The average temperature has officially dropped significantly and the hour hand on our clocks have been wound back for the next few months. These factors convince people to stay indoors. Outdoor physical activities embraced during the sunny, warm time of year are losing popularity due to the dark and frigid conditions. This change can be a good thing for us. Staying indoors stimulates activities inside the house that may have been passed up because the environment outside allowed us to get things done on the exterior of our dwellings. We also might spend more time with our families as our outdoor activities lose appeal. As the cold and wet season begins to grace us with its presence, our runny noses, cold fingertips, and wet shoes start to become a common occurrence as well. Along with the biproducts our bodies endure due to the cold air and wet ground, our physical activity decreases as well.
If we can’t garden outside, play golf, or paint the house outside, what’s the next best thing? Usually we stay inside where it’s warm and dry and park ourselves on the couch that has been unoccupied all summer. If it’s raining and dark outside walks, hikes, and leisurely jogs become less enticing. Additionally, the last thing we want is to come down with an annoying illness limiting us from getting any physical activity in.
The outdoors is temporarily off limits, what can we do about support our health and fitness? A productive solution is to ensure we stay healthy and illness free in preparation for when the sun comes out and gives us an opportunity to resume the outdoor physical activity we embrace so much. We want to ensure our bodies are ready to go when the clocks spring forward an hour to bless up with warm weather and another hour of daylight. Here are a few tips that we remind our personal training clients in Napa to practice not only during the cold and damp times of year, but also as a practice to avoid illness in their everyday lives:
- Mindful Hydration: The lowest common denominator on the necessity of nutrient needs 9 times out of 10 for people looking to improve their nutritional needs is hydration. The human body requires at least a minimum of 3 liters of water per day. That’s 96 ounces of fluid. It’s not uncommon to drink below this amount. People get so busy with their jobs and tasks throughout the day that they don’t drink enough water. Sufficient hydration is the key to delivering nutrients throughout the blood stream to help the body function properly. If the body is able to absorb beneficial nutrient and utilize substrates efficiently, the likelihood of becoming sick significantly decreases. We recommend our personal training clients drink a full glass of water immediately after waking and after each meal.
- Eat your veggies: Yes, when reading this column you might hear echoes of your parent voices when you were below the age of 10 years old, “If you don’t eat your vegetables, you don’t get any dessert.” They were correct, and they always will be. Fresh vegetables contain vitamins, minerals, and cancer fighting substances that no pill or magic powder can offer you. Additionally, vegetables contain a high amount of water to help keep the body hydrated. We encourage our clients to consume a vegetable with 3 of their meals throughout the day. Therefore, as you’re reading this column, I challenge you to consume a vegetable during your breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals.
- Dress warm: This seems like a no brainer. However, we forget that the cold weather will significantly hinder our immune systems. Add in wet clothes that fail to fleck of water, the water on our clothes doesn’t do the best job at keeping our bodies warm. The seasons have changed. Our wardrobes should as well.
My fourth-grade teacher reminded us that if you eat the right foods, wear the right clothes, and drink enough water, you won’t get sick. It’s amazing how the simple lessons that we learn in our youth still hold true in keeping us healthy and operational in our adult years. Staying fit, injury free, and strong is critically important to our lifetime fitness. However, the cold weather and wet conditions significantly challenge our immune systems. If we come down with some illness, it will take us one or two weeks to fully recover. Then another week to reacclimate to a baseline fitness level. Sitting out from our fitness routines for three weeks isn’t productive toward our lifetime fitness. The sun will be out in a few months and the weather will be warmer. If we want to pick up where we left off in our outdoor physical activities, staying illness free is a priority. Get your sleep, eat the right foods, bundle up, and drink enough water. Adhere to simple guidelines to staying healthy. We’ll be supercharged and ready to go get out and play in the Spring.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.
