HYDERABAD: We may have heard people say that exercising during the winter has many advantages — it helps shed more fat, build muscles and even makes one feel energetic. Fitness trainers, martial artistes, physiotherapists and yoga experts say that all of this is true, but it is important to warm up well during this cold season to avoid muscle damage.
Cold muscles are at a higher risk for getting strained and injured, so make sure to warm up before working out during the winter. “Skipping a good warm-up session can cause muscle damage,” says physiotherapist Minash Gabriel, celebrity trainer who helps Tollywood stars Mahesh Babu, Akhil Akkineni, Samantha and Allu Arjun stay fit. “Our muscles are like a rubber band.
In cold temperatures, stretching a rubber band would cause it to snap and break. So, to avoid damaging our muscles, we need a proper warm-up before every workout session. It will reduce the risk of damage,” he says. Cold weather can improve one’s endurance too. So, Minash recommends practising workout from the aerobic system, which are fast-paced running and power cycling to build strength and endurance.
“If you are into workouts, you must make sure that you reduce hardcore workouts. Strength-training workouts are fine. Running and walking are also good. But lifting heavyweights without a proper elongated warm-up session can do more damage than good,” says B Rahul, a freelance fitness trainer, who shifts to training martial artistes every winter.
“Callousing of the palms is also common during the winter for those into weightlifting. They can avoid this by using weightlifting gloves, moisturisers and changing their technique. Using chalk power also helps. But, it is better if the focus is on endurance workouts during winter,” Rahul adds.
Yoga expert Maduri Srikari also insists that one warms up well on cold days before working out. “It is advantageous in many ways, particularly during the winter. We must perform stretches or do yoga before every workout. Aerobic exercises help us burn more fat than anaerobic sessions which involve weightlifting. It also increases our core strength and supports involuntary mechanisms in the body, such as breathing. It also makes us feel comfortable and energetic on the cold and lazy days,” says Maduri, who works at Apollo Life in Jubilee Hills.
Warm-up well before working out
Our muscles are like a rubber band. In cold temperatures, stretching a rubber band would cause it to snap. To avoid damaging our muscles, we need a proper warm-up before every workout session, says trainer Minash Gabriel