Weather, season and energy levels

Spartacus Maximus · Black Belt

Weather and seasons can disrupt training rhythm. It has happened at one time or another to everyone and each person has a way of dealing with it. Usually it is the hottest or coldest time of the year. In these seasons people find it harder to maintain their usual training. What ways are effective to get through these times when the weather seems to disrupt one's energy levels?

mushybees · Orange Belt

I find in the summer I had to have a word with myself to get myself off to the dojo. Once there I was as focused as usual.
In the winter I'm itching to train, I find it perks me up when the weather has me feeling glum.

126barnes · Yellow Belt

I'm with Mushybees, summer is tougher on me as well. Generally don't do a whole lot of classes during the summer, tend to do more by myself or with one or two other guys. I Find having a training partner that's counting on you to show, helps get me to the dojo.

JR 137 · Black Belt

Weather and seasons don't get me, rather times of the year.

Being a school teacher, the end of marking periods put a damper on things - having to log in grades, having extra stuff to grade (trying to give students a last minute chance to bring up their grades, giving more assignments so that there's more graded stuff to give a better chance, etc.)

Then there's holidays. Dojos close for the various holidays and somehow it always works out that they're on my usual training days. Or personal "holidays" such as our anniversary, wife and daughters' birthdays, Valentine's Day, etc.

Whatever the disruption to my normal training schedule, the answer is proper scheduling. Knowing I won't be able to be there on specific days forces me to go on other days. I usually attend Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday; if I can't go on Saturday, I'll go on Monday and keep the rest of the days.

Bad weather such as dark and cold or rainy or snow (not dangerous conditions where I shouldn't be driving) makes it far easier to go for me. It gets justified in my head as "what else am I going to do?" Being a teacher, I'm off from work all day, and with the kids. It's easily justifiable in my head as "I need some time to myself" and go almost every night. An hour and a half break isn't too much to ask when I've spent the entire day with the girls.

Now that my oldest daughter is going, it's even easier to get motivated. No point in keeping her from going just because I don't have the motivation.

I've never realistically not been motivated to go. Usually, I have to talk myself out of going too often because I have genuinely more important things to do. It was like that when I was single, and the same now that I'm married with 2 young ones. Actually, I'm more motivated to go now, because getting out and clearing my head a few nights a week in a constructive way makes me a better husband and father.

Spartacus Maximus · Black Belt

Recently, it has been the cold of the coming winter and shorter days. Training in the heat of summer was not so difficult, even in the humidity of the local climate. Something about the cold seems to drain energy away and require twice as much effort to get the usual rythm started. Soreness and muscle pains also feel worse and take longer than they usually do to fade away.

JR 137 · Black Belt

Even though I hate the cold, it doesn't hurt my motivation. Humidity absolutely kills any motivation I have to do anything. I just want to sit around in A/C and drink cold stuff.

bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

Alan Armstrong · Black Belt

As martial artists we are supposed to train in the harshest parts of the year and perform like all season all terrain tyers; just in theory.

Some martial art generalizations.
In reality: Spring and Autumn spells allergy for many, so training can have seasonal disadvantages. Pollen in the spring and decaying or fungus in the Autumn. Skin traumas: Sunburn in the summer and frost bites in the winter.

Winter is a better time for me personally; a time to work on muscle flexibility and realaxing tight muscles. Watching more ma movies and informative ma videos.

Spring, a time for focusing on pandiculation and agility. Evaluating ways to improve general health with food and lifestyle habits.

Summer, a time for maintaining joint and tendons, rotations are focused upon for improving their range of movement. Swimming as much as possible.

Autumn, a time for adding and improving techniques, evaluating and focusing on the things that have been neglected. Connecting more with nature and the things that are more important than the usual superficial things.

Lupin1 · Black Belt

When it's really, really cold (like below 10ish degrees) it gets to me. All my muscles and joints are just so stiff and tense from being cold all day. That's when I usually get hurt (the other year my muscles were so tense I sneezed and someone pulled a muscle in my neck and was out for two weeks).

I don't mind the heat as much, but summer's the busiest time of year for me at work and so I don't get to class as much.

Fall is the best time because all the kids are getting back into it and the temperatures just right and it's nice.

Spring is ok, too, but usually by Spring the kids are losing motivation from the long year and are ready for summer.

DWx · Black Belt

Martial Arts is a bit different in that we don't really have an off-season. If you look at most sports: soccer, baseball, football, basketball, etc. they have a few months of the year when they're training and then they have time off until next year.

As martial artists, we never get a break and have to train in all weather.

Personally I actually like training in the winter more when it's dark at night. In summer I just get too hot and when the weather's nice would prefer to be outside doing other things.
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