If you are a keen fitness buff, you might not be too enthusiastic about the prospect of reining in your usual fitness efforts simply because of the cold. This could be especially the case if you were considering enrolling on a fitness bootcamp. Should you hold off during winter?
Winter Fitness Bootcamp
Not so fast! Participating in that bootcamp is not only possible but even a way of potentially banishing several of the typical inconveniences of winter. Here are some good reasons why.
Wear Winter-ready Clothing:
Upon heading outside, you might start shivering and suddenly feel very daunted about going through an entire boot camp in such chilly temperatures.
However, contending with the frostiness is very likely to depend on just wearing suitable clothing, as stated on Fitness Magazine‘s website. In choosing your workout attire, keep in mind that, as you exercise, you will lose heat from your body due to moisture evaporating on the skin.
Get Plentiful Carbohydrates Before the Workout:
In cold weather, the body can take untypically long to warm up. Therefore, you would need to engage in a more elaborate warm-up routine than usual before you start properly exercising.
However, this could have the issue of depleting your body’s glycogen stores earlier in the workout. Thankfully, you can counter this by consuming more carbs beforehand, Muscle & Fitness advises.
Don’t Fret About a Bit of Snowfall:
However well-wrapped you are, you could still be disheartened if you embark on a fitness bootcamp only to notice snowflakes beginning to fall. After all, even just attempting to walk over snow can feel like wading through treacle. However, it could also help you burn more calories with each step…
While walking moderately across an even surface for just half an hour would burn 106 calories if you were a typical 140-pound woman, you would burn 256 calories if that surface were snow-coated.
The Fat is Where it’s at… Because of this Body Chemical?
Have you noticed that fat seems to cling to your body more firmly than during the warmer months? This could be because, in the body, ATLPL – a chemical promoting fat storage – can nearly double during winter compared to summer.
However, there’s a simple solution to this issue: get exercising! Research suggests that doing so could boost the muscle enzyme SMLPL, which promotes fat-burning and, thus, could offset ATLPL’s unwanted effects. That’s another brilliant excuse to get exercising even in the snow…
Drink Enough Water to Prevent Accidentally Become Dehydrated:
Dehydration can be a surprisingly common problem when exercising in winter weather. The reason why is that, as the temperature isn’t as high as we are used to during summer, we don’t always realize that we are dehydrated – even while the actual exercising is still making us sweat.
Hence, you should be careful not to neglect your water intake. Aim to drink 250ml of water per 15 minutes of working out. You could pick up further advice on healthy drinking from gurus you meet during weight loss retreats.
