Even though I live in the South, there are a lot of mornings where the temperatures drop below freezing. Yesterday morning when I checked the weather on my beloved iPhone, it was 26 degrees. Brrrr.
I remember driving to work in early winter mornings before I had children and I would see people running alongside the road, their breath puffing out into the frigid air. I would disdainfully say to myself, “Why in the world would anyone get out and exercise in sub-freezing temperatures? What are they trying to prove?”
Yes, I admit it. I was judging those people because I felt guilty that I had not exercised regularly in years and was rapidly gaining weight. As I went from just overweight to morbidly obese, I began even more critical of folks who exercised in the cold (or hot) weather. “Really,” I’d think to myself, “What are you trying to prove?”
Once I began exercising in earnest and saw the pounds and dress sizes falling away, I changed my attitude towards people who exercised in inclement weather. In fact, I became one of them!
Over the 14+ years that I’ve maintained my weight loss, there are very few days where I skip my exercise because of cold weather. When it drops below 15 degrees or if the ground is slippery with ice or snow, I find a workout to do indoors rather than skipping it completely. I feel sure that if I lived in the North, I’d likely invest in a treadmill or a gym membership.
What changed for me?
I realized that people who exercised in the cold weren’t trying to show off or prove something to those of us driving by. Instead, they were exercising for themselves. For their health, their weight management, and for their emotional health. I became one of the “I believe in exercise people.”
If you ever find yourself tempted to skip a workout because of cold weather, here are 5 reasons to get up and exercise.
1. Exercise can help you compensate for extra calories we may tend to eat during the holiday season. Although I’m not an advocate of eating your exercise calories burned, I do understanding that those calories burned during exercise can help us with weight management.
2. Winter exercise helps you stay consistent. If you find yourself wanting to slack off during the winter, you may find it hard to get started again once the weather turns warm because you are out of the habit. Doing some form of exercise all year long is the best way to keep exercise as a habit and not an occasional endeavor.
3. It’s a great time to try something new. If you live in a climate that makes outdoor exercising impossible, these winter months are a great time to focus on strength training, flexibility, or adding a new cardio routine to your workout. We have a heated indoor pool at the university here, and it is kinda fun to go swimming on a morning where the temperature is in the 30′s!
4. You can get new workout clothes. I know that’s a silly reason, but you do need different clothing for winter workouts – right? (On that note, don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a $25 gift card to Macy’s!)
5. You will never be sorry. I’m never sorry when I drag myself out of bed on a frosty morning and exercise (either indoors or out). However, I am sorry when I just skip my workout because I don’t want to be inconvenienced by having to dress in layers or be cold until my body gets warmed up once I’m actually exercising.
How do you do with winter workouts? Have you ever let exercise fall by the wayside when it gets cold or are you consistent year-round? Diane
we are moving to a colder clime and IM SOOO CLINGING to number four!!
I admit that most of my workouts have been indoor ones for the past year or so, but for the first three years of my new life, I ran outside frequently — rain or shine, whatever the temperature, on the hottest summer days and coldest winter ones (like you, if it was safe — clear pavement, no huge snow piles to block me from cars and vice versa). And the cold weather runs are tough, as I’m very sensitive to cold post-weight loss (especially my fingers & toes), but of course, I never regretted them. I’ve gotten away from running but right now I’m training for a 5K on Dec. 30, so getting my layers on and getting outside on a cold morning (it’s usually in the high 20s/low 30s these days) a couple of times a week is mandatory. As a certain footwear manufacturer says, Just Do It!
Good post, Diane! I’m terrible about not getting out. I have an exercise bike at home, but it’s not as good as a walk. I keep thinking about a treadmill but don’t want to put out the money right now. Outside is always there…I just need to use it. Even if it’s cold to start, once I’m walking, I don’t notice it! Thanks for the nudge!
Funny, he theme for my Emerge Fitness FB page was similar to this today — inspired by a cold San Diego morning. Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, it gets cold here too — just not as…
I live in NJ, and admittedly, I am a “weenie” when it comes to the cold (and we’re talking anything below 45 degrees or so). The last couple of days have been brutal for me and it’s hard to believe it could actually get colder. We live near the beach, so try to get out for walks anytime the weather is a bit more moderate. Most of the time, we work out indoors to DVD’s. I tell myself I can bundle up and go outside, but I just end up whining the whole time! A lot of people in this area go to gyms, but I hate the gym. I think you have to find what works best for you.
I live in southern CA so… but I am also a gym person. It does get into the mid to high 30′s at times & lots of low 40′s during the winter morns when I run outside.. I just bundle up!
I put on over 30 lbs when I lived on the edge of the Sahara Desert in Sudan. The heat was so brutal that it was even a struggle to go from an air-conditioned apartment (which even with 6 air conditioners in the whole place still never cooled the apt off) outside to the car. I was already overweight when we got there and I put the weight on FAST. I remember despising even my closest friends when they would talk about going out for a run, a bike ride or to play tennis (all of which were very convenient). I still don’t know if I was more angry with them for having the energy to exercise or with myself for not having the energy. I live in Mexico City now and the year round cool weather here has made a big difference in my exercise habits.
The picture you posted with the snowy mailboxes, yeah, not a fan (of the snow, that is). I live in Pennsylvania, so there are lots of opportunities to experience low temps and cold winds. We have not had much snow yet, but I’m not looking forward to it when it arrives, either. I need to get an exercsie plan in place and get moving, now that I’m feeling better as a result of Physical Therapy, my sessions are providing a lot of relief.
Since I leave in Canada it does get pretty cold here so you get use to it. I had to conveter fahrenhiet to celsuis to figure out how cold it gets for you. We range from 15F to -15F or colder with the windchill. Oddly enough I have an easier time workout during the winter but I do it indoors. However I do try to go out for walks as much as possible.
I’ve been able to stay consistent with winter workouts with a gym membership and DVDs to do at home. However, last year I bundled up on sunny days and went out for my walks, even when it was 45 degrees out. This year I plan to do the same, but running now.
I will admit I don’t roll out of bed and go…I wait for it to warm up to about 40-45. As a stay-at-home mom, I do have the luxury of putting it off until about 10:00 am.
Just wanted to say thanks for your Thanksgiving greetings, Diane!
And yes, exercise can be done during winter with a bit of imagination. Personally I use a stationary bike, but there also is rope jumping, burpess, heck, even a bit with Wii Fit can make a difference. The worst really is to stop for months, because the longer the break, the easier it becomes to postpone getting back into it.
It’s definitely harder in the winter! I take my cycling indoors, obviously, and go to Spin class. I run at the gym and do whatever I can at the gym. It’s not preferred but when it’s cold and rainy out, it’s ok by me!
I’ve run in every weather and temperature from 100 degrees down to Zero! The only thing that has stopped me is lightening or the mechanical problems with severe ice chunks and snow.
I didn’t say I liked it, I just said I’ve done it. That’s the message.
Yes! This post is just in time as our temps are starting to get quite chilly. Yes, I’ve faltered in my resolve on frosty mornings and regretted it almost immediately, when I didn’t later have time to schedule in an alternative. You’ve once again given me a boost in the right direction. Thank you!
Run scheduled for tomorrow morning and the prediction is for mixed snow and rain–I’ll definitely think of you whispering in my ear when the alarm goes off.
I’m in Michigan and we just had our first snow fall last week. I’m afraid I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to working out in the cold. I respect anyone who goes out there day in and day out in the winter for a jog. My solution for me personally is a gym membership.
My solution is just to workout indoors, because the sidewalks and roads around here really aren’t pedestrian safe in the snow. Slippery is the least of the problems – obstructed and almost impassable is worse.
But cute workouts clothes are always a bonus
Wearing my favorite warm work out clothes is a huge motivator. Dealing with the dark is another dislike but plenty of other people are out walking their dogs, I have a lot of company. Taking my camera when I go out always motivates me to capture though winter critters and landscapes
Lucky to live in So Cal and to have good weather more often. Gym if it won’t stop raining
I am SO happy to be living somewhere now that I don’t have to deal with ice and snow if I want to exercise outdoors. Our coldest morning (at 6 am) has been 44 and it felt wonderful. I’m realize that I’m still in the honeymoon phase, though.
This summer I started jogging, then I ended up with plantar fasciitis and upon the recommendation of my doctor, stopped jogging (I still did my 1-2 walks per day). My foot is getting better and some days I really want to get out there and try jogging again, but I’ve been letting the cold mornings we have in Michigan right now make me put it off. I find myself not wanting to start again until spring. I’ve also let the dark shorten my after work walk because there is an area of my walk that I’m not comfortable walking as it’s getting dark.
What this all means is that I should work harder on rearranging the room we want to put an elliptical trainer in so I have no more excuses!