Exercising in the Cold
We’ve all felt that shift in the weather recently, where we are having to wear an extra layer in the morning, or maybe even a jacket when you head out to your car. This can only lead to one thing… the cold weather is coming, whether we are ready for it or not.
Coach Ellie just posted a great blog post about building consistency and exercising beyond the summer, (link here!), so let’s dive in a little deeper about what exercising in the winter can look like.
Indoors:
This one’s pretty simple. The gym is heated so you really only have to worry about the walk from the car to the gym. Throw a warm jacket on and a change of shoes to keep our gym floors clean, dry, and safe.
However, are you normally one of those that occasionally (or always) skips their warm up? If you are cold heading into the gym, it may be a good idea to spend a couple minutes warming up before starting your workout. When you are cold, you have reduced blood flow to your limbs and less elasticity in your muscles. That five minute bike warm up increases blood flow to your limbs, increasing the pliability of your muscles. This reduces the risk of injury when your muscles are firing like normal.
Outdoors:
The importance of stretching remains the same as when exercising indoors. Muscles need to be warmed up before being put straight to hard use.
The added element of mother nature is what makes things a little more complicated when exercising outdoors.
Staying warm. This is the most important thing, layering enough to maintain body heat is essential to staying warm when exercising outside in the cold. The type of layers that you are wearing is important for health and safety. Cotton holds water and does not dry quickly, so it soaks up all the sweat and then a cold, wet layer is on you to make you cold quickly! Material that absorbs moisture and dries quickly is a better option.
Bundling up too much while exercising can be dangerous. While you are exercising, you are creating a lot of body heat, and those layers that felt needed before you started exercising, can quickly make you overheat and sweat more. This sweat is a layer of moisture that will stay on your body and make you colder. Instead, aim to dress for weather that is slightly warmer than it actually is, so that the extra heat you create while exercising does not cause you to sweat. That will just motivate you to start exercising quicker once you get outside!
Consider the full picture of the weather when you are exercising outdoors. Air temperature is not the only thing that factors into the real feel and how you should dress. Other factors such as wind or precipitation can make the temperature feel warmer or colder.
Something to be mindful of: If you are sweating or your clothes get wet, in order to stay warm, your body needs to continue working to continue producing heat to keep you warm. If you stop exercising and have wet layers on, then your body will get cold quickly. Keep this in mind when planning your outdoor adventure. Even keeping a spare dry layer to change into will help maintain some body heat if you need it in a pinch.
Exercising in the cold can be fun, but also brings some added things to think about. Being prepared and knowledgeable is always the key to success and ensuring that your adventure ends the same way it started - with fun and excitement, not with any injuries.
- Coach Morgan
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