In cold weather, in order to be fit and safe we need to be careful about certain things while exercising outside. For people like walkers, skaters, runners and snowboarders, giving up on exercise for a while just because of cold weather conditions is simply not acceptable. So there are a number of things suggested that people must consider while exercising in cold weather.
The most important thing before stepping out of your house to exercise is to check the weather forecast. The temperature that is termed alarming is -30°C and this temperature surely does suggest a cutoff for an outdoor exercise. This is because there is a high risk of you catching frostbite and hypothermia.
While exercising, your body needs more energy than usual. Therefore, to keep your body from being exhausted sooner than expected, you need to have a meal an hour or two before your workout. It is the case when you exercise in cold weather, but in colder temperature your muscles need a greater amount of energy than usual as you need more energy to keep your body warm.
You also need a better warm up exercise than usual, as you need to feel equally warm from head to toe. So try doing a couple of exercises before starting your actual outdoors exercise. For example, you may need to warm up with stationary jog exercises, squats, arm swings, etc.
Dressing accordingly is the best strategy. Therefore, do take your dress attire as the significant element of your workout in cold weather. However, dressing up too much is a bad idea, moreover layers of clothes could be removed or added according to your body temperature. You must opt for, gloves and socks to prevent heat loss, a face mask to take in moisten air to the lungs and last but not least, shoes with gripping sole will keep you from falling on the ice.
Even though it’s cold and you don’t feel that thirsty in cold weather, you still need to keep yourself hydrated. You need to be very careful about your water intake because even in cold weather the dehydration resulting from sweating could be a concern. Therefore in such cases a fuel belt that is held close to the body or a thermal water bottle are a good idea to go with, as they keep the liquids from freezing in such low temperature.
At the end you need to be extremely careful and should decrease the intensity of your exercise gradually. It is suggested that you do your cool down steps indoors and you should get out of your wet clothes as soon as possible.
The precautions mentioned above are solely for the individuals who are healthy. However, if you have asthma or any other chronic health problems you should consult your health care professional. Below is a few more tips on what should be done if you decide to exercise in cold weather:
