“To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake,
It is necessary to stand out in the cold.”
-Aristotle
It’s the time of year in the northern hemisphere when the days are shorter, darker, and colder. Although the tendency is to hunker down and cozy up indoors, venturing outside in the winter is critical to optimize your health and fitness. Our body creates vitamin D from direct sunlight on our skin when we go outdoors. The average diet only provides a fraction of the optimal amount of Vitamin D necessary for body-mind-spirit health, especially in the winter months. Vitamin D is linked with immune system function, as the risk of respiratory infection (including COVID) goes up when levels in the body drop.
Low vitamin D levels are also linked with depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder. Exercise releases endorphins such as dopamine and serotonin which can boost your mood! Winter training improves lung capacity, puts more demand on the cardiovascular system, and increases your VO2 Max which improves overall exercise performance and speed.
It’s helpful to understand and be prepared for the challenges of walking, hiking, running, and biking in the snow. Make sure to have good treads on your shoes to avoid slip-sliding away. If you’re hitting the snow aggressively with hard core training, consider traction devices on your shoes or tires such as metal teeth, spikes, or coiled wire. Growing up in Western New York’s harsh winters, we would space screws asymmetry in our the mountain bike tires before we would hit the icy trails. Now they sell specialized spiked tires and stud kits online and in most bike shops.
Training in winter conditions also affects biomechanics. Hard-packed snow, such as that remaining on roads after plowing, places increased load on the smaller muscles of the feet, as these small muscles and tendons stabilize more through grasping inside the shoe to minimize the risk of slipping. When running, harder snow also forces the foot to land more out of line each step, like when trail running. In addition, calf muscles must work harder because you can’t push off normally. With every stride there is often a little more slip of the foot before it leaves the ground. Your core muscles are also likely to tire more quickly when training in the snow, because of the need to stabilize yourself on uneven ground. In high snow, your psoas (hip flexors) work overtime because of the exaggerated knee lift. This will often cause your stride to shorten, resulting in a higher cadence than usual at a given pace.
Try these useful tips to ensure safe, comfortable, and successful winter training:
• Dress as though it is 10-20 degrees warmer than it is. You’ll get warm a couple of minutes into your workout. Wear layers to avoid overheating. Avoid cotton clothing because it traps moisture and leaves you cold & uncomfortable. Try to wear wicking material, such as merino wool to keep the moisture away from the body & keep you warm.
• Warm up for 5-10 minutes with dynamic stretches to increase your heart rate, body temperature, breathing rate, and blood flow. This will reduce muscle tightness and decrease risk for injuries.
• Don’t forget that our bodies still sweat in the cold which means hydrating before, during, and after training is still important as dehydration is common in winter running.
• Beware the wind! Frostbite generally occurs in subzero temperatures when skin is exposed more than 30 minutes. At -15 degrees Fahrenheit with a bit of wind, frostbite can occur after 15 minutes. Be sure to be cognizant of the temperature and windchill to prevent hypothermia, which presents with symptoms of shallow breathing, confusion, and drowsiness.
Sufficient levels of Vitamin D help strengthen bones and teeth, and prevent osteoporosis, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes. Sunlight also helps control inflammation associated with arthritis and other maladies, and even slows aging. When our bodies feel better, our outlook on life is brighter. Natural sunlight helps set our body’s internal clock telling us when to eat and sleep and helps normalize hormonal functions that happen at certain times of the day. Not getting enough sleep can not only make us cranky, but over the long term it can hinder our ability to lose weight, contributing to other health concerns.
Another benefit of spending time in the great outdoors is that it can give us time away from technology and other possible stress-inducers. Taking our minds off our daily concerns can give our souls a chance to recharge. So, bundle up and head out into the winter wonderland for your daily dose of the sunshine vitamin to beat the winter blues, form your character, nourish your body-mind-spirit, and bring out your best! Pay heed to nature’s prescription for better mental and physical and spiritual health and spend some mood-lifting, body and soul nurturing time in our great outdoors!
