It is easy to pile on the excuses for not exercising: “It's too cold”; “I'm too tired”; “It's too dark”; “It's the Christmas holidays so I'm bound to pile on the pounds anyway”.

    At this time of year you are probably feeling exhausted.

    However, you could actually do with maintaining rather than reducing your efforts because you are going to need all the energy you can get to cope with the demands of the new year.

    I'm too tired

    Although it feels like the last thing you need, exercise increases the levels of oxygen in your body and stimulates the nervous and digestive systems which, in turn, will raise your energy levels significantly. While intensive training will make you feel tired, moderate levels will give you a positive boost. Focus on cardiovascular exercise in 30-minute sessions, and try to stay within a relatively comfortable zone, say seven out of ten - on a scale where 1 equals being totally at rest and 10 is being completely exhausted.

    For your resistance training, try changing your routine a bit if you have been doing heavy-strength work, and focus on circuit training- type sessions, which give you a general workout.

    Too cold, too dark

    If you can't summon up much enthusisam for exercising outdoors, perhaps you can use the daylight hours, in your luncbreak if necessary. If you usually exercise for 60 minutes, it's fine to cut it back to 30 for now. Or why not try exercising at home? You can do the latter with a simple routine that alternates between the upper and lower body in a circuit, such as press-ups, squats and lunges. This approach to exercise raises heart rate and works the entire body well. Or you might concentrate on key areas, such as your tummy. It's not always easy to do a full routine at home if you don't feel motivated or your surroundings don't feel quite right, but you could focus on doing a 10 to 15-minute routine for the stomach, combining exercises for all parts of the waist. For more on the exercises, go to timesonline.co.uk/dietandfitness .

    Try something new

    If you usually run or cycle or play tennis, try a new activity that can be done throughout the winter, such as swimming. The change in routine is good for mind and body. If you swim now, you could enter a duathlon (swim and cycle, or swim and run) in spring and build towards a triathlon later in the year.

    Get on with it

    If you procrastinate until the new year, you are making your task harder when it arrives. Stop-start exercise plays havoc with your metabolism and nullifies any gains. The increased calorie intake and partying are all the more reason for building some form of routine.

    We are all fighting our own recessionary battles, but if you feel fit, healthy and focused enough you can win them faster and be more than ready for when things get better.

    我們很容易找到成堆的借口不去鍛煉：“太冷了”；“我太累了”；“天太黑了”；“現在是圣誕節假日，所以不管怎樣我注定要增肥了”。

    一年中的這個時候你大概會感到精疲力盡。

    然而，你實際上應該堅持而不是減少你的努力，因為你需要全部的精力去應對新的一年的需求。

    我太累了。

    縱然你感覺鍛煉是你最不需要的事情，但鍛煉可以提高你體內的氧氣含量并刺激神經和消化系統，從而很大程度的提升身體的能量。盡管強化訓練會讓你感覺到累，然而適度等級的訓練會讓你的能量得到積極的提升。把精力集中于30分鐘階段的心臟血管鍛煉，設法讓自己停留在相對舒適圈，從1到10中說出7個數-說第一個時完全靜止，到10時就完全精疲力盡了。

    如果你一直從事高強度的工作，那么對于你的健體訓練，試著改變一點常規，將精力集中于周期性的訓練，它將會讓你得到整體的鍛煉。

    太冷了，太黑了。

    如果你對戶外運動沒有太多熱情的話，也許你可以在午休時間利用白天的時間鍛煉一下。如果你通常鍛煉60分鐘，現在可以縮短到30分鐘。或者何不試著在家鍛煉？對于后者你可以遵從一個簡單的循環例程：身體上半部分和下半部分交替鍛煉，比如說做俯臥撐，蹲下，跳遠。這種鍛煉方法可以提高心率，對全身有益。或者你可以集中鍛煉主要部位，比如說胃。如果你沒有足夠的動力或周圍環境不太適合的話，通常很難在家做完整的鍛煉例程。但你可以用10到15分鐘集中鍛煉胃，結合腰部的鍛煉。關于更多的鍛煉信息，請到timesonline.co.uk/dietandfitness查閱 .

    嘗試一些新花樣。

    如果你經常跑步或做循環鍛煉或打網球，那么嘗試一下可以在冬天做的新的運動，比如說游泳。鍛煉例程的改變有益身心。如果現在你現在堅持游泳，你還可以在春天進行兩項鍛煉（游泳加循環鍛煉，或者游泳加跑步），然后在一年中之后的時間同時做三項鍛煉。

    行動起來吧！

    如果你想一直耽擱到新的一年，那么當它到來時你的任務會更難。三天打漁兩天曬網的鍛煉會對新陳代謝造成嚴重破壞，并且前功盡棄。熱量的不斷攝入和參加派對都是讓你建立某種鍛煉例程的因素。

    我們都在同我們身體的衰退做斗爭，但如果你感覺舒適，健康并且能夠做到足夠集中的話，就可以更快的贏得勝利，而且當情況變得更好時，我們的身體也會更健康。