As soon as our days start to get shorter and the weather turns colder, many of us are more than happy to spend the rest of winter cooped up indoors. This can often mean that exercise and training outdoors can get put on hold during winter – but we’re here to tell you that there are so many surprising benefits of exercising outside in winter.
Don’t let the cold weather freeze your training plan! Keep up your fitness regime throughout winter and embrace the cold weather with outdoor exercise, from running and cycling, to even trying something new, such as a winter sport or cold-water swimming. Plus, as your heart will work harder during exercise in the cold, you’ll be giving your cardiovascular system a good workout too, keeping your heart in good health throughout winter.
Discover our top three benefits of training in cold weather and how you can best prepare your body for exercising in the cold.
How to Prepare for Exercising in Cold Weather
It’s important to ensure you’re wearing the right clothing for training in the cold. Remember to wrap up warm and protect your head, hands and feet. Layers will be a great option, as you can remove them if you start to get warm. Before heading out to exercise in the cold, warm up properly to reduce the risk of injury. Some simple arm circles, ankle rotations, and hip circles can do you the world of good.
Remember to stay hydrated before, during, and after your winter training as you may not notice you’re feeling as thirsty as you would when exercising in the heat. Our Klean Hydration Sachets are the perfect companion for your cold weather exercise, as it supports optimal hydration and fluid replenishment.‡
What Are 3 Benefits of Training in Cold Weather?
1. Improves Mood
Keep the winter blues at bay with cold weather exercise. It may sound surprising that training outdoors in the cold weather can boost your mood, but there’s a few reasons why this is possible.
Firstly, as we all know too well, exercise releases endorphins that are responsible for making us feel good – which is often referred to as the ‘runner’s high’. You could reduce feelings of seasonal depression and low mood during winter by continuing your exercise regime in the colder months.
Not only will you feel great after working out in the cold, you’ll also be getting a dose of vitamin D. Although you may get limited exposure to the sun during winter, it’s still important to ensure you’re getting enough vitamin D to support bone health and your immune system.
Exercising outdoors in the cold can help boost your vitamin D levels and your mood, just by simply being outside in nature. Even if you are training in cold weather, athletes should consider taking a vitamin D supplement during winter, such as our Klean-D supplements with 5,000 IU vitamin D per tablet.
2. Supports Your Immune System
We all know that cold weather can often mean we are more susceptible to the common cold, flu and viruses. As an athlete, it’s important to make sure you look after your immune system to keep you performing at your best, regardless of the time of year. Surprisingly, exercising in the cold weather can do just that! Keeping up regular exercise during winter can help boost your immune system and keep it in check, potentially reducing your chance of getting ill as your body works harder to ward off any bugs. Just remember to wear appropriate clothing and layer up.
3. Burns Extra Calories
Did you know that exercising in the cold can help you to burn extra calories? This is because your body doesn't have to work as hard to regulate your temperature when training in the cold, resulting in your body burning more fat and calories than carbohydrates.
Exercising in the cold can also convert white fat (where we store energy) into calorie-burning brown fat, which is beneficial for your metabolic health.
You might also find that cold weather exercise increases your endurance, meaning you can work out for longer and more efficiently, which can result in improved performance.
Support your peak performance in winter with the help of Klean BCAA + Peak ATP® amino acid powder. It will supply you with the branched-chain amino acids and nutrients needed to increase strength, power and muscle gain, as well as supporting the body to train longer, harder and stronger.‡
Keep your mental wellbeing in check this winter with our athlete’s guide to looking after your mental health:
An Athlete’s Guide to Looking After Mental Health
Discover ways you can support your mental wellbeing as an athlete.
