Is It Better to Work Out in the Warm or Cold?

Yesterday I took my dogs for a walk/jog for a couple miles and it was SO cold outside!! It made me wonder what the benefits are of working out in the cold vs warm weather.

Benefits of Warm Workout

Keeping muscles warm and limber during exercise is important under any circumstances; it stands to reason that working out in a warm environment would provide many of the same benefits. Warm up and stretch for 15 minutes before exercise to get blood pumping through the heart and into your muscles. Increasing body temperature prepares muscles for increased activity, thus helping to prevent strain and other injury during exercise.

Hazards of Warm Workout

Exercise is a high-energy state characterized by large increases in body temperature. Muscle contractions, rapid blood flow and nutrient breakdown increase the temperature of your tissues. The body responds to these changes by producing sweat and dilating blood vessels near the surface of the skin. As sweat evaporates and cools you down, water is lost to the environment. Dehydration is a potential complication of exercising in warm temperatures, the symptoms of which include thirst, decreased urine output, headache, dizziness and lightheadedness. If dehydration progresses to the point that you are unable to produce sweat, serious complications such as heat stroke and exhaustion may occur. Increasing fluid intake while exercising in warm environments is a helpful preventive measure, especially when you begin experiencing symptoms of dehydration.

Benefits of Cold Workout

While not as beneficial as warm workouts, cold whether does not necessarily call for indoor exercise. If you are properly prepared, exercising in the cold encourages you to stay fit year around and to enjoy winter sports such as skiing, skating or snowboarding.

Hazards of Cold Workout

Frostbite and hypothermia are two main concerns. Preparation for cold weather exercise includes dressing in layers as well as protecting your hands, feet and ears to avoid frostbite. Hypothermia is defined as a core body temperature below 90 degrees Fahrenheit and has the potential to cause cardio-respiratory and central nervous system arrest.

Considerations

Exercising in cold weather does carry risks if you suffer from specific conditions. For instance, asthma patients are especially susceptible to cold weather, often suffering exacerbated symptoms when breathing cold air. Additionally, if you have a history of Raynaud's disease, a condition characterized by discoloration of the fingers and toes during periods of stress and low temperatures, you need to be extra precautious about unnecessary exposure to cold.

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