Go out in the cold

October 27th, 2008 at 01:44pm Mike DeDoncker

There were snow flakes in that rain Sunday night. Yuck!

Now that we’re well into the months that end in “-ber” (read Brrr), it’s time to start thinking about dressing properly for cold-weather exercise.

Here are a few tips:

Dress in layers – Two or three light layers of clothing — perferably,the layer next to your skin should have wicking properties to carry sweat to the outer layers — are going to insulate your body better than one big, bulky garment. If it’s windy, you want that outer layer to be of a material that will cut the wind without trapping too much heat inside.

 If you’re exerting yourself, you’re still going to sweat and generate additional body heat so you actually want to feel a bit cold before you start. You can figure that it will feel like the temperature is three to six degrees warmer for you for every mile that you run. Wearing too much clothing may be the most common mistake new exercisers make when the weather turns cold.

Pay attention to extremities — If you have dressed your torso correctly, your hands and feet are going to be the most vulnerable to feeling the cold. That’s because blood is being shunted from these extremities to the working muscles, so make sure fingers and toes are covered. Mittens, in most cases, are better for keeping hands warm than gloves.

Cover your head — Studies have shown that most of the body’s heat is lost through the head. As with dressing your torso, think of adequate warmth without smothering the skin’s ability to breathe.

Hoof it safely – If the surface is clear, your regular running shoes should suffice. If you’re brave enough to challenge snow and ice on your runs, you might consider driving short sheet metal screws into the bottoms of your shoes and there are a couple of pull-on traction devices on the market.

Protect your face – The cold, raw temperatures are rough on your skin. You can consider a moisturizer while you’re running or immediately after and there are several styles of breathe-through face masks if you want something fancier than a good old scarf or handkerchief.

Stay hydrated – Again, you’re still sweating when you’re running in cold weather. So, even if you may not feel like it, you’re still dehydrating — colder air is often drier, too — so be sure to drink enough water before and after your run.

Oh yeah, and think spring.

Entry Filed under: healthyrockford.com