Should You Change Your Workouts with the Seasons?

If you've ever...

• Craved cozy indoor workouts in the winter and longer walks in the summer

• Lost motivation when the days got shorter

• Felt more energized to train hard in spring than in late fall

• Wondered if your workout routine should “match” your energy levels

You’re not imagining it. And no, it doesn’t mean you’re inconsistent or lazy. It might just mean your body is trying to follow a seasonal rhythm.

We live in a culture that promotes “grind year-round” fitness, but that mindset ignores the reality of human physiology, especially in midlife. In this blog, we’ll talk about why seasonal periodization isn’t just for athletes, what the research says about adjusting your workouts across the year, and how to tune in to your body instead of pushing against it.

Table of Contents

1. Why Seasonal Shifts in Energy Are Real (Not Excuses)

2. What Is Periodization — and Why Should You Care?

3. How Hormones, Stress & Sleep Influence (But Don’t Limit) Training

4. What Each Season Offers (and How to Train With It)

5. The Midlife Factor: Adjusting Your Routine for Your Body Now

6. A Realistic, Seasonal Approach to Movement

7. Q&A: Training with the Seasons

8. Final Thoughts + CTA

1. Why Seasonal Shifts in Energy Are Real (Not Excuses)

It’s not just darker mornings or holiday stress. Seasonal shifts affect:

• Circadian rhythms — changes in daylight exposure affect melatonin, cortisol, and energy levels

• Mood and motivation — winter months are associated with lower dopamine and serotonin activity

• Sleep quality — people sleep longer in winter and have shorter REM phases

• Physical performance — studies show aerobic capacity and perceived exertion change seasonally

If you find yourself moving slower in the winter or craving more intensity in the summer, that’s not a lack of discipline, it’s your biology speaking.

2. What Is Periodization, and Why Should You Care?

Periodization is the intentional planning of training phases to optimize recovery, performance, and adaptation. It’s a concept widely used in sports science, but it’s just as valuable for midlife women who want to feel good, stay consistent, and avoid burnout.

There are typically three types:

• Macrocycles (yearly plan)

• Mesocycles (monthly or seasonal blocks)

• Microcycles (weekly routines)

And within these cycles, you can intentionally alternate between:

• Load or strength phases

• Endurance or skill phases

• Deload or recovery weeks

This creates structure — but with built-in flexibility. Instead of expecting yourself to do the same workouts all year long, periodization allows your body to adapt, grow, and rest — just like nature does.

3. How Hormones, Stress & Sleep Influence (But Don’t Limit) Training

Women’s hormones, stress levels, and sleep patterns do influence how the body responds to training, but current evidence does not support avoiding impact training or high-intensity exercise based on menstrual cycle phase, perimenopause, or menopause.

Instead, the goal is appropriate loading, recovery, and consistency, not restriction.

Across the menstrual cycle, estrogen and progesterone naturally fluctuate, and during midlife these patterns can become less predictable. These changes may affect:

• Perceived effort and fatigue

• Stress response (cortisol regulation)

• Sleep quality, including REM cycles and temperature regulation

• Muscle recovery and joint stiffness

However, research shows that women can safely and effectively perform impact training and high-intensity exercise throughout all phases of the menstrual cycle. In fact, these forms of training are critical for:

• Maintaining and building muscle mass

• Supporting bone density

• Improving insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular health

• Enhancing stress resilience over time

High-intensity and impact training do not inherently “spike cortisol” in a harmful way. Cortisol is a normal and necessary training response. Problems arise not from intensity itself, but from excess volume, insufficient recovery, poor sleep, or chronic psychological stress layered on top of training.

Rather than eliminating intensity during high-stress periods (like holidays or busy seasons), training should focus on:

• Maintaining intensity while adjusting volume if needed

• Prioritizing sleep and recovery strategies

• Using movement to regulate stress, not avoid it

Likewise, during times when energy and recovery feel better, the body is well-positioned to tolerate and adapt to progressive loading, including jumps, sprints, and HIIT.

Bottom line:Hormones do not dictate what women can do—they influence how we manage load. Impact training and high-intensity exercise remain essential tools across all life stages and cycle phases when programmed intelligently.

4. What Each Season Offers (and How to Train With It)

Seasonal changes affect schedules, daylight, stress, and recovery—but they do not require avoiding intensity or impact. Instead, each season offers a different opportunity to build, express, or maintain physical capacity while keeping training realistic and sustainable.

🍁 Fall: Rebuild Capacity & Focus

Fall often feels like a reset, routines stabilize and consistency becomes easier. This makes it an ideal time to re-establish structured training and rebuild tolerance to load.

Fall is great for:

• Returning to regular strength and impact training

• Building consistency with weekly movement

• Refining movement quality (core control, balance, coordination)

• Using efficient, focused sessions as daylight decreases

Foundational work doesn’t mean low intensity, it means setting the base that allows harder training later.

✅ Try:

• 2–3x/week full-body strength

• Include jump training, power, sprint or HIIT elements

• Daily walking or low-intensity movement for recovery

• 1 intentional recovery or mobility-focused day

🚫 Avoid:

• Avoiding intensity out of fear

• Large, sudden increases in volume

• “All or nothing” thinking

Think: rebuild tolerance, not hold back. Fall is about preparing your body to handle load.

❄️ Winter: Maintain Intensity, Manage Volume

Winter can bring disrupted sleep, higher stress, and colder temperatures, but this is not a reason to eliminate intensity or impact training. Strength, HIIT, and power work remain essential for muscle, bone, and metabolic health.

Winter is a season to:

• Maintain strength and impact exposure

• Keep intensity present while adjusting total volume if needed

• Prioritize warm-ups and longer recovery between sessions

• Use movement to support mood, stress regulation, and sleep

Cold tissues aren’t fragile, they just need adequate preparation.

✅ Try:

• 2–3x/week strength training

• Short HIIT or sprint-style sessions with impact or power elements (low time, high return)

• Daily movement “snacks” (walks, mobility, light play)

🚫 Avoid:

• Eliminating intensity entirely

• Saving all training “for spring”

• Mistaking reduced motivation for reduced capacity

Think: intensity stays, volume flexes.

🌱 Spring: Progressive Loading & Growth

Spring often brings increased energy and motivation, making it a great time to progress training stress and chase adaptation.

Spring supports:

• Progressive overload in strength and impact training

• Increased volume or density of workouts

• Outdoor movement and sport-specific training

• Building muscle mass to support metabolism, bone, and hormone health

This is a prime season for intentionally challenging the system.

✅ Try:

• 3x/week strength training (progress loads, reps, or complexity)

• 1–2 HIIT or Jump/Impact, Sprint or power-focused sessions

• 1 active recovery day

🚫 Avoid:

• Ignoring recovery entirely

• Adding intensity and volume at the same time without structure

Think: apply stress → recover → adapt.

☀️ Summer: Express Strength & Power Through Play

Summer is ideal for expressing the capacity you’ve built, without losing the strength and impact that protect muscle and bone.

Summer is perfect for:

• Playful, functional movement (hikes, sprints, swimming, sports)

• Maintaining strength and power gains

• Heat-aware hydration and recovery strategies

• Flexible training during travel or shifting schedules

Training can be less rigid, but it shouldn’t disappear.

✅ Try:

• 2x/week strength or impact-focused sessions

• Outdoor cardio, intervals, or sport-based movement

• Short, efficient workouts when time is limited

🚫 Avoid:

• Dropping all resistance or impact work

• Equating “fun” with ineffective

Think: adapt the format, not the stimulus.

Big Picture Takeaway

Seasons don’t determine what your body can handle, they shape how you organize training stress and recovery. Strength, impact, and high-intensity exercise remain essential year-round for bone, muscle, metabolic, and long-term health.

5. The Midlife Factor: Adjusting Your Routine for Your Body Now

In midlife, your body is different than it was at 25, and your workouts may need to reflect that.

Here’s what science tells us:

• Muscle protein synthesis declines with age — strength training becomes non-negotiable

• Recovery takes longer — rest days aren’t optional

• Joint health changes — mobility and stability matter more

• Sleep quality may decrease — and overtraining makes it worse

• Stress resilience may shift — workouts must account for total life load

By periodizing your workouts by season and midlife realities, you create a plan that honors both science and self-respect.

6. A Realistic, Seasonal Approach to Movement

You don’t need a 4-phase athlete plan or a perfectly optimized spreadsheet. What you need is consistent exposure to strength, impact, and intensity, organized in a way that works with real life.

Seasons don’t change what your body needs; they change how much structure, volume, and flexibility make sense at that time.

Seasonal Focus

Season	Primary Focus
Fall	Rebuild capacity & re-establish structure
Winter	Maintain strength, impact, and tolerance
Spring	Progress load, power, and conditioning
Summer	Express strength & sustain gains through play

What This Looks Like in Practice

• Strength, impact, and intensity stay year-round

• Volume and session length flex with stress, sleep, and schedule

• Short, high-quality sessions still drive adaptation

• Recovery is proactive, not a replacement for training

Example guardrails (not rules):

• Fall/Winter: keep intensity, slightly reduce volume if stress is high

• Spring: progress load, reps, or complexity

• Summer: maintain strength while using outdoor, playful movement to express power

Let movement ebb and flow with your life, but keep the signals your body needs to stay strong: load, impact, and consistency.

7. Q&A: Should You Periodize Your Workouts?

Q: Do I really need to change workouts seasonally? A: You don’t have to, but aligning your routine with energy, sunlight, and stress patterns can improve adherence, enjoyment, and results.

Q: What if I hate winter workouts? A: Great! Don’t force it. Focus on maintenance and mood-boosting movement. Short sessions count.

Q: Isn’t consistency the key? Won’t this mess that up? A: Periodization actually improves consistency by preventing burnout. You stay consistent through variety, not by avoiding it.

Q: Can I just do walking year-round? A: Yes, but prioritize strength 2-3x/week to support bone health, metabolism, and functional strength & HIIT, Sprint, Impact/Jump training. Cardio guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine are 75 minutes of vigorous intensity of 150 minutes of moderate intensity per week.

Q: How do I track progress if I’m changing things up? A: Use seasonal goals (e.g., maintain strength in winter, build in spring) and track how you feel, energy, mood, sleep, not just metrics.

Final Thoughts: Let the Seasons Guide You, Not Guilt You

Nature rests. Animals hibernate. Trees shed. Why are we the only species trying to do the same thing, the same way, every single month?

Your body wasn’t made to hustle year-round. It was made to adapt, recover, and grow in cycles.

Let go of the idea that changing your workout routine means failure. It’s actually the strategy that makes long-term consistency possible.

🌿 Ready to Build a Routine That Honors Every Season of Your Life?

Inside the Honor Your Body app and group program, we help women create movement plans that:

• Match their energy and stress loads

• Adapt with the seasons (and hormone shifts)

• Include strength, rest, mobility, and joy

• Are led by real professionals, not influencers

✨ Join us today and discover how strong, sustainable movement can feel.