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The Winter Workout Guide
30.11.2017Naps on the couch. Hot soup. Cosy indoors.
If there’s one season that could be the living embodiment of comfort and lethargy, it’s winter.
It’s too cold for some. It’s just perfect for others; a boon or a bane?
When it comes to fitness and health, winter can be whatever you want it to be. It could be a catalyst to help you cement your fitness goals or an excuse to let yourself go.
Here’s what you can do if you want to choose the former.
Experiment with your Exercise Routine
Go beyond the conventional.
While traditional methods of working out are still very much prevalent, winter offers you a chance to opt for alternate exercise regimes. Mixed Martial Arts, Pilates, Body-weight workouts, Yoga, Sport-based workouts, Resistance Training and the like are just some of the many options at your disposal for effective results. These alternate workouts are applicable in both indoor and outdoor environments, relieving your dependence on elaborate gym equipment. They focus on conditioning, strength, endurance, and flexibility, offering you a more well-rounded approach to mental and physical health.
Contrary to popular beliefs, outdoor workouts in winter are actually supremely beneficial. Cold weather makes the heart work harder and a run outdoors could tremendously boost your cardiovascular endurance. Outdoor workouts also help the body acquire Vitamin D as your body is exposed to direct sunlight.
The human body also produces more endorphins in a cold climate. Working out only increases the production of these endorphins and thereby keeping you happy and content.
Working out in this weather is literally a stress-buster!
Nutrition
Monitoring your food intake is crucial during the winter months. The human body switches to trying to store fat during the winter months and putting on weight is thereby relatively easy. Winter weather also makes you prone to comfort carbohydrate cravings, owing to decreased Seretonin levels in the brain, and adversely impacts your health — the Achilles heel to any fitness journey. Opt for low-fat, healthy carbs instead to satisfy these cravings. Sweet potatoes, wholegrain foods, or vegetable stews are great sources for low-fat carbohydrates.
During this season, energy levels are, on average, lower in winter months so looking for a variety of nutrition sources is paramount. Our bodies are more efficient at processing carbohydrates at night ie. nutrient timing is thereby crucial to guarantee results. While protein and its amino acids will boost your metabolism like nothing else, carbs at the right time will make sure you have the adequate energy for the next workout session. A consistent protein intake during the winter months could also advance your case for a more muscular body, since the weather is conducive to ‘bulking up’.
Consistent nutrition and the right workout regimes make quite a potent combo.
Make winter the season where you win.
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