Five years ago, my family and I moved to Pennsylvania from North Carolina. One of the obvious adjustments for us was the weather. We were excited however, at the possibility of living closer to the famous Gobbler's Knob, where the infamous Punxsutawny Phil predicts how long the winter will drag on. With the passing of Groundhog Day this past week, we were pleasantly surprised of the little guy's prediction; an early spring as he didn't see his shadow.
Still, as I looked out my window today and witnessed freezing rain, I wondered just how accurate our furry friend would really be. What's a girl to do who loves running and cycling outside? This blog is about the benefits of exercising in the cold, and with it only being February, I think we still have a good bit of cold weather to deal with (sorry Phil).
Recently, I witnessed a story on ABC News that made me sit up and listen. Tim Ferriss, author of The 4 -Hour Work Week and The 4-Hour Body, promotes something called,"thermal dieting." The concept is that if you bring your body temperature below 98.6 it naturally fights to bring it back to normal temperature, therefore burning more calories to regulate.
Ferriss had started a diet and exercise program and hit a "wall" doing so. He decided to try a "thermal diet," by doing a series of things like, ice baths for a few minutes, lowering the temperature of his showers, walking outside in the cold for a seven minute out and back work-out, to find that he was able to lose weight.
Ferriss' theory is backed by science. Former NASA scientist, Ray Cronise, did a series of experiments using the theory of thermodynamics on astronauts. He found that cold temperatures can go a long way to speed up a person's metabolism."In environments of as mild as 60 degrees people saw metabolic rates boost by as much as 20%." Cronise was able to drop thirty pounds in six weeks by using this method.
I found the concept to be very intriguing and while I'm not sure I would get in an ice bath just to boost my metabolism, I was inspired to get outside more during the last few weeks(according to my furry friend) of winter, if nothing else to burn more calories.
If Ferriss' theory rings true than why not layer up a bit and get out there? Would I go running in my shorts and tee to burn a few extra calories? Probably not, but the fact that my body would be working harder by fighting the elements excited me( in one of my previous blogs I spoke of the types of layering for colder weather; see Tri-Beating The Doldrums of Winter). Ferriss suggests going out in shorts and a tee shirt but covering your head and hands and only exposing yourself for around fourteen minutes at a time. I am not promoting this by any means, but if you do try it, make sure you limit your exposure. I would hate to see anyone get frost bite. He also recommends carrying your coat with you so can warm up immediately after the shock.
Some other tips from Ferriss were to lower your thermostat at home and instead of wearing a sweater try carrying it around; again your body is fighting to stay warm so you'll burn more calories and save on your heating bill; who wouldn't want to do that? Another tip was to continually drink ice water while you're working out which is a good idea in any type of weather. Ferriss also suggested putting an ice pack on your back while you're watching television for around thirty minutes.
The Polar Bear Plunge for Harrisburg was this past Saturday. After all this talk of literally freezing your butt off I decided that maybe I would sign up for next years event. I wonder how many calories I could burn by jumping into the frozen Susquehanna? Humm....
Tri-on Friends,
Kelly
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