HealthyLife Articles

Category: Fitness

Cold Weather Exercise

BE FIT

Cold weather can put a damper on outdoor exercise. But, continuing to exercise during the winter months has many benefits. Exercise combats seasonal depression, increases energy, and boosts immunity against illness.

Here’s how to stay comfortable while you exercise in the cold:

* Wear layers so you can adjust your temperature as needed.

* Protect your hands and feet with warm gloves and socks.

* Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from snow or ice glare.

* Stay hydrated. You may feel less thirsty in the cold but still need plenty of fluids.

* Stay indoors if the temperature is 0ºF or below or the wind chill is below zero.

* Choose the proper footwear for snowy or icy conditions.

* Cover your mouth with a breathable wrap to warm the air you breathe.

* Start slow. Your body will adapt to cold conditions but progress gradually.

* Check with your doctor to make sure cold-weather exercise is right for you.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Define Your Exercise Goals

Fitness

Your goals are about you and for you. Other people’s fitness goals should not interfere with ones you set for yourself.

* Write down your goals.

* Your goals need to be clear and measurable. In other words, will they be easy to identify and actually reach? Clearly defined goals are more readily achieved.

* Review and adjust your goals as needed. It is not uncommon to change goals.

* Although this may seem time consuming, it will help you reach your goals. Unwritten goals tend to be vague and easy to forget.

Write Down Your Short-Term Goals

Write Down Your Long-Range Goals

Read the following example: “I want to increase my endurance level so that I can run in a 5 Kilometer race 6 months from now.

Resources

CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention)

800.CDC.INFO (232.4636)

www.cdc.gov

Healthfinder.gov

www.healthfinder.gov

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Hydrate To Feel Great

Fitness

Drink fluids before, during, and after exercising.

How much water and other fluids do you need?

To stay hydrated, your needs vary and depend on:

* How hard you exercise

* How long you exercise

* The temperature and humidity

* How much you sweat and how much weight you lose from sweat

Know the signs of dehydration:

* Severe thirst (sometimes)

* Headache

* Weakness

* Muscle cramps

* Dry mouth and eyes. Sweating may stop.

* Nausea

With severe dehydration, you may also feel very weak, confused, dizzy, or lightheaded. These symptoms require emergency medical care.

Action Step

To keep from getting dehydrated, drink water throughout the day. Drink sports beverages if you sweat a lot. Limit coffee, tea, and colas. Don’t rely on thirst alone to tell you if your body needs more fluid.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Tired Of Doing The Same Exercises?

Fitness

* Vary the activities you do.

– Choose ones unique to the four seasons.

– Select both indoor and outdoor exercises.

– Try ones you do alone and ones you do with others.

* Pair exercise with other things you like, such as your favorite music, being with friends, etc.

* Check out new ways to exercise. Take dance lessons. Learn yoga. Exercise to a kick-boxing video.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Exercise Safely In The Heat

BE FIT

Summer seems like an ideal time to exercise. After all, you don’t have to worry about slipping on ice or wearing extra layers to keep warm.

But summer comes with its own set of safety issues. Heat illness can affect anyone, even people who are in great shape and healthy.

What is heat illness?

Heat illness happens when a person’s body gets too hot. This often happens when a person exercises in high temperatures.

Heat illness can be mild to severe. Sometimes it’s just a sign that you need to cool off and get out of the sun. But other times, it can be dangerous or life-threatening.

Time to chill out

Signs of a mild heat illness include heat rash and heat cramps. A heat rash may be red and look like pimples. Heat cramps are muscle cramps or spasms.

If you notice either of these signs when exercising, seek some shade and cool off. These are not usually serious conditions.

People who have heart conditions or who follow a low-salt diet should talk to a doctor if they notice muscle cramps or spasms with exercise. If your heat rash doesn’t go away within a couple of days, see your doctor.

When the heat is an emergency

Heat exhaustion may cause:

* Heavy sweating

* Cold or clammy skin

* Feeling weak

* Weak but fast pulse

* Feeling sick

* Headache

* Fainting

* Dizziness

If you notice these signs in yourself or another person, don’t wait. Seek shade or go indoors. Put cool, wet cloths on the body and head or take a cool bath. Get medical help if it doesn’t get better within an hour or if the person is throwing up.

Heat stroke is the most severe kind of heat illness.

It may cause:

* Temperature over 103ºF

* Skin that is clammy, hot or red, and even dry to the touch.

* Fast and strong pulse

* Headache or confusion

* Dizziness and/or fainting

* Feeling sick

If you suspect heat stroke, get emergency medical care. Call 911 right away. Move the person to a cooler place. Apply cool cloths to their body. Do not give them anything to drink.

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Family Physicians

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Lift Weights The Safe Way

BE FIT

Lifting weights is great exercise. But if you don’t do it properly, you can get hurt. Here’s how you can get started, get stronger and avoid injuries.

Learn good technique

Have an instructor show you how to lift. You can use books, videos or virtual instruction if you can’t see a trainer in person.

Keep your back straight when lifting, and wear shoes with good grip to avoid slipping. Stop the exercise if it hurts and wait a few days before trying it again.

Set doable goals

Don’t work the same muscles more than three times per week. Let muscles rest for 24 hours before working them again. Don’t try to do too much, too quickly. You’ll likely feel soreness for a day or two after lifting, and that’s normal.

Warm up and cool down

Warm up your muscles with active stretching, light jogging/walking or leg squats before you lift. When you’re done lifting, cool down and stretch again.

Stretching should not hurt. Hold the stretch steady – don’t bounce.

When to see your doctor

If you have ongoing pain or you think you hurt yourself while lifting, talk to your doctor.

Source: American Academy of Family Physicians

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Exercise For Free

BE FIT

Staying fit shouldn’t cost a fortune. While trying each new fitness fad is tempting, not everyone has the money to invest in gym memberships or fancy equipment.

And the good news is, you don’t need to! There are endless options for healthy movement that don’t cost a thing.

Join a walking club

Find an existing group that walks in your area, or gather friends to start a club of your own. It won’t cost anything. As a bonus, you get quality time to invest in meaningful relationships, all while moving.

Find free yoga

Many yoga studios that train new teachers offer free community classes as a chance for their trainees to practice teaching. Not only do you get to do yoga for free, but you also get to support the teachers as they learn.

Outdoor games

When the weather is nice, get your friends and family together for frisbee, badminton, bocce, and any other yard game you can think of. Don’t sit on the sidelines; get in there and play! It’s quality time combined with quality movement.

Online videos

A quick search online will reveal a wealth of free exercise videos you can try. If you don’t have any equipment, no problem; just search for “free no-equipment exercise videos,” and you’ll find lots of options. All you need is a bit of space and yourself.

Check local library & parks

Many non-profit organizations offer occasional free fitness classes to get the community involved and active. You may need to sign up in advance to get a spot. Find information before you go so you arrive prepared.

Check nearby athletic stores

Running stores, athletic clothing stores, and sporting goods stores often have free fitness classes or exercise meet-ups. It’s a great way to connect with people in your area who share common fitness goals.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Do Your Chores

Fitness

Burn calories while you clean.

Who needs a gym when you can burn calories by doing household chores. The faster you move and the more you bend, stretch, and reach, the more your body will benefit. For example, a 150-lb person burns about 130 calories during a 30-minute 3.5 mph walk around the block or about 150 calories by washing the car. Not bad, especially for people who seem to think they have no time to exercise. Are you ready to get out the cleaning supplies?

Bend and dust and turn and wipe and . . .

Everything from washing windows to grocery shopping burns calories. The following numbers apply to a 150-lb person doing 30 minutes of activity. If you weigh less, you’ll burn slightly fewer calories. If you weigh more, you will burn slightly more calories. And the more muscle you put into it, the more calories you’ll burn.

* Climbing stairs – 306

* Rearranging furniture – 225

* Shoveling snow – 214

* Doing laundry – 210

* Walking the dog – 147

* Raking leaves – 144

* Mopping the floor – 140

* Vacuuming – 119

* Weeding – 115

* Washing dishes – 75

* Ironing – 70

* Surfing the Internet – 60

Other calorie – burning tips

* Take the stairs instead of the elevator – 306

* Park the car farther from your destination and walk – 227

* Carry your grocery bags to the car – 190

Action Step

If you want to burn even more calories, move as much as you can throughout the day. Stand up and do side steps while you are on the phone. Squat while you are waiting for the washing machine to finish its spin cycle.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
If You’re Sick, Rest

Fitness

Some exercise enthusiasts find it difficult to suspend their fitness activities even when they’re sick with a cold, flu, sore throat, or fever. Give your body a break. The risks of exercising at this time outweigh the benefits.

A fever is a stress to the body. Some studies have shown that adding to that stress by exercising may prolong the illness. So let your body recover and repair itself before resuming exercise.

If you have a cold but not a temperature, you should still avoid exercise. Exercise increases blood circulation and by doing so, may spread the virus or bacteria responsible for your misery to areas it wouldn’t ordinarily reach. Also, your lungs may not be working efficiently when you have a cold, so your exercise capacity drops.

A day or two of rest will do you more good than sticking to your workout schedule.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Walk For Well-Being

Fitness

You already know that walking and other physical activities help prevent and manage arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Get these benefits from walking, too:

* Relieve tension and stress.

* Get more energy.

* Improve balance and lower the risk for falling.

* Get better sleep.

* Boost you overall mood.

Walking briskly at 3 miles per hour is a great way for adults to get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week (30 minutes a day). Children need 60 minutes of physical activity a day.

* Plan walking into your daily / weekly schedules. Split 30 minutes into two 15-minute or three 10-minute sessions.

* Wear a good pair of walking shoes that fit well and absorb shock. Look straight ahead when you walk.

* Don’t make the excuse that you have no time to exercise.

* Don’t text while you are walking. Don’t listen to music if it hinders hearing sounds around you.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026