house. You get an additional hour of daylight, so take advantage of it and get moving again. Morning workouts may be dark for a few weeks after daylight saving time, but the evenings are wonderful, with the sun not setting before 7 p.m. until late November. This is a perfect time to reestablish that new habit.
4. Get Back to Training (if You Are Not)
If you had the habit of early morning fitness as your exercise method, get back to it if the winter months affected that consistency. For instance, if you did not make or did not stick to your New Year’s resolution, you now have better weather and longer days to help you with your fitness goals.
5. Lent: 40 Days of Growth
While we are only a few days into the Lenten season, you can still create a new healthy habit or consider dropping an unhealthy one. The following month is a great way to challenge yourself with new healthy activities and strengthen your faith.
6. Spring Cleaning Requires Work and Movement
Take advantage of decluttering your home, office (and mind). Spring cleaning offers more than a way to burn calories by cleaning your house. It can lead to helping others by donating items you no longer use, which can create mental and physical space for you.
7. Change Your Training Routine
If you spent the winter months in the gym each day training, lifting weights or on mind-numbing cardio machines, consider shifting to outdoor training with calisthenics and cardio (walking, jogging). After a heavy lift cycle, many of you are ready to get outside and shift focal points on your training to be more well-rounded with your overall fitness. Adding a cycle of endurance and muscle stamina will help improve cardiovascular function, expose you to healthy vitamin D (sunlight) and start acclimating to warmer temperatures.
Adjusting your routines to accommodate seasonal changes can lead to a healthier lifestyle simply by getting outside to enjoy nature. The changes can also help prevent burnout and neglecting elements of fitness and health you may need to improve. Whether adapting your exercise regimen includes refreshing outdoor workouts or establishing a clutter-free environment, you can effectively free your mind and body from winter’s confinement. This spring, prioritize your well-being with intention, knowing that these small commitments can foster lasting habits that support your physical and mental health.
Spring and your new growth and transformation opportunity are almost here! Head to the Military.com Fitness Section and explore our comprehensive articles on fitness, mindset, stress mitigation and other healthy activities. Whether you’re looking to tailor your fitness routine, declutter your home or simply enjoy the beauty of nature, we’ve got you covered. Start your spring improvement project today!
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