Health & Fitness

Summer vs Winter

[fa icon="calendar"] 24-Oct-2018 15:54:18 / by Emily Apps

GYM-2

 

Training in the summer is glorious – shorts, t-shirts, and a bottle of water is all you need. You have sunny days, light evenings and even a chance to work on your tan. But summer can’t last forever. October comes around, the days get colder, the nights draw in and the rain starts to fall.

It’s easy to give up on your usual exercise routine. You think there’s no point because you’re going to be wearing more layers, eating more food and you can just start again in the spring when you might be thinking of the summer and holidays!

You need to remember that as easy (and enjoyable!) as it would be to give up on the workouts for a few months and drink your body weight in mulled wine through the winter months, you’ve got to remember that you don’t just exercise to look good from the outside – you still need to keep your insides healthy and importantly, you’re brain too.

There is obviously some things you need to consider when training in adverse weather conditions – how to avoid injury, how to maintain a healthy body temperature and staying hydrated when you’re not so inclined to drink!

  1. Avoiding injury

Even when you’re exercising in summer, it’s still vital to stretch. You need your muscles to be warmed up and in winter, it’s more important than ever to make sure your muscles are prepared to run in the colder days! You also need to be aware of becoming too cold and then performing explosive tasks. Whether it’s sprinting or plyometrics, such as jumping, you have a greater risk of damaging your muscles and tendons when you use cold muscles with explosive movements.

  1. Dress appropriately

You may think its cold outside and put on layer and layers on before you head out your fitness class in your local park, but you’ll soon realise your mistake. You want to start off your workout feeling on the colder side of the thermometer! If you start off your workout with too many layers, you’ll soon start to sweat which in turn will cool your body down and you’ll be cold!

  1. Stay hydrated

Unlike in the warmer, summer months, your body doesn’t necessarily feel like it needs as much water when you’re exercising in winter. Realistically, your body needs just as much – just because you’re not feeling thirsty, doesn’t mean you’re not dehydrated. Good hydration means better performance and a quicker recovery – don’t let your body get too low and your body suffer

You also need to be able to head back if you need to get warm. There’s a fine line between brave and stupid. Whilst marathon training this year, I braved the snow and headed out to do a few miles round the local park. Whilst I’d managed to avoid skidding over, I didn’t quite manage to see the puddle which had been iced over. The next thing I knew, I was ankle deep in icy water with a soaking wet foot.

If in doubt, head to the gym, you can come and go as you please with our activeNewham gyms with our Casual membership - just pay as and when you use our gyms, pools or group ex classes! Find out more info on our website.

Even if you’re someone who prefers the gym to the outdoors, you can still find your motivation lacking when it comes to hitting an early morning or after work session. It’s cold, dark and the want for a cosy night on the sofa can easily outweigh the want for a hard core gym session. It’d be easy to slip into the habit of ‘there’s always tomorrow..’ but head down to your gym and take part in a class – maybe it’s your trusty yoga class you do each week or maybe you try a new Les Mills class – whatever you do, just do it. Your body and brain will feel better for doing so and the long winter nights may not feel so long anymore.

 

Topics: fitness, mental health, sport and leisure, Les Mills, Group exercise classes, Self care

Emily Apps

Written by Emily Apps

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