A New Resolution
By Alexander Germanis
As we approach the end of one year and the start of a new, certain things are inevitable for many people: spending more time with family; shopping for and, subsequently, returning presents; stuffing oneself like a State Fair prize farm animal; and, consequently, making a New Year’s resolution to lose weight and exercise more in the coming year.
The holidays are not all to blame for the latter part of this annual habit. Shorter days, colder weather, and our own circannual rhythms can certainly play factors. But these need not be determining factors for your personal well-being when entering the new year.
Even when everything in nature is getting lazy for several months, there’s no reason we need to follow suit. Staying active throughout the winter can ensure a positive state of wellness when spring finally arrives.
Casting off the Cast of Winter
Anyone who has had a limb in a cast or has even experienced a bad sprain knows what it’s like to finally regain use of that limb. Weakness in the limb occurs as a result of muscle atrophy, the loss of skeletal muscle mass. When a muscle is not being used, the body not only stops taking care of the muscle in order to conserve energy, but it also starts breaking it down.
Winter inactivity can have a similar effect on our muscles, effectively wrapping us in a cast of idleness. Depending on your age and activity level heading into the winter months, it can take only two to three weeks for those muscles to start waving bye-bye. After the age of 40, that timeframe starts to shrink.
Maintaining muscle mass is not the only reason to remain as active as possible, of course.
Activity boosts the immune system, which in turn will better protect you from the cold and flu viruses so prevalent in the winter months.
Science is showing that activity, specifically aerobic exercise, can increase the body’s production of irisin, a protein that can turn energy-storing white fat into insulating, calorie-burning brown fat.
Exercise is not all about physical benefits either (see last month’s article “Mind-Body Connection”). Exercise can boost your self-esteem and, should you venture outdoors for activity, it can stave off seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression common during the winter months.
Indoors, Outdoors, and Outside the Box
It’s all too easy for some people to say, “Winter, shminter. I’ll just go to the gym.” Although that’s commendable, where’s the fun in that?
There are many other ways to keep your winter activity levels on par with your summer strata, both inside and outside.
Naturally, as the temperatures drop, indoor activities tend to appeal to most people, and fortunately, there are many from which to choose.
If cycling is your sport of choice, spin classes are certainly an option. However, should you wish for something more at-home and less frenetic, there are a variety of indoor training stands in the 100-dollar range, allowing you to use your normal bike throughout the year without resorting to purchasing an entirely new (and expensive) stationary bike.
Pilates or dancing classes are both good ways to keep fit while only venturing in the cold to go to and from your car. Swimming remains a fantastic way to stay fit regardless of the outdoor temperature, as well. Although historically appealing to the senior crowd, mall walking is also a way to burn calories. Couple that with taking a staircase each time you come across one and you’ll get a decent workout in no time.
Winter leagues and competitions open up new possibilities for fitness, too. For instance, you could tap into your inner child and help actual children at the same time by competing in a dodgeball tournament held in Washington in December (https://fivepointswashington.org/event/2024-dodgeball-tournament/).
Social interaction can also be found with indoor tennis and pickleball or hitting the lanes with a bowling team.
Should you crave a little adrenaline rush, First Ascent Rock Climbing (https://faclimbing.com/peoria/) or Rocket Axe (https://www.rocketaxe.com/) may fit the bill.
Of course, should the outdoors never cease calling your name, going for walks or runs, ice skating, skiing, or snowboarding are all perennial favorites. The Peoria Ski Club even organizes trips around the world to experience the globe’s myriad mountain challenges.
Exercise With Jack Frost
Refusing to remain indoors throughout the winter can unleash a host of benefits. The cold, dry air can invigorate you, driving you to push a little bit harder than you might otherwise do during the muggy summer heat. This also means you might be able to extend your workout sessions, thus burning more calories.
Outdoor exercise exposes you to the sun, alleviating the aforementioned SAD. The ultraviolet radiation soaked in from the sun is also necessary for the body to produce Vitamin D. Science has also found that exposure to the cold may help the body recruit more brown fat cells.
Of course, just as in the summer, there are certain precautions to take while exercising outdoors. In the winter, dressing in layers is your first and best defense against hypothermia and frostbite. Trapping body heat and wicking away or blocking out moisture is necessary if you wish to exercise in the great outdoors. Starting with a moisture-wicking material, layering it with a fleece or wool, and covering it all with something waterproof will keep your skin dry and the winter wind, snow, and rain where it belongs.
Should you experience any of the following, however, seek the warmth of the indoors: a lack of coordination, mental confusion, slowed reaction time, slurred speech, uncontrolled shivering, and drowsiness. These could all be signs that your body temperature has dropped to unhealthy levels.
And take it from someone who has literally gotten sunburned in the fog: Sunscreen is still necessary, even in wintertime. Without the telltale feeling of heat on the skin, it’s easy to not realize you might still be getting unhealthy doses of ultraviolet radiation. Also, don’t forget to stay hydrated. You may not feel parched as you would with a summertime sweat, but the dry winter air will essentially leech moisture from your skin and breath.
Trick Yourself
So much of exercising is psychological. Any professional or amateur athlete will tell you playing a sport, pushing your endurance, or improving your skills is as much mental as it is physical.
Working out in the winter, therefore, needs to be approached in a mental way as well.
The excuses: But it’s so cold out, or It gets dark too early, are just that – excuses. There are ways around them. Fooling your mind and body into thinking it’s still summer can go a long way in maintaining your drive to exercise.
Utilizing sun lamps in your home, specifically in your workout area, can help regulate melatonin and serotonin levels in your body, thus reducing the sleepy feeling many of us experience during the winter. Depending on the lux level of your lamp, 30 minutes to two hours of exposure to a sunlamp per day can keep the winter weariness at bay.
Warming your workout area to higher levels before you begin will help loosen you up for your exercise routine. You’ll also experience more of a sweat, akin to your summer workout.
Humans are Not Hibernators
It can be so tempting to curl up in layers of warm clothes and blankets, stay in bed longer and longer, or stuff your face with every comfort food you can lay your hands on, but all of those things can be a trap if you allow them to be.
Humans are meant to be on the move, even in cold weather. Seeking winter wellness instead of allowing winter weight will not only make you happier and healthier, but it may also open you to new interests, help you make new friends, and even free up time for other pursuits.
A 2024 study conducted by Forbes Health revealed that not only is improving one’s fitness the most chosen New Year’s resolution, a whopping 48 percent of people cited it as their main goal. So, if you stay fit or, better yet, get more fit during the winter, you can save your New Year’s resolution for something else.
