Training in the cold

[zen_celt]

Hey guys,
I was getting dressed for my gym class this morning (I have dance at 7:45 AM) when I realized how cold it was (31F) and how tight my muscles were. Usually I'm not too bad with the cold thanks to my training in snow during the winter but even then I noticed that my hands were often stiff and my limbs didn't move too well either. To fix this, I try to warm up thoroughly but I don't have time to before my gym class. I was wondering what you guys do to stay warm and loose in the cold(especially first thing in the morning).
-ZC

[Jeff Liboiron]

I stay inside and train :-)

seriously tho, i would avoid training in the cold.

[red_fists]

Hi.

I work out on Sunday morningsi the lcoal Park.

I do warmup & stretching as such, but walk for about 20 minutes before starting the workout.

This way the Body can adjust to the temperature. :cool:

[Fu-Pow]

One important point. If you excercise outdoors you need to breath in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Your nasal cavity warms the air that hits your lungs. You can help this by touching your tongue to the front of the roof of the mouth.

Secondly, if you work up some phlegm in your mouth don't spit it out. Swallow it. If you spit it out you will be exposing your throat to the cold air.

Both the things I mentioned are typically explained as helping to cultivate Chi. But they also have a practical purpose in not letting the internal surfaces of your lungs and throat become exposed to cold air.

And bottom line, dress warm!!!!

Good luck in your training my Northern brothers :D !!! Let not the fat find your a$$ in these lazy winter months.

[wu_de36]

fill 3 5-gallon buckets with water the night before. leave outside.

next morning, go outside, strip naked and dump each bucket over your head. dry off, get dressed and start your day.

works for the Russians :)

[qeySuS]

Working out in the cold is pain, i usually cant talk if i do it for long. I remember last year just before the Icelandic Championship we went out one saturday morning to some stadium to do sprints and run up stairs in the seating area and such.

And it was prolly around minus 1-4 on celcius. To begin with i thought we were going to train inside so i only had 2 t-shirts, i did that for 10 minutes but my forearms started cramping up bad because of the cold so i got a sweater from my friend and so that worked out, but after 1.5 hour practice and feeling blood in my throat (that happens when you breath icecold air and it's next to impossible to breath only through your nose when your doing this much excersizing). Then i started talking and i felt like i was drunk, evrything i said came out funny and i was almost drooling, i could hardly control my mouth. Took about an hour to get back ot normal.

So all in all! DONT TRAIN IN COLD :) It'll give you a nasty caugh too.

[anton]

I like training in the cold (could have something to do with me being russian :D). It gives the immune system a nice shock and is quitre refreshing. I take a cold shower every morning.

PS - cant leave a bucket of water overnight in Russia during winter, when you go to tip it over your head it'll come out as a solid ice-block and give you a concussion - probably good for conditioning your head fr headbuts though. :)

[Crimson Phoenix]

Training in the cold usually gives me a boost after a slower start-up...watch out for flexibility issues though, even with a thorough warm-up it is likely that you won't be as flexible as when the air is hot and damp.

[Repulsive Monkey]

Stand in the Wuxi stance for about 20 moins or something more warming like the Deer stance, this will warm upo the Kidneys too. Other wise just circulate your Qi towarm up the blood.

[dezhen2001]

another standing exercise i find that is good to warm you up when it is cold is this: stand in horse stance, as low as you can go. bring your hands to the middle of your chest (middle dantian), palms together. Do a standing meditation for as long as you can. Gradually you feel much warmer!

Also i would say don't do anything that requires extreme flexibility, as you can injure yourself

david