[music] Mark Threlfall: Now I absolutely
love running on those lovely crisp winter mornings like today, but I have to admit, I do feel like
my training takes a bit of a hit when I'm training in the cold. For starters, I just struggled to get
out of the house. That's understandable. Once I am out of the house, I just feel like I can't do my
workouts as well in the cold. My power in the bike drops. I just can't hit the same paces on the run.
Now, I've always blamed that on the cold, but why and what is actually happening?
[music] Before we even talk about the cold itself,
we need to actually take a step back and look at some very basic biology, because our bodies do a
very impressive job of regulating our core body temperature by either increasing or decreasing
heat loss or heat production to make sure our bodies don't overheat or get too cold. Of course,
as we exercise, we create heat from our active muscles. That heat is then transferred
to our skin and to our core. The longer the exercise or the more intense the exercise,
the more heat is produced, which is pretty obvious stuff really. Even if you do start out in the cold
and feeling rather cold, it's likely you're going to warm up with time. Any excess heat
that is produced, our body tries to get rid off through sweat and through our breath and so on.
Back to the original question, why do I struggle to train in the cold? Well, as the mercury really
does drop, our body, understandably, works harder to keep our vital organs warm. That
means it shunts blood away from our extremities, meaning less blood, less oxygen to our muscles.
Another thing that happens is that our blood vessels constrict in the cold to help maintain
this core temperature. Obviously, this reduces blood flow. On top of that, our nerves transmit
signals slower in the cold, meaning our muscles may not contract and react as effectively as
usual. Now, it still sounds very worrying, but actually, in most cases, as we exercise, our
muscles warm up, as I've mentioned already, so we can perform quite well in the cold. Actually, just
small fluctuations in our core body temperature also make very little difference either.
What are we all complaining about? Well, it's when the mercury drops below 10°C is when we
start to see some significant negative effects. Actually, any kind of significant wind can also
make it feel a lot colder than the temperature actually is. Now, one of the big effects of
training in these kind of temperatures, which I have not really thought about,
is the fact that our body tries to warm this cold air that we're breathing in before it hits our
lungs. Now that's an extra process. That's going to slow things down and divert energy away.
Of course, one of the other things that we're going to experience from training in these kind
of temperatures is that our body may not feel quite as fluid or limber. Now, I know personally,
I tense up a little bit. I tend to shrug my shoulders. I don't feel like I can breathe
quite so well, partly because I am tensing up so much. This even happens for me above 10°C.
This also can have a knock-on effect to us psychologically. Picture yourself heading
out for a run and shivering and being very cold in the first 5 to 10 minutes of your warm up.
That's hardly getting you in a mindset ready to do a hard workout,
is it? [music]
However, much of the research suggest that it's not actually the cold that slows us down so much,
more the byproducts of the cold. For instance, we all layer up in the cold to try and keep our
bodies warm. At least, hopefully, we do. That, when we're cycling and running, can create drags,
simply by having these extra bulkier layers on that may flap around as well. Then also,
there's the added weight of those extra layers, and just a general feeling that we may not be
able to move as freely as we ordinarily would in just a simple shorts and t-shirt. We often
used to joke about the curse of the long bib tights because when we put them on,
we just wouldn't feel that good in them. If you don't layer up or maybe worse,
you got caught in a cold rainstorm, or you just simply stopped during a ride or a run, you'll
begin to cool down. You may start to experience some of these issues that I mentioned before,
or you may even get to a point of getting so cold that your body tries to create warmth by
rapidly contracting your muscles, so essentially, shivering. That can actually reduce the blood flow
to those muscles, which in turn is going to reduce our performance, which obviously is
taking things to another level, which I've experienced, and I can't say it's much fun.
Now, there is also something else that the cold does to us that honestly,
I had no idea about. If we do allow ourselves to get rather cold, as I just mentioned,
it can cause our muscles to empty their glycogen stores at five to six times their normal rate,
and also, an increase level of a hormone that stimulates glycogen breakdown,
which kind of makes sense. I remember numerous bike rides in which I had been very cold to the
bone and felt like I was going to bonk due to a sudden and unexpected lack of energy.
Now, the positive to this, I guess, and I am clutching at straws a little bit here,
is that this high level of glycogen consumption can quite often leave your muscle glycogen
stores completely depleted. Therefore, your body then looking to fat as a source of energy. Now,
if you're someone that's looking to improve your fat metabolism, well, this could be
of benefit. Personally, though, I'd say that bordering on hypothermia to try and achieve this
is probably not the best advice. Now, of course, there are obviously
a number of dangers and traps that you can fall into with cold weather exercise. One
that is quite common and very easy to fall into a trap of doing, is that when it's cold,
we layer up to try and keep warm. As we start to warm up, we may start to sweat and perspire,
so over time, your clothes absorb this sweat, the moisture and can become quite saturated.
Now, the problem with this is that water is a great conductor of heat, in fact,
25 times faster conducting heat from our body than air. If you were to carry on working hard during
your workout or your ride, your run, or whatever, then that's absolutely fine. If you start to slow
down, you become fatigued, or maybe even stop, well, you could find yourself in trouble. Let's
run through some tips for you to take forward when working out on doing exercise in the cold.
[music] Tip 1, depending on our activity
and therefore our moving speed will depend on how much clothing you should wear. Anything
under freezing, and you most certainly should be wearing a hat and gloves whilst exercising,
even a hat underneath your helmet and also some thermal insulating layers. Tip 2, adaptable
clothing is a winner in my opinion. Anything where you can maybe remove the sleeves and whatnot, or
you just layer in a way that you can remove them as you go. For instance, I quite often like to
wear an extra layer for my warm up and warm down that I could remove for the main set.
You can also think about doing the first half of your workout into a headwind,
and then the second half, once you're all sweaty, wet, and perhaps rather fatigued and slowing down,
with the winds behind you. That way, you can just reduce that wind chill effect when you are
cold, wet, and potentially slowing down. Tip 4, make sure that you keep drinking and taking
fluid on because you will still be perspiring and sweating even in the cold. I do appreciate that
taking cold fluid on when you're already rather cold is probably the last thing you want to do,
but it is really important. Now, if you are struggling with that, then some workarounds are to
take a little fluid on before you head out to workout. Then have some electrolytes in the drink
that you are having when you're working out, so whatever you do manage to take on is supposed most
benefit. Then when you get in, try to have some warm fluids because it's slightly more appealing.
Tip 5, and actually a number of tips to finish off with here, firstly, make sure that you eat
plenty. With the potential to use our glycogen stores at an increased rate, it's really important
that you go in well stuffed up prior to your exercise. Also, you go prepared if you are
going for a staying period of time, just in case you do go through your glycogen stores quicker.
Also, think about the location that you're training in. Maybe try to go for something
slightly less exposed to the elements, or maybe, if you're really lucky, under some shelter. Also,
make sure that you stay safe. The cold weather and conditions tends to come hand in hand with snow,
ice, and the wet roads and conditions. Make sure that you're using the right footwear
and tires or equipment for those conditions. Okay, that's a lot of information there for you.
That is why a lot of us do struggle to train well in the cold conditions. If you do for yourself and
you've got a lovely experience in here, then please do drop any suggestions in the comments
section down below, or any reasons why you think you might struggle that I haven't mentioned today.
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