Wellness

After living like a bear and hibernating for months, the weather gets warmer and the sun gets sweeter so you’re feeling like a Rockstar and want to take your workout outdoors. Great! But buyer beware…. Although exercising outdoors will do wonders for your health (studies have shown outdoor fitness routines boost mood & energy levels) there are times when it’s too dangerous.

Check your local weather – Heat and Humidity play a role in your ability to cool off. As your activity level rises, so does your body temperature and sweating is like built in AC for your body. As sweat evaporates from your skin, it takes some heat along with it; lowering your body temperature. But when humidity is present, there’s water in the air already leaving the sweat on your body with no place to go.  And when this happens, your body temp can stay dangerously high leading you straight into heat exhaustion or even worse, heat stroke. So before you hit the streets, check your local weather. If humidity is going to be high, plan for an indoor workout. If indoors isn’t possible then play it safe and save your workout for tomorrow. 

Avoid the hours between 10am – 4pm – Just like your Hotpocket in the microwave, the longer something is in heat the hotter it gets. This also applies to the outdoors. The longer the sun is up, the hotter it gets. And because heat places extra stress on the body, you’ll want to exercise outdoors when it’s cooler. Your outdoor workout should take place either in the a.m. before the sun has been up for too long (prior to 10am) or after the sun has begun to go down (after 4pm).  

Use these tools as a guideline for a great summer sweat. But remember to also be smart and listen to your body. If something doesn’t feel right, stop immediately.

Be smart, be safe, and HAVE FUN!

Actually, no. Sweat is not indicative on how many calories burned but rather how hard your body is cooling itself off. Let me ‘splain Lucy. When you exercise your core temperature rises.  This sends a signal to your hypothalamus (the part of your brain that regulates your body temperature) telling it that “It’s getting hot in hurr.” Your body then gets signals from the brain to cool down and it adjusts accordingly. And one of those ways is through sweating. Factors such as age, gender, and even fitness level (fit people sweat more and sooner into an activity) determines how much, or little, you sweat. 

The immediate weight loss after an intense workout is water weight, to be gained back throughout the day. So, the next time you want to track how hard you pushed (because let’s get real, who doesn’t!?) check your heart rate monitor instead. Measuring your heart rate gives you a reading on your energy expenditure and energy expenditure equals calories burned! 

Click on the below to see what Consumer Reports has to say about which type of monitor is right for you.

Just like you can't drive a car with no gas, you can't push your body without fuel.  And while I never advocate working out on an empty stomach - the truth is some people can't tolerate a meal so early in the a.m.  

No, it's not.  If you find yourself in a position where you just can't bring yourself to have a meal before your early morning workout then try having a slice of whole grain toast with 1 Tbs of almond or peanut butter.  You'll be giving your body carbohydrates and protein it can use to push you through.

So you just can't do it - have something of substance the night before.  Oatmeal is low on the GI scale so we're talking no blood sugar spike; the magnesium and potassium will give you a sustained release of energy.   

If a full meal isn't your thing, then snack on either a banana or some almonds - or both!  The magnesium and protein from this combo will supply you with the punch your looking for to slay your workout the next morning.

Being sick and all you want to do is......nothing. But should you put your fitness routine on hold?  

Well there’s the obvious...if you have a fever or say the flu the answer is no but what about something simple like the sniffles? According to Thomas Weidner, head of athletic training at Ball State University, when you’re in doubt, do the neck check. 

The neck check is exactly as it sounds. When you’re sick, symptoms that contain anything below the neck (body aches, fever, chest cough/congestion) it’s best to take the day off. Above the neck (cold, headache) you’ll actually benefit from some movement. 

Your immune system is lowered when we're under stress and this leads you into becoming vulnerable to pick up a nasty cold or something worse like the flu. Studies have shown that the endorphins released during exercise has the same effect on the body during sickness as it does when it fights off stress in wellness. 

So if you’re sick and want to feel better - go exercise! But use your best judgement in what you can and shouldn’t do.  If you have an absence of fever or lethargy then ease into it with a low intensity work out. If the next day you’re illness has eased, you can up the intensity - but we’re still not talking HIIT. Try an easy bike ride or brisk walk. Rule of thumb: take as many days as you were sick to ease back into your routine. Ex: 5 days sick, 5 days to ease back into your regular routine. 

I've had clients tell me that they don't like to run outside in the colder months because they get an uncomfortable burning sensation in their legs afterwards and they're afraid something is wrong.  I assure them that they're okay and what they are actually experiencing is the human body going into survival mode.  

As you run in the cold, one of the things your body does to keep core temperature steady (preventing you from going into hypothermia) is it pulls blood away from your appendicular skeleton and towards the center of your body. When you return to warm air (head inside) you 'thaw out' and the burning sensation you feel is the blood flow coming back to your legs.

The best thing to do is make sure you're dressed in weather appropriate clothes. Winter running tights are available from retailers; I'm partial towards Nike. Running tights for the cold generally keep the body insulated and reduce heat loss.

If burning in your legs is something that stops you from running outdoors in the winter, then just don't do it! There's no shame in your game if you have to take to the treadmill during the colder months. 

                      The goal is to do what is enjoyable for you!

Yes, yes, yes.  Did I say yes?  It's very easy to believe that you don't need to hydrate in the cold for winter workouts like you would when it's hot outside but you do.  When trying to regulate your body's core temperature as the weather gets colder, your body pulls fluids inward.  In turn this produces more urine output.  More fluid loss increases the chances of becoming dehydrated if those fluids aren't adequately replaced.  So don't count on sweat to determine if you should hydrate before and after your outdoor winter workouts.

This depends on the length of your workout.  In most cases water will suffice.  It's very easy to be sucked into the marketing hype of sport drinks but it's not until the 60 min mark or more in a workout do you begin to lose electrolytes.  If your activity is less than an hour and you choose to refuel with a sport drink, you're only adding additional sugar to your diet.  Still not convinced?  Have a banana along with that tall glass of H2O for potassium.  The Sodium-Potassium balance is not only for electrolytes but potassium aids in heart health, muscle contractions, and digestion.  

Workouts don't stop just because temps drop!  If burning more calories is your thing then you SHOULD be working out in the cold (within reason of course - I wouldn't recommend taking it to the streets in below freezing temperatures). Our bodies are built with internal temperature control, aka Thermoregulation.  When temps drop, your body turns on its internal thermostat and begins to work harder trying to maintain your core body temperature. In the process, additional energy is being used resulting in more Kcals burned. So the next time you feel like throwing on a blanket and staying in when the temps dip, instead throw on those sneakers & burn more calories! 

Click on the below to shop for outdoor workout gear from Outdoor Voices