Winter does not have to mean glum workouts on treadmills and stationary bikes.
If you're dedicated to running, golfing and cycling, you can keep going outdoors by embracing the ice, cold and snow, trainers say.
Kayte Tranel has pounded out well over 16,000 miles in her life. The NCAA All-American cross country athlete keeps a 60-mile-a-week routine as she trains for her first
half-marathon in January. That means a lot of miles outdoors, despite 10 inches of snow and two ice storms before Christmas in Omaha, where Tranel is now a graduate student in fitness and wellness promotion at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
She said ice and snow can add a great fitness challenge that she just can't get in summer. As her body works to balance itself, the core -- the abdominal and back muscles -- work harder.
"All those little muscles you're having to use -- it's like running in sand. You're going to get tired a lot quicker. To maintain your pace is going to take more effort," she said.
But your joints can also tense to guard against falls, so Tranel said winter outdoor runners need to be a little militant about stretching to prevent soreness and injury.
Keys To Warmth
How does she manage slick conditions and frigid temperatures?
"Layers," Tranel said. "Make sure that the outermost layer blocks wind."
For layers that touch skin, consider fabrics that wick moisture.
"Not cotton. Cotton holds onto moisture, and evaporation is a cooling process, so it makes you cold," Tranel said. "Trail running shoes have a little bit more traction, (too)."
Runners who slather on sun protection in summer need to remember that moonlight presents its own challenges. Shorter days mean you may be running in the dark. Reflective clothing will help drivers see you.
And tell a friend where you're going and when to expect you back.
"Make sure someone knows your route," said Kim Hughes, who manages the
Omaha Runner's Club Web site.How Cold Is Too Cold?
When is the weather too extreme to head out for a run? Veteran marathoner Susan Smisek said 20 degrees below zero is her cutoff.
"A person's lungs will give you indication that it is a bit cold. It is commonly more difficult to breathe when it is too cold, and my personal experience is I will taste a slight blood taste. I know I need to be inside," Smisek said.
If you do have to head indoors for a few days, Tranel said water jogging is a great workout. If you don't have access to a pool or gym, core exercises and stretching in front of the TV are easy tools to keep your training moving forward.
Tips For Golfers
For a lot of golfers, the whole point of hitting the course is to soak up the sun. But there are plenty of sunny days in winter if they're willing to dress for cold and take tee times at whichever courses offer winter hours.
TeeMaster.com allows you to search tee times across the country and book online.
But you don't have to be hitting a ball to be improving your golf game, according to Curt Carbaugh, co-founder of the Minnesota-based program called
Active Golf Training.Based in Arden Hills, Minn., Carbaugh and his partners see plenty of golfers fighting against cold as they try to improve their games. He's a fitness instructor with a degree in kinesiology and biomechanics. His partner at AGT, Jason Erickson, has been teaching golf for 20 years.
They put their knowledge together to help golfers advance, and very little of their program has to do with actually making contact with a golf ball.
"People don't work on their bodies in golf -- they just try to hit the ball," Carbaugh said. "You don't need to hit a golf ball to get better. We have a course of beginners that go through six weeks (and never hit a ball), and they pick up a club and they look like they've been playing forever."
The AGT program focuses on muscle memory, and incorporates exercises you can do in your basement or back yard. Carbaugh said core and balance are the two key factors to a better game when spring finally arrives, so do exercises that improve your back and abdominal muscles and challenge your balance.
"Stand on one foot reach down and touch the ground -- try to get stable on each foot. In golf, you should be able to swing as hard as you can and never feel like you're going to fall over," Carbaugh said.
You can also work to master your short game, according to
Suite101.com.
"The short game can make or break your score, so be sure to work on your putt during those cold winter months. You can purchase training equipment to help with your short game such as an indoor putting green, and/or a golf chipping net," the site recommends.
Heated driving ranges and golf simulators will also keep you improving through winter.
Keep On Biking
Two-wheeled enthusiasts can keep putting on outdoor miles, too.
Sean Weide, a former racer who is now a USA Cycling official, said there are three keys for bicycling outdoors in cold climates: dress, fuel and planning.
First, dress appropriately and make sure your extremities are insulated so they don't go numb.
"The thing that you have to consider is not only the air temp, but how fast you're going to be riding and whether there's any kind of wind," Weide said. "When you're cycling and generating speed, the temperature is going to drop. So, if it is 30 degrees out and you're riding 20 mph, the wind chill is going to make it seem a lot colder."
Your preride meal is important to winter riding, too. Weide said a small meal before your go out jump-starts your metabolism, and that naturally warms the body. He also suggests using a backpack water bottle, which can be filled with warm water to warm your body and sipped from for hydration.
"You can't just have your water bottle on your bike because it will freeze," Weide said.
Your route should include places you can stop to warm up or get inside if the weather turns. Weide doesn't suggest rides longer than an hour in freezing temperatures.
To get the most from those reduced minutes, go hard. In an
article for Bicycling Magazine, elite coach Jeb Stewart recommends sprints and what he calls microbursts, "short, high-intensity efforts that maintain your top-end fitness and leg power; as well as force intervals -- subthreshold efforts that set the stage for better climbing and power production next season."
When is it time to put the bike in the garage and hit the stationary?
"When your local meteorologist is talking about things like dangerous wind chill and blowing snow, those are good words of warning. If they're saying driving is difficult -- this means you," Weide said.
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