As the temperature drops over the winter months and the festive parties begin, it can be hard to keep motivated and keep fit.
Winter has a talent for turning a planned workout into a negotiation with the sofa.
Born Barikor’s winter workout routine is built for exactly that point in the year: no equipment, no elaborate setup and enough structure to stop “I’ll do it tomorrow” becoming a seasonal tradition.
Barikor, founder of Our Parks and known for leading Tough Mudder Bootcamp sessions across the UK, keeps the prescription refreshingly uncomplicated. His approach combines full-body bodyweight work, agility and balance drills, leg training and a few habits designed to make winter exercise more sustainable rather than more heroic.
The routine is simple, but it is not a token workout
The first circuit uses four familiar movements: press-ups, crunches, walking lunges and jump squats. Each is performed for 15 repetitions, with five sets in total and two minutes’ rest between sets.
That gives the session a useful quality: there is very little to learn, but plenty to do. Across those four exercises, one full set amounts to 60 repetitions. Complete all five and the total reaches 300. Simplicity, in other words, should not be mistaken for an easy afternoon.
Barikor describes whole-body bodyweight training as a way to maintain strength across the body while keeping sessions varied. The practical advantage in winter is obvious. There is no need to wait for a machine, find a particular piece of kit or build an elaborate home-gym corner that eventually becomes a place to dry washing.
Add agility before winter makes everything feel static
A second block shifts the emphasis towards movement quality, balance and athleticism. It includes a 15-second bear crawl, burpees, lateral box jumps and a press-up to side kick, again using 15 repetitions where applicable, five sets and two minutes’ rest between sets.
This is the more dynamic section of the plan. Burpees and lateral jumps ask more of coordination than a straightforward squat or crunch, while the bear crawl changes the position and demands of the session completely.
The important point is not to turn every exercise into a race. Barikor’s pacing advice is particularly relevant here.
“Once you stop, that’s when it becomes hard.”
His recommendation is to resist charging through the opening minutes and then running out of steam later. A set pace gives the session somewhere to go.
Leg strength without leaving the house
For days when outdoor training has lost its charm, Barikor’s leg-strength block can be done indoors without equipment. The four movements are deep squats, reverse lunges, hip thrusts and lateral lunges.
Again, the format is 15 repetitions, five sets and two minutes’ rest between sets. The mix covers several directions of movement rather than relying on endless conventional squats. Barikor also points out that the exercises recruit the core as well as the legs.
That makes this section useful for anyone whose main winter obstacle is logistical rather than physical. If the weather is poor, the daylight has vanished or getting to a gym simply feels like one task too many, the session can still happen indoors.
Warm up properly and leave the sprint finish for later
Cold weather can encourage two opposite mistakes: doing nothing at all, or trying to compensate by attacking a workout too hard once it finally starts. Barikor argues for a more measured middle ground.
He stresses the importance of warming up in winter to get blood flowing before harder exercise and says this can reduce the chance of injury. He also advises working at a pace that can be sustained rather than treating the first set as a qualifying lap.
That is probably the most useful part of the plan. The exercises themselves are familiar. The discipline lies in not wasting all the energy in the opening few minutes. Five sets are much less appealing when set one has been performed as if there is prize money involved.
Dress for the session you are actually doing
Clothing matters more in winter because the temperature changes quickly once movement stops. For outdoor sessions, Barikor recommends layers that help keep the body warm. Indoors, the issue is different: activewear should be comfortable and should not restrict movement.
It sounds obvious, which is precisely why it is easy to ignore. A workout can be perfectly well designed and still become irritating if the clothing is wrong for the temperature or the movement.
The same practical thinking applies to location. The leg circuit works indoors. The bodyweight circuit needs no equipment. The plan removes several small excuses before they have a chance to become large ones.
Make the workout harder to cancel
Motivation is unreliable at the best of times and winter does not improve its attendance record. Barikor’s simplest behavioural suggestion is to involve another person.
“You are more likely to cancel your workout plans if you are working out alone.”
Training with a friend or family member creates a commitment beyond your own changing mood, which may be enough to get the session started on a cold evening.
That is the real strength of this winter plan. It does not depend on novelty, expensive equipment or a sudden outbreak of festive self-discipline. It relies on movements most people already recognise, a repeatable structure and a little accountability.
Winter will still be cold. The parties will still happen. The sofa will continue to make a persuasive case. The useful bit is having a routine that does not require ideal conditions before you begin.
