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Myths about Running in Cold Weather

During the winter months, we tend to stay indoors more, eat more, and generally be less active. While this is easy though, it is usually not great for our waistlines. However, one of the reasons that we are less active is that there are some persistent yet false ideas that circulate about running in cold weather. Here are a few pieces of advice for making sure that you stay in shape even during winter.

Cold air can damage your lungs

Some people talk of a burning feeling from running in cold weather. While this is a real phenomenon, the sensation is not a result of damage to the lungs. As you inhale, your windpipe and trachea warm and humidify the air, and it will be at body temperature and completely humidified by the time it gets through them, no matter the temperature or humidity before it is inhaled. In this way, your lungs are protected from the outside air. However, the discomfort and pain felt can be real. However, they are typically caused by the low humidity rather than the low temperature. The cells lining your trachea give up moisture to the air, and the subsequent dehydration can cause a burning feeling. To solve this, it is particularly important to stay hydrated when running in the winter or low humidity environments. If you are not hydrated, it will be difficult and dangerous to run for a long period of time.

Sickness always means to stop exercising

While colds are more common in the winter, a cold does not mean that you need to completely stop exercising. There is nothing wrong with a small amount of exercise while you have a cold. However, it is very important to make sure that if you have a fever, you avoid exercise. If you have a temperature of more than 100 degrees, exercise can cause serious and permanent damage to your heart. So if you have a small cold, there is nothing wrong with light exercise as long as you are careful not to overdo it.

We burn more calories in cold weather, so we don’t need to exercise as much.

While we do spend a lot of our energy warming our bodies, in the winter time we also eat more food. So the gains we might have from having to heat ourselves up a bit more are more than balanced out by our increased caloric intake. This means that in order to actually lose weight or improve our fitness, we have to exercise more.

So don’t let cold weather stop you – get out on PATH400!

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