TIPS FOR RUNNING/TRAINING IN COLD WEATHER
Cold weather could be a nice thing, but it could also mean sniffles, aches, spasms and fevers that we could do without. We all know to dress warmer, that's common sense (at least to the majority of us), but is there anything else you should consider? Absolutely.
- WARM UP INDOORS. This is an important part of training in general, and it becomes crucial in cold weather conditions. Warming up indoors oppose to taking your entire training session outdoors, will help you benefit more from the warm-up process and will help your body function better. If you've ever walked out of the gym on to the cold street after a great workout, you've surely felt how the cold is not noticeable at first. While you feel the cold air you don't feel cold because your body is working full speed already.
- DRESS RIGHT. Keeping all parts of your body always covered and warm would do you lots of good. Consider the Second Law of Thermodynamics which is also known as the Law of Increased Entropy. Your body will naturally "send" the heat reinforcement to whatever part of body is getting cold thus unnecessarily spending extra effort on maintaining the average temperature, so your body's arsenal of energy will be depleted while simply trying to maintain. And during prolonged exposure to cold, the unrecoverable loss of energy will proceed rapidly. Wear layers of thin and light clothing and tuck your sweatshirts into your sweatpants to prevent the loss of heat. You might be in danger of looking unstylish but not in danger of getting sick. Windbreakers are perfect for running, they are light, protect you from the cold wind and help retain heat without weighting you down.
While it is important to keep everything warm, your head and feet are of especial importance. The loss of heat through your head and feet is more significant than any other part of the body. So do wear a hat to keep your head warm, get the gloves, or wrist warmers if its not that cold, keep your chest and back covered and your feet warm.
Also of major significance is the fact that while cold weather affects primarily joints since they are not protected by layers of muscles or the blood flow, your tendons and muscles also start to loose their vital qualities like elasticity and flexibility and are more susceptible to injuries and permanent damage.
By keeping yourself warm, you will significantly improve your chances of having good results from your workout which will actually contribute to making you healthier rather than exposing you to a possibility of falling ill.
- LOWER THE INTENSITY OF YOUR RUNNING/TRAINING. Since cold weather is not a normal condition for most of the world, human bodies normally handle warmer weather better and will work harder to maintain the needed equilibrium in cold weather. You will help yourself maintain that balance by lessening your training load a bit.
- COOL DOWN. As we've written many times before, warming up and cooling down is as important as the training session itself. And with cold weather to consider – stakes double. Don't skip it, do the cool down part.
- SHOWER IMMEDIATELY. Sounds so insignificant, superficial and more related to hygiene, but is extremely important to do when training in cold conditions. All your sweaty stuff that is initially warm due to body heat will quickly turn into coolers and heat absorbents thus doubling the natural effect of cooling produced by our sweat.
- DRESS WARM AFTER TRAINING. Yes you've just worked out and yes your body's temperature is at a nice level and you feel great. But dressing light would be a big mistake. Put on something that would keep you warm.
- DRINK WARM LIQUIDS. Of course, feel free to have a glass of ice cold drink after running or training. But if you ask us, ice cold drink is not a good idea even when it's warm outside or even if you didn't just work up some sweat. Click here to read more about it in one of our previously published articles.
Keep in mind and follow these recommendations to have better results and to stay healthy while running or training in cold weather.
Article by Dr. Nicholas Romanov
Composed by L. Romanov
Dr.Romanov's 
