Exercising during the warmer weather when the sun is shining is much easier than exercising when the weather is chilled with freezing wind.
During winter, people are forced to remain indoors because of the chilling winds; sometimes, exercising outside can expose you to the harmful effect of the cold winds. However, there are safety procedures that you can implement when exercising during cold weather to ensure that you keep fit while protecting your body.
In this blog post, you will find out some useful exercise tips for cold weather.
5 Exercise Tips For Cold Weather .
1. Dress properly and in layers
Your dressing is the most important thing to consider when exercising outside during cold weather. You must dress appropriately and in layers no matter your activity.
Dressing in layers helps you to balance your body temperature against the cold breeze. The first layer of clothing should be a fabric that allows for the easy evaporation of moisture from your skin, such as light polyester.
The second layer should be an insulating fabric, which can be a wool or polyester fleece, while the outer layer, which is the third, should be rain or wind-repellent fabric. Also, wear a sweat cap, gloves, and socks to protect your head, hands, and feet. Avoid wearing cotton fabric as it retains water to your skin.
2. Adequate hydration
Proper hydration during this season is as important as during the hot season. You must take a lot of water and sports fluids even though you are not thirsty; this is because it is difficult to notice dehydration during cold weather, especially when exercising.
3. Wear protective fabric for your head, ears, hands, and feet
When the weather is cold, and you are outdoors in the freezing breeze, the blood flow gets concentrated in your body’s core part, leaving your head, ears, hands, and feet prone to frostbite – this is why they should be given additional protection.
Get a stick wool sweat cap and a headband for your head to ensure it extends and covers your ears. For your hands, get a heavy glove made of fleece or wool.
Also, you can get a liner made of polypropylene underneath the heavy glove to protect your hands. For your feet, eat a pair of thermal socks or double pair of normal socks.
4. Check the weather forecast before stepping out
Before stepping outside for an exercise, you must check the weather forecast for wind chill and extreme weather. Extreme wind chill can make exercising in cold water unsafe even with your warm layered clothing. The wind can penetrate your body, remove all the insulating layers of warm clothing, and expose your body to frostbite.
5. Check your body for signs of frostbite
Frostbite is an injury you get on your body caused by freezing. The part of your body most prone to frostbit is your ears, nose, cheeks, nose, hands, and feet.
Early signs of frostbite are numbness, stinging sensation, or loss of feeling. When you notice more of these signs, do not rub the affected area, slowly warm the area to relieve the symptoms.
If the symptoms persist, seek immediate medical care. You should check your body at intervals during exercise for these possible signs.
Conclusion
When exercising in cold weather, your safety comes first. Ensure your body is well covered and protected. In addition to the above, ensure you wear a protective sunscreen to protect your eyes against UVA and UVB rays and get a helmet if you are snowboarding, snowmobiling or skilling. Adhering to the above exercise tips for cold weather can help you stay healthy while you workout.
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Collins Nwokolo is a human physiologist, writer and health enthusiast. He loves writing helpful articles on health and fitness, which he enjoys sharing with everyone.