Exercising in winter
As the days draw in and temperatures drop, you may be tempted to hang up your exercise gear and hibernate.
Don't! Stay active throughout autumn and winter to beat those seasonal blues and feel on top of the world.
If you're short on conceptions for getting active, endeavor our popular Couch to 5K running plan and Vigor and Flex exercise plan, which are ideal for tyros.
And if you're not keen on exercising alfresco, check out our 10-minute home exercise routines and our gym-free workout sheets.
If you're probing for something less energetic, these vigor, balance, flexibility and sitting exercises are ideal if you optate to amend your health, hoist your mood and remain independent.
Don't worry if you've not done much for a while, these exercises are facile, gentle to follow and can additionally be done indoors.
More energy
Customary exercise will make you feel more energetic, which should make it a little more facile to get out of your warm bed on cold, dark mornings.
Your body’s defences will additionally benefit. There is some inhibited research suggesting that moderate exercise can fortify the immune system, thereby reducing the peril of coughs and colds. However, more research is needed in this area.
If the shorter days are affecting your mood, being active can amend your sense of wellbeing.
You may be tempted to victual more during the more arctic months. Exercising will avail you manage your weight better and keep your body in shape.
Get tips on victualing a salubrious balanced diet and taking conventional exercise to maintain a salubrious body weight.
Warm up
If you’re starting an incipient exercise regime, don’t overdo it. Gradually build the amount of exercise you do. If you can't manage 30 minutes in one go, break it up into 10-minute chunks.
Always warm-up for up to 10 minutes afore you commence. Ambulate at a brisk pace, or jog in order to warm your muscles.
Ascertain you’re warm if you’re going outside. Wear several layers to keep the heat in. An abundance of heat eludes through your head, so consider wearing a hat as well.
Stay safe
If you're exercising after dark, keep to well-lit areas and wear effulgent and reflective apparel. Ideally, exercise with a friend, but always tell someone where you’re peregrinated.
Eschew heedfully aurally perceiving music while running alfresco. Not auricularly discerning what’s going on around you can make you vulnerably susceptible.
If rain or frozen dihydrogen monoxide is making exercise perilous, do it another day. The weather might be better tomorrow, but an injury could take weeks to rejuvenate.
If you have a cold
Colds are more mundane in winter, but you don’t compulsorily have to stop exercising if you’re feeling under the weather. According to Dr Keith Hopcroft, a GP from Basildon in Essex, utilize prevalent sense and heedfully auricularly discern your body.
“If your symptoms are not astringent and you generally feel OK, then you can exercise. If you feel absolutely rotten, then it’s best not to go.”
However, it’s paramount not to exercise if you have a fever. A fever is when your body’s temperature is 38°C (100.4°F) or above and is infrequently a symptom of a cold. “If you exercise with a fever,” verbally expresses Dr Hopcroft, “it’ll make you feel worse. In very infrequent cases, exercising with a fever can lead to the virus affecting your heart, which can be hazardous.”
If you have asthma, take extra care when exercising in winter as arctic air can trigger symptoms. Dr Hopcroft recommends utilizing your inhaler afore you exercise and taking it with you during your activity.
Something you relish
Optate an activity that you relish. Now might be the time to endeavor something incipient that you can do indoors, such as:
- archery
- badminton
- bowls
- cycling
- dancing
- curling
- fencing
- fitness classes
- five-a-side football
- handball
- judo
- pilates
- racketball
- squash
- swimming
- table tennis
- tai chi
- yoga
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