Winter Fitness versus Winter Hibernation

Winter Fitness versus Winter Hibernation was originally published on http://www.americanchiropractors.org

Winter fitness is critical in cold climates. Your heart, lungs and muscles know no season. We all need regular exercise and activity to stay healthy regardless of how cold it is outside.

If you hibernate during the winter, it will have fitness consequences. Not paying attention to winter fitness in your 20’s will be different than in your 60’s. The consequences for cumulative poor health choices snowball as we get older. As with any health habit, consistency is the key to fitness.

In your 20’s and early 30’s, you have an opportunity for building speed and power that will be unlike any time in your life. As we watch the Olympics, we realize the competitors are all young. Not young as in “50 is the new 30” young. As in actual young—25.

When a 30 year old chooses not to participate in winter fitness, they are going to lose their athletic performance but odds are, in a month they will gain it back quickly. Between 20-35 is really the time to pay attention to intervals. Core training to keep your body from becoming injured is also critical. Now is also the time to take care of little injuries and get yourself back in the game. How many of us know 55 year olds who are still blaming that bum knee they injured in high school for their 50 lb weigh gain?

As we reach middle age, between 35-50 you have the opportunity to build your endurance if you pay attention to winter fitness. Consistency becomes much more important as you lose your fitness a lot quicker than when you were young. Those years are the most easy to fall off the bus with raising kids and traveling for work. When you are short on time, make sure to still get it done. If you need to start bike commuting to work to make sure you get exercise, do it. If you have an opportunity to do a workout class at lunch through your company, take advantage of it. Injuries will inevitably limit when you can do. My choice at 35 was continuing to play tennis and be sore all the time or find something without so much stop and start. If this age group takes the winter off, they will lose their entire base or habit.

If you can’t do your full workout, at least do a partial workout each day to keep it top of mind. Instead of watching your kids sports practices, do your own workout.

As you hit the 50-65 year demographic, hopefully you start to find more time for yourself. Now is the time to set your body up for a happy retirement. If you’ve let others rule your calendar, now is the time to recommit. Some of the fittest people I know are in their 50’s and 60’s. Fitness has been a life long habit and priority for them. If it hasn’t been for you, it is never to late to start. With some quality instruction and consistent chiropractic care for the injuries that inevitably pop up, you can become fitter.

How you manage your excuses now will determine how you spend your retirement. Will you still be hiking and biking? Or will you be making excuses for your injury from 30 years ago? As a reminder, manage your joint health NOW. At Active Family Chiropractic, we can help you.

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