Following and maintaining a workout plan is never an easy task. However, it becomes even more difficult when your body is exposed to the cold temperatures outside. The cold weather puts increased stress on our cardiovascular system which causes our blood vessels to constrict resulting in shallow breathing, muscle pains, joint aches and other nasty ailments because cold muscles are more likely to be strained or injured.
A well formulated winter workout routine is a great way to prepare your body for the cold weather and also combat winter fatigue vis-a-vis maintaining your fitness game all season long without straining your body. Abhinav Mahajan, fitness and lifestyle influencer, shares tips on how to ace your winter workout
Morning Workout
Although mornings are generally recommended to be the best time to work out regardless of the season. It becomes even more important to work out in the mornings in the winter months as it helps wake up the body and regulate the circadian rhythm which influences important bodily functions like hormone release, eating habits, digestion and body temperature.
Warm up
To make sure that strains and injuries are strictly kept at bay, warm-ups are particularly crucial during the winter season. Although most warm-ups include stretching exercises, for winters it is important that your warm-up routine has exercises that will get your blood moving, loosen your joints and warm up your muscles and tissues. For example, arm circles, arm swings, high steps and lunges.
Exercises
Even the slightest body movement feels like a drag during winters and we tend to become lazier. However, there’s never a good enough reason to skip a nice and power packed workout and there has never been an exercise session that left a person in low spirits. During the winter season, walking and running are preferred workout activities as they don’t really require much in the way of extra gear or infrastructure and also engage your entire body in the workout giving you maximum benefit.
Also Read: Winter Pet Care Guide For Your Furry Friends
Sunlight Exposure
Come winters and we encounter increased levels of lethargy, unproductivity and sluggishness. A drastic drop in our mood following all this is only natural. But worry not, you are not alone. There’s a well justified scientific reason behind this. The winter season brings with it shorter days, longer nights and reduced exposure to sunlight affecting our body’s circadian rhythm. With limited exposure to sun, the melatonin aka sleep hormone production in our body shoots up resulting in us feeling groggier and tired than usual. The easiest way to combat this is to try and spend as much time as possible out in the sun and make sure your body receives its daily dose of vitamin D.
Plan Ahead
Lastly, for the successful completion of any task, it is most important that you plan ahead and prepare yourself. When you are planning a workout in the winter season, it is important to plan your workout in advance as per the weather conditions and your requirements for the upcoming workout in order to maintain the consistency of your routine. Planning in advance gives you an edge as you have everything ready when you wake up, gear and gym bag.
When you’ve got your basics right it’s easier and more productive to build over them. A properly formulated winter workout routine helps you achieve just that and in a manner that is both practical and feasible. Such a plan will help you inch closer towards the type of lifestyle you aspire.
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