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We've got a frenemy in winter that we've battled for years: the couch. Sometimes, it also recruits our warm bed and snooze button.
That's when we've got to lift our training game, get motivated and choose our methods wisely, and make sure we don't get injured – because otherwise, that frenemy wins. On the positive side, training in the cold burns more calories and builds up your immune system.
Here's how to avoid any injuries (and that damn couch):
Use a longer, smarter warm-up and warm-down
Everything takes longer to warm up in winter. If you don't spend enough time warming up, you could damage muscle tissue, tendons, ligaments, and even whole joints – no matter what kind of training you're doing.
If you're planning an outdoor session, you'll need to spend even more time warming up – we recommend at least 10 minutes of active and dynamic stretching.
Here are some of our favourite moves that incorporate a few muscle groups: slow shuttle runs, high knees, walking lunges with overhead reach, air squats, and jumping jacks.
One of our favourite tools to get the heart rate up and the muscles warmed up is a skipping rope!
If you're planning to train indoors, then make sure you've got a workout that includes both a warm-up and a cool down.
Every workout from The Movement Empire has them, and the talented coaches and training partners will take you through the moves to sidestep injuries (and avoid severe stiffness).
Once your training session is over, make sure you do a proper cool down with a few static stretches. In winter, our muscles cool down quicker, and it means that some of those exercise by-products aren't flushed out of your bloodstream in time.
Not only can this cause unnecessary stiffness, but you can even experience muscle spasms, or worse, injuries. Read this to avoid that happening.
This article was originally published on The Movement Empire (TME).
