Three reasons to shift your workouts with the seasons

Why I've moved my garage workouts back into the gym, and why you should implement this strategy in your own movement routine

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The last week of October, I rolled up my garage door as usual to start my workout. It was 6:30 AM (a little late for me), but it was still pitch dark. Like, dark-dark. I checked my weather app: “Sunrise at 7:42 AM.” I shivered and checked again—it was 42 degrees. I sighed, closed the garage door to preserve some heat, turned on all the lights, and finished the last garage gym workout of the season.

This morning, I packed my gym bag for the first time since May and drove to the gym for my workout. It was a struggle to get there, but it always is. Going back into the commercial gym is like admitting summer is over, which I am always reluctant to do. However, this practice is part of what’s kept me fit, injury-free, and excited to work out year-round for the last four years.

Over the course of the year, I find myself naturally flowing between exercise programs, intensities, durations, and locations as the seasons change. It’s not something I intentionally calendar; it’s mostly intuitive. However, I’ve discovered these seasonal shifts are money when it comes to your health, happiness, and fitness. Here’s what I do, how you can do it too, and three ways seasonal variation can benefit your physical and mental health.

Summer is for light and long, winter is for heavy and fast (generally speaking)

Here’s how my seasonal shifts have been playing out like clockwork since I decided to intuitively follow my body wherever it was taking me:

September - October: Fall shoulder season*

The sun comes up late, mornings are cool, and I transition out of my garage (where I’ve loved working out with the door rolled up) back into my commercial gym. I’m still hiking and trail running a lot (fall is the best!), but I’m feeling the itch to start lifting again, and need to return to more structured mobility work. (Both things I’ve only lightly maintained during summer.) I’ll usually overlap running and lifting for a bit, but once it starts snowing, historically I’ve moved back inside.

*In mountain towns like Park City, “shoulder season” is the period between peak season and off-season. It’s a quiet time when neither winter activities nor summer activities are in full swing. I’m borrowing the concept.

November - March: Heavier, faster (in short bursts), more structured

Come winter, I’m in the gym 5-6 mornings a week, lifting, dragging the sled, rucking, doing shorter bursts of HIIT (the ski erg, step-ups, burpees), and lots of mobility work. My workouts are longer too, as I return to more structured programming. I might set a strength goal or simply return to progressive overload, gradually increasing my weights, reps, or time under tension. This year, I plan to keep running on the treadmill and outside when the weather permits, but certainly won’t log the miles I did over the summer. I’ll also do some shorter winter hikes, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing—I have to stay outside year-round for my mental health.

April - May: Spring shoulder season

By this point in the year, I’m restless. I’m very much bored with the gym, and my joints, muscles, and mental health are all telling me I need a break from lifting. On warmer mornings, instead of going into the gym, I might just roll up the garage door. Whiteboard season is back! (I have a whiteboard where I share messages each day behind my workouts.) I’ll start running again too, starting off with shorter distances to get back into the swing. At this point in the year, I’m also itching to hike. I’ll start getting out there with some lower elevation trails (to avoid the snow).

June - August: Lighter, longer, and flowing

It’s OFFICIALLY SUMMER, and I DON’T WANT TO BE INSIDE. I won’t set foot in the commercial gym once all summer long. I’m hiking my face off, running more often and longer distances, doing every outside yoga class I can find, and supplementing all of that with garage workouts. In my garage, I’m lifting much lighter, focusing more on endurance, core, and flexibility. My gym sessions are more relaxed too (it’s hard to focus with Henry in your face), and shorter. I also don’t ruck in summer, because summer is for moving light and going long.

How seasonal variance can benefit YOU

These shifts can serve three important purposes in your physical health, mental health, and fitness.

1: Prevents injuries

By April or May, after a few months of progressive overload and heavy lifting (even with rest days and lots of recovery), my body just feels banged-up. My hips are sore, my knees are sore, and the heavier I lift, the slower and more sluggish I feel. That’s when I know it’s time to shift my workouts.

Some people’s bodies can do the same workouts (running, powerlifting, or sport-specific drills) day in and day out for years. I love that for you! My old lady body cannot—and yours might not either. If I keep lifting heavy, things start to hurt. If I kept running as much as I’ve run this summer, things would start to hurt. The more static your training, the more you run the risk of an overuse injury, or hurting yourself more acutely.

Mixing things up by season helps your body recover from the muscles it’s been using for a few months straight, and recruit other muscles, movement patterns, body systems, and stabilizers. This can prove incredibly helpful in keeping you healthy and injury-free.

2: Supports motivation and mental health

There were many years when I was excited to go to the gym every single morning. I loved it! I was never bored! It all felt exciting! But at some point that shifted. I found myself wanting to move, but bored or unsatisfied with the gym environment. So I’d force myself to go, perform a lackluster workout, and beat myself up for losing my “drive.”

When I started honoring those feelings and allowed myself to explore different athletic pursuits, my joy and motivation came back in full-force. Changing your environment, movement patterns, activities, social groups, speeds, intensities, and/or equipment can be super motivating. Every year, I get excited to rediscover the tools in my garage gym, and then a few months later, I get equally excited to rediscover all the fun equipment in my gym-gym. Every year, I take a few months off from hiking, then get excited to explore the mountains again. It’s like a built-in dopamine hit every few months!

No matter how much you love hiking, running, lifting, or swimming, there may come a time when you feel burned out, bored, or just over it. Honor those feelings! See where your body and interests take you. You may discover a new pursuit you love, join a group class and make new friends, or simply shift into a different activity that does excite you. Any of these shifts will be great for your mental health.

3: Rounds out your fitness

As far as I’m concerned, this is the least important reason for seasonally varying your workouts—but it’s certainly icing on the cake! Over the course of the year, I’m lifting heavy weights for fewer reps, and lighter weights for more reps. I’m doing long slow distance cardio; and short, fast, high-intensity cardio. I’m using my legs a lot, then giving my legs a break while I focus on the rest of my body. I’m inside, outside, on trails, on pavement, in group classes, and training by myself.

If you have one driving fitness goal, like hitting a 200-lb. squat, this would not be the best approach. But if you’re a generalist who just wants to feel prepared in a variety of physical pursuits at any given moment, this approach is brilliant. You’ll be far more well-rounded than when you were doing the same workouts in the gym all year long. And because your workouts are so varied, your fitness will be pretty well balanced across speed, strength, endurance, and power.

Flow with the seasons

You can insert seasonal variations into your workout in all kinds of ways. Maybe in the winter, you ruck (heavier and slower), but in the summer, you walk, jog, or hike. Maybe in the winter, you lift weights and do hot yoga, and in the summer, you swim, paddle, and bike.

You can vary your exercise routine by trying a new class, joining a new group, changing your environment, or getting inspired by something you saw on Instagram or TikTok. I have a friend who spent one entire summer learning how to shuffle dance. That was her only form of exercise besides hiking. She got really good at it, and developed mad cardio!

The biggest point I want to make: Don’t force yourself to stay stuck in a movement pattern that doesn’t feel good, isn’t bringing you joy, and/or isn’t what you want to do. If the changing of the seasons presents a good opportunity to make a shift, take advantage of that! But you don’t have to wait, either. It’s okay to wake up one day, say “I don’t want to do this anymore,” and do something else. In fact, that might be the best decision you could make for your health, happiness, and fitness.

XO, MU