Benefits of exercising during winter

This results in a rather inactive lifestyle. If exercise is the key to improving your quality of life, how can you be successful at it during the winter months, when even minimal tasks such as taking out the rubbish seem difficult, due to the weather?

If you can pull yourself away from that cozy seat in front of the heater, you’ll reap these benefits of sweating it out in the cold weather, and you might even learn to love it.

* You will burn more calories. As the body works harder to regulate its core temperature among the elements, you’ll burn a few more calories during your winter workout compared to one conducted indoors. While the calorie burn varies with each person’s body mass and the extremity of the temperature, it can be a nice morale booster.

* You will strengthen your heart. Cold weather also makes the heart work harder to distribute blood throughout the body. For an unhealthy heart that struggles to manage the additional stress, this process can exacerbate illness and injury. But a regular exerciser with cardiovascular endurance can make their heart muscle even stronger with these cold-weather sessions, better preparing the body for more strenuous workouts in the future, not to mention other non-exercise stresses in life.

* You will drink more water. Staying hydrated is one of the most important factors in minimising the dangers of cold-weather workouts. The body continues to sweat, but that sweat evaporates more quickly into the chilly, dry air, making it seem as though the body is losing less water. Drinking water before, during and after cold-weather workouts helps maintain peak performances and protects the body from injury.

* You will remember the importance of warm-up and cool-down routines. Proper warm-up and cool-down movements are crucial to keeping the body fit, but they become even more important when it’s cold outside. Keeping the body loose, limber and warm for a chilly workout can help prevent painful twists, sprains, tears and other injuries. Winter workouts will encourage you to become a pro when it comes to full warm-up and cool-down routines, the former to keep your internal body temperature elevated, and the latter to reduce unnecessary tightness inspired by the chill in the air.

* You will get a dose of vitamin D. Sure, it may be cold, but that doesn’t mean the extra sun exposure won’t supply you with the same critical nutrients it does throughout the warmer parts of the year.