Blog

Cold Weather Makes Warm Ups Even More Important!

(used with permission by the APTA Private Practice Section)

Warm ups are always important. They gradually raise your heart rate, and get you breathing a little faster. This sends more oxygen, energy, and nutrients to your heart, lungs, and muscles so they can perform at their best. Warm ups also get the aerobic energy system started, which takes several minutes. Getting it going before your activity also helps you perform better.

What’s different in the cold?

Our bodies have a few tricks to stay warm in the cold. One of these is to narrow the blood vessels closest to the skin. That means that the more superficial muscles get less blood flow, making them more likely to be injured if you place too much demand on them before they’re ready. The restriction in the blood vessels also makes your heart work harder. This doesn’t mean you can’t be active in the cold, it just means that you should take a little more time to get your body ready.

How to warm up

Start with something to raise your heart rate, maybe a brisk walk or light jog.
Follow that with a dynamic warm up like walking or jogging while pulling your knees up high to your chest.
Some high front kicks with straight knees will loosen your hamstrings.
Walking lunges with an upper body twist will get your whole body moving.

Your warm up should match the activity you have planned. If you’re not sure how it should look, ask your physical therapist!

Consider your clothes

Dress in layers so you can adjust your clothing to your activity level. After you warm up, you might want to take off a layer to avoid getting too hot during your main activity. You can always add layers back when your activity level drops or the temperature changes.

Even though it’s cold, cool down

We know it’s tempting to rush inside to a warm blanket and hot drink, but don’t skip the cool down. Keep moving with a walk or another form of active recovery so your heart rate can come down gradually. A cool down also helps your muscles to transition back to a relaxed state and can reduce soreness following your workout. Since your muscles are still warm, your cool down is the right place for static stretching.

The shorter days and lower temperatures don’t mean that you’re stuck inside for all of your exercise. Follow these tips and you can safely keep moving outside. If you’d like a customized warm up or cool down, or have questions about your exercise routine, your physical therapist is a great person to ask!

Physical Therapy , Health & Wellness , Aches & Pains , Blog

Be Ready for Cold Weather Exercise

Written by John Donovan, PT, DPT

One of the blessings we’ve had here in the Midwest this summer was consistent warm weather lasting late into the fall with weekend after weekend of sunny skies beckoning us to the outdoors for exercise and healthy recreational activities. It seems now that we are in mid-October however, autumn has finally arrived. While we’ll hopefully still have a few weeks of comfortable fall weather to enjoy the colorful scenery here in the Mississippi River Valley, it’s time to start thinking about how to maintain all the healthy outdoor exercise habits you made this summer as the seasons change.

I’ve talked with several friends and fellow exercisers who have already made the transition to exercising in the dark each morning. Everyone has their own strategy for waking up without the summer sunrise. I’ve heard it all, from extra alarms to coffee pot timers and even loud music. I can’t say that I can recommend all of these, but I do have some pointers for you once you’re out of bed.

Exercising Outdoors When it is Dark

First, make sure you’re going to be safe in the dark.

The first step is to make sure your gear has some element of reflectivity on it. Many shirts, jackets, shoes and hats now come with these, but you can also buy a reflective vest to wear over your outfit.
The second thing I’ll recommend is a headlamp. Even on the well lit streets, no street lamp is going to be better than a headlamp for visibility. This is as important for your ability to see the ground in front of you as it is for the early morning traffic to see you. Of course, if you’re cycling you should have a front facing headlight instead, but you should also have a rear facing tail light.
For the evening exercisers out there, sunset times are a bit earlier every day but you’ll still have a few weeks to get some workouts in before you’ll be finishing in the dark. Mark your training calendars for November 7th when we’ll move back to central standard time and lose that evening hour of daylight. At that point, we’re all in headlamp season!

Ok, so you’ve got your safety gear all set up and ready to go for the next morning.

Next step: check the weather.

This won’t matter too much in the early fall, but as the morning and evening temperatures continue to drop, make sure that you have the proper layers in your arsenal. If you plan on exercising outside well into winter, make sure you have enough layers and gear to fully cover all skin surfaces.

Motivational Tip: get your outfit and gear ready to go the night before. This can make getting out of bed just a bit easier. Even if you’re planning on working out after the workday, your gear will be ready to go and getting out the door for your workout will be that much smoother.

Nice. You’ve got all of your gear ready to go. Now, let’s talk about how to get your body ready.

Drink Water

During the summer, it’s pretty easy to drink water. As the temperatures cool off, however, we have to be a little more deliberate about our fluid intake. Not only does the more comfortable weather decrease our perceived need for water, the drier fall and winter air will actually dehydrate you as well. Most of us have heard of the advice to drink 8 cups of water per day. While this is a great amount to shoot for, we actually need more than this. According to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, men really need closer to 15 cups and women need a little over 12 cups of water daily. Additionally, your fluid needs might even be greater based on your body size and how much you are exercising. Hill repeats? Long hike? Extra loops on the mountain bike? Better plan on taking in more fluids.

On top of making it easier to forget to drink your water, the colder weather ushers in a season of warm, sweet drinks. Sorry, your fall themed latte full of caffeine is not ideal for your hydration levels. This is not to say that you shouldn’t treat yourself every now and then, but make sure you are on top of your water consumption when you do stop by your local coffee shop.

Warm Up

So your cool weather gear is all set to go and you’re well hydrated. The final and perhaps most important step is to get your body ready for the exercise you are about to do: warm up. The best warm up routine for you might vary a little from what your workout partners or teammates may do (afterall, everyone’s body is unique!). If you would like assistance in developing a routine that is specific to your needs, reach out to your physical therapist or personal trainer. Otherwise, you want to perform a collection of exercises that roughly fit these criteria:

Your warm up should include:

Exercises should have at least a little specificity to the sport or activity you will be performing.
Exercises should be primarily dynamic movement as opposed to static stretches.
Exercises should start easy and increase in intensity (or speed, amount of movement, etc.) as you progress through your routine.

Your routine can certainly take some time to go through and you can even consider this to be part of your workout. However, you don’t want your warm up to be a burden in getting out the door. If you can get through it in about 5 minutes while still getting your heart rate up a little bit, you’ve accomplished your goal and you are ready to go!

Your sport or activity may have additional equipment preparations to consider, but for the most part, be safe, stay hydrated, warm up, and have fun exercising outside the remainder of this fall and into the winter!

Physical Therapy , Health & Wellness , Aches & Pains , Blog

Use It and Improve it!

Written by Anne Kruse, PT, DPT, Therapeutic Pain Specialist, Cert. MDT

As I reflect on my own physical fitness over the years I am amazed at how true what I learned years ago in school really is. One of the phrases I have heard and now use is:

“If you don’t use it, you lose it.”

I distinctly recall the first time I found this phrase applied to me. During my first year of PT school I had settled into a routine of little to no exercise. The following summer a friend asked me to run the Bix 7 Road Race with her. I thought, “Sure, I was on the track team in high school and ran some in college, this will be fun.”

Little did I realize how completely out of shape I had become and the seven mile race was absolutely brutal. I must confess I walked the majority of it. That was a wake up call and I began to make a concerted effort to exercise a few times a week; walking with friends after class, playing an occasional game of racquetball, lifting weights, etc.

Why Not Me?

Fast forward to the spring of 2018. As my husband and I sat in the stands of Drake stadium watching our sons compete in the Drake Relays, I had another awakening. I was amazed as I watched an elderly gentleman take to the track and compete in the Masters 800. While his time didn’t break any records, he was out there doing it and clearly having fun. Yet again I had become too busy in my own life to exercise regularly, and yet this is what I teach people every day. With the support of my family and friends, I returned to running, ugly as it was. I found it challenging to even run a half mile initially, but have grown to really appreciate running as a means of exercising, relaxing, and spending time with my family and friends.

Why do I share this tale?

Because we are all human and have times in our lives when our own wellness plans get derailed. But fortunately, as humans, we also have an amazing ability to improve our wellness. In recent years I have learned the phrase, “Use it and improve it” and this holds true with all of our bodily systems.

What Does the Research Say?

In 1966, the Dallas Bed Rest and Training Study was conducted in which five healthy 20 year old male volunteers were recruited to spend the summer in bed. The cardiovascular fitness levels of the participants was measured before beginning the study.

After just three weeks in bed, without any weight bearing activity, the participants were found to have had such significant declines in their cardiovascular fitness that the bed rest was stopped.

On average the participants had a:

27% decline in their ability to absorb and use oxygen
26% decline in the amount of blood their hearts could pump through their bodies in a minute
35 point increase in heart rate during a submaximal workout

To complete the study, the participants were taken through an eight week workout program.

45% increase in their ability to use oxygen
40% increase in the amount of blood their hearts pumped through their bodies in a minute
49 point decrease in heart rate with a submaximal workout

Hmm, working out improved their heart and vascular system function to better than they were before the study.

But wait, there is more!

The same five participants were studied 30 years later (1996). Only two had continued to exercise and all had gained weight and body fat. At baseline it was found they on average had only declined 12% in their ability to absorb and use oxygen.

Thus, three weeks of bed rest at age 20 was more detrimental to their cardiovascular fitness than 30 years of aging.

Compared to the original study, there was no bed rest, but a training program was begun. In 1996 the training was less intense and involved walking, jogging and cycling over a period of six months instead of eight weeks based on the age of the participants and to reduce the risk of injury. After the training program, the participants had improved their ability to absorb and use oxygen by 14% to similar levels attained in the 1966 study.

Wow! Ok, but why do I care?

So, the take home point is this: no matter where you find yourself in life, it is important to your health to move. Whatever you choose to do, be it walk, jog, bike, or swim, have fun and realize you are helping to reverse the effects of inactivity and aging and are improving your cardiovascular fitness. If you find yourself needing some guidance, consult your physician, PT or personal trainer.