Winter Exercise
Snow, ice, and cold weather make it
difficult to engage in physical activities such as jogging, walking, hiking
outdoors. No matter how much the mercury of the thermometer goes down, in the
cold season, you can do some physical activities indoors.
Don't let the cold weather negatively
affect the exercise you should do as often as you can. There are many ways to
move and sweat even inside. The most important thing is to stay as active as
possible in all four seasons.
Good fitness can help prevent weight
gain, which can occur after rich holiday meals. Exercise also stimulates the
immune system and thus, you will be more protected from colds and flu - which
are more common in the cold season.
How to be active in winter
First of all, you should buy various DVDs with video images, with different fitness movements and examples of physical exercises that you can do inside your home. Arrange a space inside the house, where you can carry out your physical activity.
If possible, furnish that space with sports equipment. This way you will make a fitness room in all the rules, right at your home and you will not have to go outside in the cold to exercise. Give up the car when you go shopping. You can walk or, if the shops are too far away, you can use public transport to minimize inactivity. Even if you know the short way to buy what you need, don't go straight to your destination. Take a tour of the shops before entering the one you want and thus, you will burn more calories.
If you still want or need to use the car, park as far away from the shops as possible. Thus, you will have to walk the distance from the car to the store.
Whether you are visiting or shopping, use stairs instead of elevators or escalators. The exercise that involves climbing stairs can be done at home, very simple. Use a sturdy chair (to be used as the last step) and other pieces of fabric to make 1-2 lower steps. Once the improvisation is ready, make repeated movements up and down. This way you will burn more calories, watching your favorite show on TV.
Clean the house. House cleaning can be a moderate physical activity, especially when vacuuming or moping. Cleaning activity, however, will help you lose weight. If you want to burn as many calories as possible, increase the speed of your movements.
Avoid prolonged inactivity at the office. If you work in the office and have to send a message to colleagues, avoid using your computer or phone to send the message. Better get up from your chair and go to your colleagues' office to incorporate physical activity even in office work.
Practice as many winter sports as possible. Enjoy skating or skiing, because the efforts to maintain balance, involved in these sports, will require a lot of muscles and skeletal system. Thus, your muscles can be toned without spending too many hours in the gym.
Swim every time you have the opportunity. Currently, there are many indoor pools that are worth going to at least once a week. Swimming is ideal for anyone, regardless of age and body weight, due to the fact that it moves all muscle groups and has a low impact on the joints.
Jump rope
If you haven't jumped rope, give this physical activity a try. It's a great way to get moving. Rope jumping is not only a pleasant exercise but also helps you work on coordination and balance, as well as maintaining heart health.
Yoga
Yoga is a great way to maintain your physical and spiritual
health. In winter it is natural to do yoga indoors. Remember to do light
stretching exercises to warm up your ligaments and muscles before doing any
physical activity (even moderate), such as yoga.
This is necessary because some positions of this activity can be
complex and you can get hurt if you are not heated enough. After yoga sessions,
you can finish with meditation for at least five minutes.
Light stretches. Stretching is a great way to warm up before performing other, more intense exercises. Stretching can actually mean excellent physical training for people who are not in very good physical condition (for example, older people).
Exercises on the stationary bike. Exercises on the stationary bike, along with running on the treadmill is the most used form of movement. Cycling requires the whole body, and your muscles will tone. In addition, stationary cycling can be done in front of the TV, so you won't even know when the 30 minutes a day needed to be in good physical condition have passed.
In an hour-long session you can burn up to 700 calories, and the advantage of stationary bikes is that the pedaling pace can be adjusted depending on the person who uses them.
Use an active game console. Instead of computer games, you can use one of the many active game consoles. With these consoles, you can move right in front of the TV. Many such consoles contain fitness or dance games. Active play systems also encourage the little ones to get moving, and that's all that matters.
There is no reason to change your daily routine of activities even if winter has come, which includes exercising.
But it is important to follow some tips, if you are jogging in winter, in order to carry out this activity safely. You need to know how to dress and what precautions to take to keep you in the good physical condition and prevent illness or accident.
Prevent overheating or lowering of body temperature by wearing several layers of clothing. Start with a thinner layer of synthetic material (preferably polypropylene) to keep sweat away from the body. Avoid cotton, as it retains moisture.
Over the synthetic layer add an insulating layer of wool. Finish with a thin but waterproof layer of clothing. Do not wear jackets made of heavy materials that can overheat your body when jogging. Cover your head and protect your ears. Wear a scarf or scarf to warm the air you breathe. Also, don't forget the gloves.
In addition, to protect your extremities from frostbite, the gloves and socks you wear while jogging must be thicker and made of insulating materials, such as wool. In addition, running shoes must have a good grip and thicker soles to avoid slipping on the snow.
Establish a Safe Jogging Route
Ice and snowy areas can be the basis of major accidents for those who jog in winter. Therefore, it is important to know the route well, and it must be safe.
Jog in traffic areas, because
many injuries caused by slipping on the ice, of those who do sports in winter,
are aggravated as a result of delayed medical care. Therefore, it is
important to jog on a busy route, so that you can be noticed immediately by
people around you, in case of injuries.
Protect Yourself From the Run's Rays
Use sunscreen on your skin exposed to the sun and air while jogging or another exercise. It is important to avoid UVA and UVB rays, especially if you run in areas with a lot of snow because it is known that it reflects and amplifies sunlight. For this, you should use sunglasses to protect your eyes and apply sunscreen on your lips.
Winter jogging can dehydrate you due to cold temperatures and dry winds. Therefore, it is important to drink plenty of fluids during and after training. You can also opt for sports drinks, but choose those that have low sugar content. The most suitable is flat, filtered water.
Detect early signs of frostbite and hypothermia. Before you start jogging in the winter, you need to know the signs of frostbite or hypothermia so that you can run safely and know when to take quick steps to prevent these inconveniences.
Among the signs that could signal frostbite or hypothermia could be numbness or stinging sensations in the hands and feet or in areas where the skin is exposed (nose or cheeks). If you experience any of these manifestations, go to a warm place and gradually warm your extremities, but not by rubbing, so as not to damage the skin. Avoid direct exposure to affected areas of heat.
Keep your motivation high for jogging in winter. You can do this by proposing to lose weight (the weight you want to lose maybe insignificant) or by inviting one or more friends to run together.
If you live in a cold area, it is more difficult to exercise outside the home, so the following tips can give you some useful ideas for exercising in winter, in a safe and efficient way.
The Benefits of Jogging in Winter
Running in winter makes
the body function well and in unfavorable conditions. Physical exertion in cold
weather increases the body's endurance and improves the function of the immune
system.
Winter jogging improves
mental state. During running, not only the body has something to gain, but also
mental health. Your mood will improve significantly and your self-esteem will
increase each time you go out in the cold to run.
It is easier to jog in
winter. While running, the body generates excess heat, which is released
through the skin. Jogging at low temperatures keeps the body cool, which allows
heat to be released more easily, and thus, you will no longer have that strong
feeling of warmth as during the hot summer days.
Nutrition after Exercise
Meals taken after exercise should be the most important meal of the day for anyone interested in nutrition or who wants to build muscle mass, lose weight or simply or tone their body.
There are a lot of recommendations regarding the foods to eat during this meal, which does not make it easy to choose the best foods for the post-workout meal. Not to mention the variety of shakes and supplements available, how they can be combined with the rest of the diet, tips on what to eat or not to eat immediately after training.
Well, the truth is that as soon as you understand what your body needs (and what it doesn't need) after training, how much it needs, and what kind of food, the post-workout meal will probably become the simplest meal. day.
What to Eat and What Not to Eat After Exercise
In addition to water (which you should already know you need), you can eat foods that contain protein and carbohydrates and have no fat. Although fat should be weighted in any person's diet, the meal after any workout should not contain fat because fat slows down digestion.
In this case, it will make it difficult to digest protein and carbohydrates, the exact opposite of what the body needs after a workout. If possible, it is best to eat about 30 minutes after the workout.
