7 Benefits of Practicing Sports in winter
If something is cold, it makes you want to be at home, warm and under the blanket, more than going outside, especially when it gets dark so early. The copious meals that make us warm at this time do not help to activate us either, so many of us decide to put aside the practice of outdoor sports in the cold months. And our cardiovascular health can suffer 먹튀사이트.
But what do you think if we tell you that the best time to do sports is winter? We explain all the benefits that make it more than advisable to practice exercise in low temperatures.
Benefits of doing sports in winter
- More calories are burned. With the cold, the body temperature drops and our body must make a greater effort to regain heat. How? Increasing its metabolic activity so that the cells consume more energy to transform it into heat.
When we exercise at low temperatures, to this effort of the body we must also add what it must do to activate our muscles, which with low temperatures tend to contract and become more rigid. And also to regain the balance caused by changes in temperature, oxygen consumption and the loss of fluids from physical exercise.
Therefore, more calories are consumed, which incidentally serves to compensate for the excess calories that we do at this time.
- Improve our physical form. As we have already mentioned, the body must improve its performance in all aspects to adapt to low temperatures: it improves cardiovascular capacity (which reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases and strokes), cardiopulmonary capacity and develops muscles.
- Improves the immune system. According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, leukocytes and granulocytes, responsible for the proper functioning of the immune system, increase their production when we exercise at low temperatures.
At this point we must clarify that the benefits are achieved when we do not talk about extreme temperatures, be careful. If the body does not have time to warm up by doing an activity that demands a lot of effort for too long, the effect on the defenses will be exactly the opposite.
- We are more hydrated. In summer you sweat a lot more when you exercise, so practicing sports in winter helps us stay better hydrated at this time when it is normal for us to feel the need to drink less. However, it is always advisable to maintain good hydration in sports. Let’s not get careless.
- Boost your mood. Exercising releases endorphins makes us disconnect and set goals. Thus improves our sense of well-being, removes stress and depression.
- A positive routine is created and prepares us for good physical condition in the hot months. Playing sports in winter will make our body and mind get used to physical exercise throughout the year. And when the temperatures start to rise again, we will already be in good physical condition and we will not need to urgently exercise to look better with less clothing.
- It’s fun. In addition to the usual exercise, there are many stimulating winter sports: skiing, snowboarding, and ice skating … We must choose the right one for our form and physical condition. And if we do it in company, it will give us much less laziness and it will be more fun.
Tips for practicing sports in winter
It is necessary to take a series of extra precautions before taking to the streets to exercise in freezing temperatures:
- We must perform longer warm-ups and stretches (10-15 minutes), since the muscles are number from the cold.
- Adequately protect the most sensitive areas: the head and neck especially, which is where the most heat is lost; the lips and nose, which can become dry and we must use moisturizers; feet and hands. If you do snow sports, we must use a good sunscreen to avoid burns that can be caused by the reflection of the sun on the snow.
- Wear suitable clothing: the ideal is 3 layers: the first one that absorbs sweat (not cotton, which stays wet), the second thermal and the third waterproof, windproof and breathable. Or bring spare clothes to change with the sweat.
- Bundle up very well when you leave the house and return, before and after exercising.
- Before starting to exercise it is important to eat well, eating a good complete breakfast that includes cereals, milk and fruits.
And now that you know all the advantages of doing sports in winter, put laziness aside and take advantage of the benefits of the cold to get active. You do not have to do great excesses: it can simply be a daily 30-minute walk at a good pace in the sunny hours. Your heart will appreciate it.
