What is a winter arc? Behind the seasonal TikTok trend

We may only be into October, but people online are already entering their "winter arc".

Instead of waiting for the New Year resolutions in January to come around, the "winter arc" is all about making the most of the last three months of the year - from October 1 to December 31.

(Though, winter technically doesn't start until December 21, and ends on March 20...)

It echoes the "October Theory" trend that has similarly been making rounds on video platforms such as TikTok, where users have shared how they are putting their best foot forward for the final months of 2024.

But the winter arch trend has seemingly encompassed everyone from your alpha males to self-help girlies - so what exactly are they advising us to do?

"It's day one. This is your fourth quarter. Everything that happened prior to this? Throw that s*** out the window. Three months. That's all it takes. And bro it's going to get cold out. Trust me. You gonna fold? Or are you gonna weather the storm? Lock in, cancel out the noise, and go dark. It's your time. It's always been your time," TikToker @wissamnabulsii said in his viral video with over 1.9m views.

While @lenalifts declared "Our new January 1st is October 1st," in her video with over 1.2m views. She described the winter arc as when "you use the colder winter months to lock in, limiting any distraction, being disciplined, and basically becoming the best version of yourself by spring and summer," and added she stayed consistent in her goals because of her "own will".

The overarching theme of all the viral advice that has been given appears to revolve around having some kind of transformation by losing weight and gaining muscle through exercise and other factors such as walking 10,000 steps per day and dieting.

However, other "winter arc" activities also include waking up early, journalling, getting eight hours of sleep per night, wearing all-black jogger sets and even shaving your head to really "lock in".

There is often a lot of expectation and pressure on New Year resolutions when January comes around, but the answer to relieving this apprehension isn't necessarily trends like this appearing earlier in the calendar.

And while exercising and journalling are great ways to look after your physical and mental well-being, we must be mindful of comparing ourselves to others online who perhaps promote aspirational goals that are not attainable for most people.

The constant feeling of need to improve ourselves isn't a healthy outlook to have, which is something to keep in mind when "winter arc" or similar videos appear on your feed.

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