It was sixty some odd degrees outside this morning. I keep waiting for us to crack the 50-degree barrier because if you ask me — a perfect day is 58 degrees. Why such an arbitrary number? Because when it’s 58-degrees in the morning, you can feel the goose bumps raising on your skin and your can feel them prickle along your scalp. As you go through your morning warm-up, your skin shivers intermittently. A deep breath pulses in the lungs as cool air floods through them and your body has to work to warm it up to the correct temperature.
The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer. The sun won’t be up for another two hours. When you’re done with your warm up and your stretch, you set off. Your walk is a little bouncier. Your step is a little lighter. You pick up the pace as the cool breeze brushes against your skin – because now you want to be a little warmer and at the end of the 2-mile walk, you know you’re going to be.
Cool Changes
We talked about the heat and the precautions that you take. Exercise may seem just like exercise and when you are working out indoors, but the outdoor workout will change subtly. Cooler weather lets you go further, perhaps push a little harder. A lot of people are breaking out their bikes and heading out to ride outdoors both in the early morning, the midday and the evening. Cooler weather gives you a lot more options for time to workout outside.
Remember that just because it’s cooler doesn’t mean you won’t sweat. So when you are out on your bike and you’re putting on your bike helmet, be sure to wear a sweatband on underneath it to keep the sweat from running down into your eyes. Do the same when you’re running or walking, because cooler weather doesn’t keep you from sweating.
It’s also important to remember this when you are getting out your workout clothes. Cooler weather may seem like sweater weather, but putting on too many clothes to workout can actually impede your body’s natural cooling ability so if you trade your shorts for sweatpants, don’t skip the tank top for the sweatshirt. In fact, it’s better to go for the sweat jacket that you can open up to allow airflow than just a sweatshirt, but that’s my opinion.
Part of the reason is that when sweat evaporates on your body it provides cooling. When you wear a closed sweatshirt, it holds the moisture closer to your body and it doesn’t evaporate and while it may be cool outside, you are more likely to give yourself a chill from being damp and holding that dampness in that letting it evaporate.
Regular Exercise
Regular exercise is important to the overall body. It helps to improve your muscle tone, weight loss efforts and to reduce stress. It also improves your health. Regular exercise should be accompanied by positive nutritional choices. You can make the nutritional choices all the time, but if your exercise is limited by time and you prefer the outdoors and summer is too hot, now’s your chance to invigorate your Autumn days with a brisk, outdoor workout.
What’s your favorite part of an autumn workout?
Related Articles:
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Cycling Outside: Like it? Love it? How to do it?