week 6

ON BEING COLD

I, like most people reading this, like to be a nice temperature. Not to hot and not to cold. I especially dislike the cold. This week’s natural movement challenge is something I’m still working on, but since it’s still winter in this hemisphere we might as well make the most of it.

I want you to make sure part of your day is spent outside in the cold or somehow getting a little cold…doing it whilst out for a walk would be my top suggestion cus then two movement nutritionals in one. BAM.

And now for the WHY THE HELLS…?

So we tend to think of muscles like “ I’m going to train to do a pull-up and a marathon” or “My hamstrings feel like guitar strings, I’m going to train to increase their tolerance, get me to yoga!” but its rare that I hear people talk about activating their musculature in that sense of “I need to train for a variance in temperature.” Unless you happen to be Katy Bowman.

Most of us house/office dwellers are always exposed to exactly the same temperature throughout the day. So when it comes to getting out in the cold our bodies aren’t used to generating their own heat. Now the body can actually generate its own heat, but you have to train your heat-generating muscles, and so regular exposure to cold is part of that process.

Nice ways to start this training include….

1. Not bundling up too much to go out and actually letting yourself feel the cold. I would recommend doing it in layers and every now and then taking a layer away. Just like working with yoga props!

or, for the brave….

2. Not taking a really really hot shower, but a slightly cooler one, and then cooler, and then a colder shower. 

Simple!

Big shout out to fellow Amsterdamer Wim Hof (also known as The Iceman) for the inspiration this week. 

(Image of me in the cold with my gloves off...you gotta start somewhere...)