How to change your warm up and cool down routine
If it’s a long-term healthy lifestyle you’re after, then you’ll be well aware that regular exercise isn’t just a spring/summer activity. It’s important to keep the body moving all year round, and although winter workouts take some adaptations (not least where your activewear is concerned, brrrr), there’s no reason you shouldn’t enjoy your exercise sessions in the colder months just as much as you do when the sun is beaming down.
With the coronavirus pandemic gripping the globe this year, home workouts have never been so popular. But, while back in May you were probably exercising in the park almost every day, PTs and adidas Women’s Studio Community Ambassadors Maddy and Alex, aka Soul Sisters, urge you not to be be afraid of the cold, and to experiment with some outdoor winter workouts, too.
“For ourselves and many of our clients, we have noticed huge positive benefits, both physically and emotionally, from working out in the outdoors,” Soul Sisters explain. “Not only are you getting a good dose of vitamin D (yes even in winter months!), you can burn a few extra calories, make your heart muscles stronger, and improve your endurance.”
If you do try taking your next home workout outside, be mindful that a winter workout requires some changes. And according to the fitness experts, the most important adaptions should be made to your warm up and cool down routines.
“During the colder months, we strongly recommend giving yourself more time for your warm-up and cool-down, as it will support in preventing injury,” Soul Sisters explain. “With colder temperatures, it’s important you give your body more time to warm up and cool down to help with flexibility, performance and to avoid injuries.”
In the winter, your muscles can feel much tighter and so might need a little bit more attention before you start moving. “Cold muscles are less flexible and therefore if you jump straight into a workout without warming them up properly you are in danger of pulling a muscle, and suffering more pain the following day,” the sisters note.
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The PTs recommend allowing yourself 10 -15 minutes of pre-workout stretching in the winter, as well as 10 -15 minutes at the end for static stretches to cool down your muscles. Soul Sisters’ preferred warm up stretches are whole body dynamic ones (“walking lunges with overhead reach is a fave of ours,” they say, as well as “jumping jacks, gentle jogging, high knees and donkey kicks”.)
When it comes to cooling down, look around you to see if anything could assist your post-workout stretch. “If you are in a park and near a bench, we recommend you use it for a deep hamstring stretch, as well as utilising for stability for a quad stretch,” suggest Alex and Maddy. “Another outdoor stretch we love is finding a local playground with a climbing frame and hanging on the monkey bars to stretch out your back.”
Adidas.
So, now you know how to book-end your exercise session properly during winter, what sort of exercises should you be focussing on for the main bulk of the workout? For Alex and Maddy personally, they find they run less in the colder months, preferring instead to take longer hikes and walks instead (yes, a walk is as good an exercise as any). They also favour practicing more dynamic vinyasa yoga, whilst continuing to work on their strength-based exercises. But the thing to remember is, there’s no hard and fast rule.
“For us, we believe in, doing what you enjoy. It is important that you try and incorporate some form of regular movement throughout the week, ideally 3- 4 times, but this can be anything that gets your body moving, blood flowing, gives you a change of scenery and ultimately makes you feel good,” say the sisters.
“Variety is key. Not only does it keep your body in shape, but it keeps your mind sharp,” the PTs advise, urging: “Keep mixing it up!”
Now, go wrap up warm, try an outdoor winter workout, and see how it leaves you feeling…
You can browse Adidas’ COLD.RDY collection here.
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