No doubt this has been a harsh winter, for snow and cold, one of the worst in many years. Now obviously the northern states, especially the northeast has taken the brunt of it, with cold weather records being broken almost daily. The fact is it’s been a cold year all over the country, even down here in the Florida Panhandle. Morning temps for the past few months here routinely have been in the low 30’s, and with the wind coming off the ocean, it’s pretty nippy. This is my favorite time to run, 0 dark thirty, cold as hell and windy. Just something about it motivates me and (after I get going) a great workout.
However if you listen to most people around here, the thought of doing anything out in the cold is equivalent to low crawling through broken glass. No way, not happening. The attitude is unless it’s perfect weather out, I’ll hit the gym. This speaks to something that I’ve noticed as a society in recent years, that we’ve kind of fallen into this “Goldilocks” syndrome, where everything has to be “just right.” It just seems that now-a-days many people seem hyper sensitive to outdoor weather and indoor temps also. My students here at the school house will complain in a hot second if the temp in the classroom is just a few degrees above or below ideal.
With that, it seems people are sick more than they used to be. Here at my work there is always something going around, someone is always coughing, or going to the doctor for something and then always returning with a big jar of meds. My own personal opinion on this is that people spend far too much time in climate controlled “bubbles.” Far fewer people work out of doors and much less recreation and sports are played outside also. Seems that life itself has moved indoors? We go from the AC in our home, to AC in our cars, to the AC in the office, etc. It seems that we can’t function in anything but this sterile environment. The same goes for gyms. Which not only have to be climate controlled, but also have more alcohol wipes and hand sanitizer than an Ebola crisis center? At times they seem more like a hospital than a gym. I think all of this has lead to a weakening of immune systems, both the physical and mental aspect of our ability to deal with anything less than perfect conditions. That is a issue, as the world isn’t always the perfect place.
As a counter to this I think we all spend enough time shining a chair with our ass and need to get outside as much as possible, and that especially goes for exercising. I have ran and done other workouts in extremes of both hot and cold, and if you prepare yourself properly (clothing, hydration, etc) you can have a great workout, IMO much better than indoors, both physically and attitude wise. So don’t let a little snow or cold scare you, “get out in it” when you can. Like your mom used to tell you, go outside and play. Its good for you. Take care and be safe.
Semper Fi
MGunz
Corps Strength
Tags: Corps Strength
I agree with you completely and here in northern Vermont you will go nuts if you do not get outside. However, morning temps in January and February have been brutal with -20 to -30F common throughout both months and highs never reaching freezing. You cannot use roads because the snowplows are rushing to clear snow and with wind-driven snow cannot see people on the roads. Alpine skiing and snowshoeing are favorite outdoor activities of mine after the temperatures reach 0F which is often late morning or noon. And then there is the 8 cords of firewood (20,000 lbs picked up 5 times during the winter alone). Our morning and evening exercise is shoveling. We shovel our way out at 6 AM and then shovel or way back in at 6PM. It is not the same as our PT programs on active duty but after retiring at age 47 I can run circles around my high school students at age 59.
To hell with running in comfy clothes, everyone should be out doing a 2k fin in the lake, breaking ice the whole way. Only then will you achieve true fitness potential.
My ONLY issue is the comment about gym sanitation, having seen guys disabled by MRSA, and entire classes shut down by flu.
But other than that, anything goes. I’ve never had the luxury of picking the weather I worked in. There are no black flags on the job.
No shit, MRSA is not to be fucked with.
Jon, OPT
Completely agree with you on the gym wipes.
Gym’s tend to smell real bad if the cleanliness is kept on top of. However many peoples sweat rotting into the benches/machines does not make for a good time.
only so it when its cold as hell but not in the snow and ice
Gunz, I wholly agree, but having just come back from the west coast, their winter has been far from rough; the Donner Party would have made safe passage eating salads had it happened this year.
That said, as a NE redneck from Upstate NY, who lived through some hard winters, I’m glad I wasn’t living in the Fingerlakes Region this season.
Get out there and get at folks!
Jon, OPT