Exercise or Hibernation
The cold weather comes every year, and we are faced with the decision to exercise or go into hibernation. The risk of hibernation is associated with eating more, and then when you step on the scale, there are an additional five pounds.
Winter is the time to maintain your exercise program and adjust for the forecast.
One way to stay motivated is to select your favorite spring 5K (3.1 miles) race to be your target. Jeff Galloway has an easy 5K training program listed below, which you can modify according to your schedule.
You want to gradually build up to the 5K distance. The fun part about this program is that you can include children in it. What you don’t see is a specific pace, and that’s because it is what you are comfortable with doing. It can be 15 minutes per mile, and you can build up over the weeks. The object is to cover the distance.
Week | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
1 | walk or XT | run 10-15 min | walk or XT | run 10-15 min | walk or XT | off | 1 mile |
2 | walk or XT | run 15 min | walk or XT | run 15 min | walk or XT | off | 1 mile |
3 | walk or XT | run 15-20 min | walk or XT | run 15-20 min | walk or XT | off | 1.5 mile |
4 | walk or XT | run 15-20 min | walk or XT | run 15-20 min | walk or XT | off | 1.5 mile |
5 | walk or XT | run 20-25 min | walk or XT | run 20-25 min | walk or XT | off | 2 miles |
6 | walk or XT | run 20-25 min | walk or XT | run 20-25 min | walk or XT | off | 2 miles |
7 | walk or XT | run 25-30 min | walk or XT | run 25-30 min | walk or XT | off | 2.5 miles |
8 | walk or XT | run 25-30 min | walk or XT | run 25-30 min | walk or XT | off | 2.5 miles |
9 | walk or XT | run 30 min | walk or XT | run 30 min | walk or XT | off | 3 miles |
10 | walk or XT | run 30 min | walk or XT | run 30 min | walk or XT | off | 3 miles |
11 | walk or XT | run 30 min | walk or XT | run 30 min | walk or XT | off | 3.5 miles |
12 | walk or XT | run 30 min | walk or XT | run 30 min | walk or XT | off | 3.5 miles |
13 | walk or XT | run 30 min | walk or XT | run 30 min | walk or XT | off | 4 miles |
14 | walk or XT | run 30 min | walk or XT | run 30 min | walk or XT | off | 4 miles |
15 | walk or XT | run 30 min | walk or XT | run 30 min | walk or XT | off | 5K Race |
http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/5k.html#5k
A few key items before stepping out of the door on the cold days:
- Warm up with some easy stretches to increase the circulation to your muscles.
- Stay hydrated because you will still sweat, and you may feel that you are not thirsty.
- Dress in layers with a wicking material close to your body. A jacket helps shield the wind, and you can always remove items.
- A mitten is better than a glove as you can keep the fingers closer together.
I’ve asked Alisa Harvey to share a few winter comments. Harvey is the only four-time winner of the Army Ten-Miler. The fourth win was in 2006 (59 minutes) at the age of 41. Last year, Harvey was the female master winner with a time of 1 hour, 3 minutes, 13 seconds.
“I use my treadmill when the weather is wet and cold, windy and below 35-degrees, snowing, or icy.
The risk of injury is never worth a brisk jaunt outdoors,” she says.
Harvey continues: “I learned my lesson a couple years back when I chose to do a track workout on a sunny 30-degree day. The track was rock-hard! I felt okay after the workout, but the next day, I could hardly walk. I had injured my right foot. I was forced inside to the pool and stationary bike for six-weeks. Lesson learned.”
“My favorite winter-weather indoor workouts are ‘combo’ style. I like to break up different methods of training to make up one workout. For instance, yesterday I ran 20 minutes on my treadmill, did 2 sets of free-weight squats, 15-minutes of Elliptical trainer, and 20 minutes of aqua-jogging in the pool. The mixed workout is great for breaking the monotony of training. I also get the boost of using multiple different muscle groups. I am still in training for track and road races. The variety of training always works well for me. The extra bonus is that my body stays leaner when I vary the types of training,” states Harvey.
There was a variation which I used: 2-mile run on the treadmill, 2 miles on the stationary bike, 2 miles on the elliptical, finishing with 200 sit ups …ouch.
You may not have the access to the gym, but there are exercises which you can do within the home to carry you through when running outdoors isn’t an option.