Hail to the Dinosaurs!
The other day I gave you some tips on outdoor
training in cold weather. In response, I rec'd
some great feedback from several Dinos, and
thought you would want to see them:
"I train in an unheated garage. Sometimes, if
it is really cold, I use a dumbbell only routine
inside the house. I like a routine of DB press,
curl, and row. Hit some abs and the stationary
bicycle and it's done."
-- Phil Pryor
"In Arkansas, our winters are fairly brief
although they can be wet with a lot of wind.
I create a workout area within the carport by
leaving the Bronco on the west and backing the
f-150 out. I typically workout after work, so
it's under the lights."
-- David Bacon
"I train outside 2x per week all year round.
The only time I go into the garage to train
is if the wind chill is below zero (that is
nothing to play around with), but if it is 0
or higher I am outside lifting.
I find warming up with light weights works
great outside. I will layer, and once I feel
the sweat coming on I strip down to my training
clothes. This keeps me from becoming too wet with
sweat, and helps to keep me warm between sets.
Modify the outside exercises. Last thing you
want to do is to walk outside with a plan in
mind and find you can't do half of it because
it's snowing. I have a winter routine for snow,
and another winter routine for sun.
Instead of the traditional set/rep workouts I
will use timed sets. Example -- 10 minutes max
reps log press at 180 pounds. I will generally
do a few reps and then rest briefly and get
right back to it. This way, I never cool down.
Another good one is to do a stacking relay with
odd objects of different weights and sizes. This
way, you alternate between something hard and
heavy, and something lighter and easier. Your
rest period is when you handle the lighter
object, so you never stop until the drill is
over.
Once you finish, go right in and hit a
bodyweight routine. Your body is still working
hard to heat itself, so you will start sweating
big time because the external body temperature
will over-compensate for being cold outside."
--Dustin Winnekens
Thanks for the feedback -- those are good tips!
If anyone has additional tips for cold weather
training, send them in!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. As Dustin noted, bodyweight programs work
well in the winter -- and here's your number
one resource for super-effective bodyweight
training:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html
