We had an excellent time playing in the snow last weekend, and I’m taking part in Tough Guy in a weeks time. And I train a number of people outdoors all year round. So I’m thinking a lot about keeping warm at the moment!
So how do we train outside in the winter without freezing our nadgers off? I’ve mentioned before the kind of clothes we can wear. So now I’m just going to mention how important being fit and strong is also.
We are warm blooded mammals who generate our own heat. And a huge part of this is done in our muscles. In other words, our muscles are our own private furnaces! So the solution to being cold is simple…
Move our muscles more!
Moving them more really stokes up the furnaces of our muscles. And just like a bigger furnace produces more heat, the more muscle we have, the more heat we can generate. So being strong and having plenty of muscle helps keep us warm. Click here for more information about getting strong.
But thats not all. Because when we stop moving, we will start losing this heat we have generated. So we need to be physically fit enough to keep on working. Because if we get tired, we slow down or stop and then get cold. Click here for more information about getting fitter.
So this is yet another reason to make sure you are fit and strong as you possibly can be.
And this is even more important for when we get older. Cold can be particularly dangerous for the elderly. And it saddens me when I get elderly people in the gym saying “I’m just going to do a few minutes of walking on the treadmill, that’s all I need at my age”.
Now on the one hand, bloody well done for even making it to the gym! Far too few people manage to make it that far. But while you are here, there is SO much more you can be doing to improve your quality of life.
So in summary, if you are feeling cold, don’t wrap yourself up in a onesie and huddle on the sofa. Put some layers on and start doing a shed load of exercises to get you fit and strong!
And of course, if you really want to, you could always hire me and I’ll show you exactly what I mean 🙂