Winter changes how you train. That is not a lack of discipline. It is a training variable.
Shorter days. Darker evenings. Colds that move through every studio and office from October onwards. Travel and family plans stacking up towards the end of the year. Energy that dips earlier in the afternoon than it did in July.
Most aerialists respond to this in one of two ways. They push through as if nothing has changed, or they stop altogether and lose the rhythm they spent all year building.
There is a third option. Make your training seasonal.
Why winter feels harder
Your body does not operate in a vacuum. The conditions around it shape what it can do.
Less daylight can affect your sleep, your mood and your energy. Busier weeks leave less room for recovery. A cold, even a mild one, adds a load your body has to deal with on top of training. And if you are in perimenopause, you may already be working with sleep disruption and fatigue that does not resolve with rest.
Stack those together and a session that felt easy in summer can feel like a mountain in December.
That is not decline. It is the season. And the season is something you can plan for.
Managing the transition into a harder season
I treat winter as a transition, not a crisis. The goal is not to keep everything the same. The goal is to keep what matters and let the rest flex.
Lower the volume, keep the anchors
Volume is the first thing to adjust. Fewer sets, fewer sessions, or shorter sessions.
What stays are your anchors: cross-training and mobility. These are the parts of your programme that protect your joints, maintain your strength and keep you ready for the apparatus. Even a reduced version of them keeps the thread unbroken.
Protect recovery
Sleep, rest days and lighter weeks are not a concession. They are where adaptation happens. In winter, they need more protection, not less.
Keep sessions short and stacked
This is the change I made in my own training, and it has made the biggest difference.
I used to love long sessions. Now, past about 30 minutes, I disengage. So I keep my sessions short, simple and stacked onto something I already do. That way, training does not depend on motivation. It depends on a routine that is already in place.
Short sessions still count. The World Health Organization guidelines on physical activity are clear that some activity is better than none, and they recommend regular muscle-strengthening work for every age group (Bull et al., 2020). You do not need two hours in the gym to make that happen.
Training around a cold or illness
This is one of the questions I get most in winter. Should you train when you are ill?
The general guidance below is not medical advice. If you are unsure, or your symptoms are more than mild, speak to your GP.
When to rest
If your symptoms are below the neck (chest congestion, aching muscles, fever, an upset stomach), rest. The same applies if you feel generally unwell or exhausted. Training will not help your body recover from that, and it can delay your return.
When gentle movement may be fine
If your symptoms are mild and above the neck (a runny nose, mild congestion, a slight sore throat), gentle movement may be fine. Many sports medicine clinicians use this "neck check" as a rule of thumb.
There is some research on this. In one controlled study, young adults who were deliberately infected with a common cold virus and then did moderate exercise every other day had colds that were no more severe and no longer lasting than those who did not exercise (Weidner et al., 1998). That was a small study in a specific group, so it is not a licence to train hard while ill. But it does suggest that light, sensible movement with a mild head cold is unlikely to make things worse.
What to change
If you do train with a mild cold:
Drop the intensity. This is not the week for heavy lifts or new skills on the hoop
Shorten the session. Mobility, light conditioning or a gentle flow
Skip inversions and drops if your head is congested or you feel off balance
Stop if you feel worse during the session, not better
Keep your germs to yourself and stay away from shared studio equipment
Then return gradually. Your first session back should feel easy.
Training while travelling or with no equipment
Travel is one of the most common challenges in my clients' weekly check-ins, and it peaks at this time of year.
The answer is a travel version of your programme, planned before you go. A few principles:
Bodyweight or a resistance band covers most of what you need for a short block
Focus on your anchors: pulling and pushing patterns, trunk work and mobility
Keep it short. Twenty to thirty minutes is enough to maintain
Decide when you will train before you leave, not when you arrive
Maintaining through a busy period is a win. You do not need to make progress every week to stay on track.
Cycle-aware and perimenopause-aware training through winter
If you have a menstrual cycle, or you are in perimenopause, your energy and recovery may already vary week to week. Winter can add to that.
Track it. Notice which weeks feel heavier and plan your harder sessions where you tend to feel stronger. On the weeks you feel flat, lower the intensity and keep the anchors.
This is not about following a rigid formula. It is about using your own information. The hormonal environment your nervous system is working in is a training variable, the same as sleep or volume.
Rebalancing so you do not burn out
This season, I am learning to rebalance so I do not burn out. Finding a bit more kindness and grace with myself, and letting my training fit the life I have right now instead of the one I had five years ago.
That is the shift I want for you too. Seasonal training is not lower standards. It is smarter training.
Practical ways to get started
Here is how to build your winter version this week.
Step 1: Write down your winter week
Look at the next six weeks. Mark travel, family plans, work events and the evenings you know you will be tired. That is your real schedule.
Step 2: Choose your anchors
Pick the two or three things you will keep no matter what. For most aerialists, that is a short strength session, a mobility session and time on the apparatus when you can get there.
Step 3: Make each session shorter
Aim for around 30 minutes. Stack each one onto something already fixed in your week, such as straight after a class or before work.
Step 4: Plan your illness and travel versions
Decide now what a sick-week session and a travel session look like, so you do not have to think about it when the time comes.
If you want to see where your strength and mobility gaps sit before you plan your winter block, my free Kinetic Chain Assessment is a good place to start. Get the Kinetic Chain Assessment here
Frequently asked questions
Should I keep training aerial through the winter?
Yes, if you can, but it does not need to look the same. Lower volume, keep your cross-training and mobility anchors, and protect your recovery.
Can I train with a cold?
Use the neck check as a rule of thumb. Mild symptoms above the neck may allow gentle movement. Symptoms below the neck, fever or feeling generally unwell mean rest. If in doubt, speak to your GP.
How short can a workout be and still count?
Shorter than you think. A focused 20 to 30-minute session you do consistently is worth more than a long session you keep skipping.
Winter is a season, not a setback
Your winter training should not look like your summer training. It should look like winter.
Lower the volume. Keep the anchors. Protect your recovery. Keep it short and stacked.
And if you want a programme that adjusts with the season you are in, the Aerial Performance Lab is built for exactly that. Membership starts at £27.99 a month on the Foundation tier. Find out more about the Aerial Performance Lab
References
Bull, F. C., Al-Ansari, S. S., Biddle, S., et al. (2020) 'World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour', British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(24), pp. 1451-1462. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2020-102955
Weidner, T. G., Cranston, T., Schurr, T. and Kaminsky, L. A. (1998) 'The effect of exercise training on the severity and duration of a viral upper respiratory illness', Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 30(11), pp. 1578-1583. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005768-199811000-00004
