3 Benefits Of Running Outside In The Cooler Months
For many of us, the colder part of the year is fast approaching, which means warming up before training will start to become a lot more challenging – and a lot less enjoyable.
However, you don’t have to hide inside the gym to prepare for your next martial arts training session. Even if the weather’s not ideal for running in your Muay Thai shorts and tank top, you can layer up and enjoy a beneficial run in the cooler weather.
Here are three reasons why you should skip the treadmill this fall – and put your sneakers to the streets instead.
#1 It Puts Less Stress On Your Body
It’s no surprise that many marathons are held in the fall months – usually in October and November. This is because it’s actually easier for participants to run in the cold rather than the heat.
When you run in hot weather, your body has to work extra hard to cool itself down. It does this by increasing blood flow to the extremities, which causes it to sweat, use more energy, and ultimately put a strain on some of its systems.
In colder weather, your body doesn’t have to use all of its energy to regulate heat. This means you’ll have more energy to run longer distances, even when it’s mid-January.
What’s more, exercising on very hot days increases the risk of dehydration, and in extreme cases, heatstroke. There is less risk of this happening during fall and winter.
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#2 It Lifts Your Mood
Many people notice a negative change in their mood during the colder months of the year, and this is often due to the fewer hours of sunlight during the day.
Running helps increase serotonin production in your brain, which is responsible for those feel-good moments you get after intense workouts.
The better you feel, the more you’ll want to exercise. So even if it seems too cold to lace up those shoes and hit the bricks, you should do it.
However, you may find running alone – especially in cooler weather – to be somewhat monotonous. If this is the case, check out what former ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen says about making running more enjoyable.
#3 It Gives You A Head Start For Next Spring
If you’ve been exercising for any length of time, you know it’s easier to maintain fitness than it is to stop and regain it. Running throughout the fall and winter months will keep your exercise habits more consistent.
This means that once spring rolls around, you won’t have to worry about taking on a fad diet to lose any weight you would’ve gained over the holidays had you decided not to run.
Moreover, you’ll have the cardio needed to throw those machine gun kicks in rapid-fire succession at the gym – even when temperatures are low.
Read more: 3 Reasons Why Training Martial Arts Will Make You A Better Partner
