Your alarm clock is beeping at you. It’s 6am, your windows are frosty, but you’re determined not to let the cold weather hinder the fitness goals you’ve set for yourself. It’s the beginning of a new year, after all!
There are a lot of factors associated with the winter season that can work against you. The holidays, traveling, cold or snowy weather, and even the common cold. We’ve worked hard to bring you this ultimate winter fitness survival guide to help you get through the season, continue the year strong, and give you a solid launchpad for 2023. Let’s start with these essential tips:
Resilience Winter Fitness Tips
Get your Fight-amins in
With the winter season, comes flu season. It’s actually not the cold weather that causes colds, but it can increase your risk of catching a cold, and make it harder to fight off. On average, adults get about 2-3 colds per year. When you’re looking to hit the gym in the dead of winter, a cold is just the thing to keep you on the couch. So here are a few tips to keep you healthy and on your way to the gym:
Time to Switch it Up
If you’re an outdoor exerciser, nothing can put a damper on your nightly jog than negative temperatures. Winter is just 4 months long, and oftentimes gyms have awesome deals around the new year. Try out a few indoor yoga, spinning, or HIIT classes in your area. This will be much cheaper than a 12-month commitment at a gym, plus maybe you’ll find a class you end up falling in love with!
Don’t Sleep on Sleep
Think of your immune system and sleep as best friends. When you sleep, your immune system releases cytokines, groups of proteins that help to regulate immunity, inflammation, and production of blood cells. Your body needs these cytokines are desperately when you’re sick to help fight infections. Our CBD Oils, Bath Bombs, and Gummies are all great tools to add to your sleep routine. CBD works with your Endocannabinoid System to regulate sleeping patterns and help you fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up feeling refreshed.
Space Heater
If you’re struggling to get up for your morning workouts, here’s your sign to look into getting a space heater. But, before you hook it up for a cozy warm night of sleep, there are benefits to sleeping in a chilly room: Improved sleep quality, helps in falling asleep, and it can even improve metabolism. If you’re looking to sleep with a space heater in your room, see if you can set a timer for it to kick on an hour or so before your alarm goes off.
Hit the Sauna
Saunas are quickly gaining popularity in the fitness world and for a good reason. A few reasons actually:
- Accelerated recovery from colds: Studies have found that the heat can weaken cold viruses, as well as relieve your sinus pressure. If you’re looking to recover and get back in the gym quickly give the sauna a try.
- Quicker fitness recovery time: Along with cold-recovery, saunas help drastically with post-workout recovery as well. While cold weather contributes to tighter muscles and joints, saunas increase blood circulation working directly against that.
- Stress Relief: If you’re stressed out by the holidays, a sauna is the perfect way to unwind. Along with relaxing the body, they release endorphins and detox the body — leaving you feeling relaxed and ready for a refreshing night of sleep.
Make sure to bundle up when you leave the sauna in the winter as you’re going to be sweating a great deal.
Why you Should Consider Bearing the Brisk
While we urge you to stay warm this season, there are also several benefits of working out in the cold. The first and most obvious factor is you don’t have to deal with the heat and humidity you encounter in the summer seasons. But there are actually studies that show winter workouts help boost your immunity, keep you energized, enhance endurance, and provide you with the vitamin D you miss out on during the hibernation season.
Because extreme winter temperatures can be dangerous, we have a few tips and tricks to stay safe (and warm) when braving the cold:
Start Against the Wind
It doesn’t matter how cold it is, you’re still going to sweat. While nothing is better than a good sweat, it’s a sure way to lose body heat when you’re out in the cold. We’ll talk about effective ways to dress later on, but one key tip is to use the wind to your advantage. It’s smart to actually start your exercise into the wind. This way, when you’re finishing up your workout, and you’re at your sweatiest, you’ll have your wind at your back. This will also give you that extra boost you may need, anyway!
Traction
This is an important, yet often overlooked factor of working out or running outdoors. Traction is everything. You may feel tempted to throw on your older running shoes so you don’t risk getting your nice, new shoes all wet, but it’s definitely worth it. Make sure your shoes have good traction on them so you don’t risk slipping on snow, or black ice. There are shoes designed specifically for running in the snow, and you can also purchase a cage that attaches to your shoe and adds some extra traction as well.
Cover Your head…and Your Toes!
Both your head and feet are essential for keeping body heat in and will help for maintaining energy that would be spent on heating your body back up. Always wear a hat or ear warmers at the very least. Keeping your feet warm is great for distributing heat throughout the body. There are actually heating / warming socks you can wear that will ensure you keep your toes toasty!
Stay Hydrated
While a workout in the winter won’t leave you craving an ice-cold glass of water like the heat would, it’s still imperative to stay hydrated. The cold temperature, dry air, and wind still cause you to lose fluids and can put you at risk for dehydration. Even if you’re not extremely thirsty, drink water or a hydrating sports drink before heading outside.
Don’t Skip the Warm-up
Exercising in the cold weather puts you at high risk for injury. The temperatures cause your muscles to become tighter. Stretching before you head outside for your run or workout is key to making sure your body is all warmed up and ready to go. Check out our Stretching Guide for tips on how to effectively warm-up.
