Exercise Outside to Prevent Winter Weight Gain & Seasonal Blues
by Robert Sullivan
It’s completely understandable: When winter comes and the thermometer bottoms out, you run for the gym and lock yourself to the treadmill, a slave to the circling band of rubber till spring. Because who wants to face frigid conditions?
Well, maybe you’d brave the sleet and snow if you found out that running in the cold was actually good for you, for both body and mind. Evolutionary Biology 101 tells us that our metabolism notches down in frosty weather, and really, who doesn’t sometimes have the urge to hibernate in a cave? But exercising outdoors can keep our internal fires burning at a higher level and prevent the dreaded winter fifteen.
One of the biggest benefits to cold-weather workouts, however, may be psychological. Studies have long shown that exercise is mood-boosting, but research has also found that working out outside may actually help fight seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The combination of the sun’s antidepressant-like powers and the endorphin-high of exercise can trick your body into believing spring is already here. And then there’s the motivational factor. “It’s a lot easier to run an hour outdoors than it is to run an hour on the treadmill,” says Chris Grover, the head coach of the U.S. cross-country ski team. “There’s more to see, more to do.” Grover views battling the elements, nature’s and mankind’s, as a better workout overall. “If you are outside, there’s going to be a physiological benefit—you’re adjusting your stride, adjusting for curbs, dogs. So you should have all that benefit to your musculature.”
And while it may seem counterintuitive, in comparison to sweltering heat, cooler temperatures can cause less stress on the machine that is your body: Think about how much tougher it is to cool down than it is to warm up, which is why summer marathons are relatively rare.
Let’s be straight, though. If you are skating laps around the lake on a crisp 20-degree morning, you have to be careful. William Roberts, M.D., a family and sports-medicine physician in St. Paul (where, climate change notwithstanding, it is cold and dark for nearly six months of the year), prescribes small, practical steps. For starters, warm up indoors, with calisthenics or jogging in place, so your body can focus its energy on locomotion rather than shivering (it’s difficult to do both) when it hits the streets or the cross-country trail.
And, of course, pile on layers of gear. Shells and liners ought to have zippers and vents, to manage heat and wick away perspiration. “Give yourself the ability to de-garment,” says Declan Connolly, Ph.D., director of the University of Vermont’s Human Performance Laboratory. The list goes on: Wear running shoes with a tighter weave to block wind and more cushion for frozen ground.
Well, maybe you’d brave the sleet and snow if you found out that running in the cold was actually good for you, for both body and mind. Evolutionary Biology 101 tells us that our metabolism notches down in frosty weather, and really, who doesn’t sometimes have the urge to hibernate in a cave? But exercising outdoors can keep our internal fires burning at a higher level and prevent the dreaded winter fifteen.
One of the biggest benefits to cold-weather workouts, however, may be psychological. Studies have long shown that exercise is mood-boosting, but research has also found that working out outside may actually help fight seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The combination of the sun’s antidepressant-like powers and the endorphin-high of exercise can trick your body into believing spring is already here. And then there’s the motivational factor. “It’s a lot easier to run an hour outdoors than it is to run an hour on the treadmill,” says Chris Grover, the head coach of the U.S. cross-country ski team. “There’s more to see, more to do.” Grover views battling the elements, nature’s and mankind’s, as a better workout overall. “If you are outside, there’s going to be a physiological benefit—you’re adjusting your stride, adjusting for curbs, dogs. So you should have all that benefit to your musculature.”
And while it may seem counterintuitive, in comparison to sweltering heat, cooler temperatures can cause less stress on the machine that is your body: Think about how much tougher it is to cool down than it is to warm up, which is why summer marathons are relatively rare.
Let’s be straight, though. If you are skating laps around the lake on a crisp 20-degree morning, you have to be careful. William Roberts, M.D., a family and sports-medicine physician in St. Paul (where, climate change notwithstanding, it is cold and dark for nearly six months of the year), prescribes small, practical steps. For starters, warm up indoors, with calisthenics or jogging in place, so your body can focus its energy on locomotion rather than shivering (it’s difficult to do both) when it hits the streets or the cross-country trail.
And, of course, pile on layers of gear. Shells and liners ought to have zippers and vents, to manage heat and wick away perspiration. “Give yourself the ability to de-garment,” says Declan Connolly, Ph.D., director of the University of Vermont’s Human Performance Laboratory. The list goes on: Wear running shoes with a tighter weave to block wind and more cushion for frozen ground.
1 comment:
I am definitely going to try this next winter. I HATE winter (I love snow and Christmas) and basically after January 1st, I hibernate until the flowers bloom.
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