Team Doctors, Treatment and Training Center

Muscle & Fitness - Nov 1991

Winter Workouts

by Dr. James Stoxen D.C.

     It wasn't very many years ago that exercise for most people was pretty much a seasonal activity. They'd watch expectantly as windy March turned into promising April, with its increasingly warmer temperatures and gradually lengthening hours of daylight. Then, as the overcoats and sweater were peeled off - oh-oh, winter flab under there was now shorn of its winter camouflage. Time to thing about working out, hitting the gym, getting a new pair of jogging shoes and generally getting back into presentable shape.

     But nowadays we've come to realize that there's more to exercise that just making us look good Working the skeletal muscles of the body against adequate resistance, increasing the performance capabilities of the cardiovascular system and keeping the body sufficiently lean and flexible are vital and necessary to both our physiological and psychological health. So keeping in good shape should be a top priority in our lives, not just in good weather, but in all weather and during all 12 months of the year.

     But some very real difficulties and dangers are associated with cold weather training. Your body and its various metabolic functions are highly sensitive to environmental temperature and radical changes in that temperature.

     Most of us are aware of the need to avoid such problems as dehydration, heat stroke and heat prostration when training in very hot weather, but not everyone is cognizant of some equally serious consequences that can result from training in extreme cold. To begin with, let's take a look at the concept of "warming up." Most of us use this term without giving it much thought. But the fact is exercise does increase the temperature of the muscles being used, "owing them to contract more forcefully without injury and extending the range of motion of the muscles, tendons and ligaments involved. Obviously, when the weather is very cold, the warming-up process that allows the muscles to heat tip to ideal operating temperature is going to take longer. And until the body is given time to warm up, flexibility is restricted and it is much more difficult for the blood to bring oxygen and nutrients to the site of the muscular exertion. Therefore, when your body is cold, you are not as strong, your range of motion is reduced and you are far more vulnerable to a variety of injuries such as muscle-tendon strains and joint-ligament sprains.

1) WARM UP LONGER The remedy for this is fairly simple - you need to spend additional time stretching and warming up before undertaking strenuous exercise in cold weather. But as obvious as this idea may be, in practice most people tend to get impatient and not devote the time to warming up that they should. In fact, you often find individuals spending less time warming up and stretching in cold weather simply because they're uncomfortable and want to get right into the exercise activity to feel better. In addition to warming up thoroughly when exercising in cold weather, you also have to be sure to dress appropriately for the climate and the type of exercise you are undertaking. Skiers, for examples usually wear apparel specifically designed for that sport, including boots, ski masks, insulated clothing and gloves. There is also a variety of specific clothing and equipment recommended for various other winter sports, such as hockey, skating, ice- sailing and snowmobiling, to name a few, and gear recommendations for each activity are easy to find. However, no matter what winter sport, exercise or activity you are involved in, there are a few specific principles relating to protecting the body from the cold that apply to everyone.

 2) COVER YOUR HEAD To begin with, when the weather gets really cold, or you plan to spend a lot of time outdoors in even moderately cold weather; be sure to wear something to cover your head. A large percentage of heat loss from the body comes from the head, so wearing warm clothing but leaving your head uncovered is a mistake.

3)  PROTECT EXTREMITIES Next, be sure to Protect your extremities - toes and fingers of course, but in severe cold also the nose and cars. These areas present a lot of surface area to the cold in proportion to the total volume of the bodypart and they lose heat more rapidly as a result.

4)  DRESS IN LAYERS As far as clothing is concerned, your best bet is to dress in layers rather than, wearing one heavy layer of outer garments. For example, thermal underwear covered by shirt, sweatshirt and jacket. For really extreme temperatures, I recommend checking with ski shops and stores specializing in out- door clothing for backpackers and hikers to find out about specialized garments that can protect in temperatures well below zero.

5)  WINDCHILL WARNING Besides cold you also have to be concerned with the wind-chill factor. This term, which we encounter constantly in weather reports, refers to the fact that air moving past the body strips away the insulating layer of warm air that surrounds the body, helping to protect it from the cold. When this layer is stripped away, as it is when you run, skate or ski as well as when the wind blows, the body is left more vulnerable to the cold, so added protection is called for.

6)  SERIOUS DANGERS Along with increasing the risk of sports injuries while exercising outdoors, there are some additional and more serious possible consequences. Frostbite occurs when a lack of circulation due to extreme cold damages and eventually kills affected cells. Hypothermia involves a slowing down of the entire metabolism due to reduced body core temperature. Severe frostbite can lead to loss of tissue - including fingers, toes and other parts of the body, and severe hypothermia can result in death. The best way to avoid these cold-related dangers is to do everything possible to protect your body against the effects of extremely low temperatures and to limit exposure to the cold when appropriate. When it's really cold and you don't have the right kind of clothing to Protect Your- self, don't try to "tough it out." You can't withstand the deleterious effects of cold simply by willpower any more than you can breathe under water by trying really hard. And, if frostbite or hypothermia do occur, the victim should be treated by a physician as quickly as possible.

7)  BEWARE OF BOOZE . A commonly accepted remedy for extreme chill is drinking liquor, but this practice can be dangerous. Alcohol is a vasodilator - it opens the capillaries and allows additional blood to come to the surface of the body. If you drink alcohol in a warm room after coming in from the cold, the blood brought to the surface will be warmed by the warmer temperatures of the room. However, if you drink alcohol while you are still out in the cold, the circulating blood will be cooled, resulting in an increased reduction in body temperature. In very cold weather combined with prolonged exposure the elements, alcohol can be lethal.

8)  WARM UP INDOORS TOO . Training indoors during the winter months is not as much of a problem nowadays since most good gyms and health clubs are well heated. So however cold it gets outside, you still have the opportunity to lift weights, play racquetball and tennis and even swim in year-round, climate-controlled comfort. However, you still need to b aware that the body will take longer to warm up after coming into a heated club from very cold outside temperatures. You may feel warm when you enter a health club but you should give your body extra time to warm up, or spend additional time doing warm-ups and stretching movements, before you engage in strenuous and demanding exercises.

9)  PSYCH UP . Incidentally, there is a psychological as well as physiological consequence of winter exercise for many people. Recent research has shown that shorter days, longer nights and less exposure to sunlight can have a negative effect on mood and energy levels. A lot of people simply don't feel like working out during the winter months, so these people have to develop strategies to get themselves out on the jogging track or into the gym during this season.

10)  ACCLIMATIZE . Another factor to be considered when talking about cold weather exercise is acclimatization. A body that's used to the cold is less bothered by the effects of the cold than one that's accustomed to a warmer climate. So if you've just moved to the Chicago area from, say, Miami or Los Angeles, the frigid temperatures are going to affect you more severely than they would somebody who has been living in Chicago for some time.