Study shows cold weather makes your workout worse — here’s why

Cold weather can pose a threat to the body’s health and function even though it has many methods to regulate temperature. Athletes are more prone to injuries in cold weather since the cold impairs muscle reaction time, Gombera MD reported.

Muscles, ligaments and tendons are tighter and “more prone to damage” when subjected to low temperatures, a study published to the journal Bone and Joint Research explained. Researchers encouraged those exercising in the cold to raise muscle temperature before doing high intensity exercise.

How does being cold influence body performance?

Core body temperature is influenced mainly by physical activity and external temperatures. If one is exercising in cold weather and the metabolic heat generated is lower than heat loss, core body temperature drops. When this happens, the individual is at risk of hypothermia, breathing difficulty and frostbite, per American College of Sports Medicine.

Martin Burtscher, a sports science professor at the University of Innsbruck, explained the importance of wearing enough layers to keep core body temperatures stable when exercising in the cold.

“All sports performed in cold ambient temperature, whether it be skiing, walking, running or a team sport … are associated with injury risk if not using appropriate protective clothes,” he told The Washington Post.

The body has several methods of self-preservation. First, if it recognizes its core temperature dropping, the body decreases blood flow to extremities like the hands and feet. With less blood and less heat, muscles and ligaments don’t function as well as they normally do, increasing risk for injury.

Another self-preservation method the body uses is shivering. Healthline explained shivering happens when the body tries to increase heat and “is caused by your muscles tightening and relaxing in rapid succession.”

Since heat loss is more rapid when one is wet or immersed in water, staying dry while exercising in the cold will help keep body temperature under control, according to the ACSM. The rate of heat loss is 25 times faster in cold water compared to the same temperature of cold air.

Shivering can generate as much heat as walking

“Shivering uses the muscles needed for exercise and puts them to use as a heater,” Mike Tipton, a physiology professor at the University of Portsmouth Tipton, told The Washington Post. He added, “This increases the oxygen demand of low-intensity exercise.”

Shivering while exercising increases the rate one burns calories, according to ACSM. Runners in light clothing may feel some effects of exercising in low temperatures, but unless they shiver, their caloric expenditure will not change significantly.

On the other hand, shivering and wading through deep snow will increase calorie expenditure significantly. For example, the U.S. Army encourages troops to increase calorie intake to 4,500 daily when carrying heavy equipment for several hours through snow.

The body doesn’t adapt to deal with the cold better, but a person can get better at preparing for it, Tipton said. “There’s little evidence that actually the kind of impairments you see in terms of neuromuscular function, muscle efficiency, economy, that any of that adapts with repeated exposure to cold,” he said.

However, Tipton added, “Somebody who starts warm and goes straight into exercise at an intensity that is enough to raise body temperature is unlikely to experience problems with the cold.”

Is there a certain temperature that leads to peak physical performance?

A study on cross-country skiers’ time to exhaustion under various temperatures showed being too cold or warm significantly hindered athletic performance. The skiers’ performance peaked when temperatures outside ranged from 25 degrees to 34 degrees.

However, everyone should avoid exercise outside when temperatures drop past minus 8 degrees Fahrenheit. ACSM reported, “Tissue injury can occur in 30 minutes or less under these conditions.”

In hot weather, injury risk also increases significantly. When temperatures exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit with over 75% humidity, ACSM encouraged people to exercise indoors.

Symptoms of being too cold

Penn Medicine listed symptoms of being too cold. They included:

• Confusion.
• Uncontrollable shivering (at extremely low body temperatures, shivering will stop).
• Lowered heart rate.
• Cold and pale skin.
• Loss of coordination.
• Weakness.

If symptoms persist without treatment, coldness can lead to cardiac arrest, hypothermia, shock or a coma.