Outdoor Lifting/Working out in the Cold

Justin_7272

Need some help gurus. I'm moving and will have to set up my power cage in my carport (covered, but open air/3 open walls) until I get my workout palace (shed) delivered and up and running. It will be insulated, heated, etc,. but that may need be for a few months. In the meantime, I need help/ideas on lifting in the cold. Plans so far:
I typically cycle ~10min for a warmup to help get the blood flowing; this will be indoor.
I will have the rack on an outdoor rug. I typically lift barefoot and wood prefer to continue doing so.
I've ordered thermal long sleeve compression shirts and pants. I typically workout shirtless to eliminate any friction. This will be trial by fire.
I'll keep the barbells and plates in a storage room off the carport. Everything is attached to the house, so I'm hoping the storage room will keep them warm, otherwise I can move the bars indoor and blanket the plates.
My lifts typically take ~30-40 minutes. I'll be incorporating more auxiliaries now that I have a cable setup with hookups overhead (lat pull down position) and shin height (row position), so I anticipate workout time will increase by 10-15 minutes.
I'm open to buying a heater, be it either an overhead or floor-standing. I'm guessing this won't have much affect other than I could stand by it to warm up unless it's an an overhead pushing heat; the space is to open to hold heat. In my shed I plan to have a wifi/programmable heater, so something I could transition to there would be a plus but isn't necessary. I'm open to any type of movable/temporary wall setup if it would help.
I'll be in Greenwood, SC, so temps now are cold in the mornings (40-below freezing) but warm in the afternoons (55-75). I could move my lifting to a warmer time, however I've been consistently and prefer to lift first thing in the morning. I work from home, so this wouldn't be a huge inconvenience, but not my preference.
Any thoughts/pointers/questions are appreciated. As always, thanks everyone!

JBanx256

I don't know what it's called, but you know how some restaurants that have outdoor dining areas have the heavy plastic sheeting that they drop down to enclose the patio during crappy weather? It may be possible to pick up something like that, fairly inexpensive, to be able to keep in some of the heat if you run a little space heater of whatever sort? That would also keep you from having to deal with wind.

I train first thing in the morning too and today it was in the 20's sooooo yeah, good luck!

goal06082021

+1 suggestion to figure out how to mount some tarps or something around your carport to make a temporary enclosure. If you can spring for a nicer one, you could possibly convert the carport to a nice entertaining space once you've got your shred shed up and running (and the ongoing global pandemic nightmare ends and "having people over" is a less fraught proposition).

nossmf

I second the idea of some kind of plastic sheeting to block wind and precipitation; I don't think the cold would be much of a factor, other than comfort. Gloves when holding the bar; a thin towel to lie upon the bench, or drape between the bar and bare shoulders should be enough. But then, I'm a Rocky Mountain guy (lived in Montana, Idaho, Alaska, North Dakota and Colorado) so my idea of cold may be different than yours, lol.

Justin_7272

I did find they make carport enclosures like you guys are talking about, so that'll at least help with wind and may keep some warmth in if I get a heater.

I grew up in Nebraska, so I know cold weather pretty well. My concern is I'm lifting heavy (to near failure), so I need to be as focused as possible and as physically safe as possible. I typically lift barefoot, for example, and lifting barefoot on very cold concrete would surely affect lifting when I'm use to lifting barefoot indoors. I'll have an outdoor rug down, and may cut some I will have a power rack with safety catches, so if failure occurs risk of injury is minimized.

Gloves change lifts to much; I started lifting and went away from them and never looked back. I do use of pair of deadlift "gloves," which is a wrist strap and leather hook because my grip was failing, and they are awesome, but won't provide any warmth. The bars will be kept inside, so they won't be cold.

I did pick up a wool lined hat as someone else suggested, as that should help with heat retention and I don't see that affecting lifts.

Appreciate all the replies - thanks guys!

AnnPT77

Heated floor mats (electric) are a thing that exists, at various price points, either designed for human spaces, or animal pens. I don't know whether they'd work for you for barefoot lifting (size, warmth level, etc.), but it might be worth looking into.

cupcakesandproteinshakes

With an eye to the price of all this stuff is a temporary gym membership an option ? Might be cheaper.

Justin_7272

cupcakesandproteinshakes wrote: »

With an eye to the price of all this stuff is a temporary gym membership an option ? Might be cheaper.

I have 0 interest in joining a gym.

claireychn074

I lifted throughout last winter - but did quit when it got to below zero (I’m a wimp). I had a small tent to cut out rain and wind, always wore a bobble hat, tight merino skiing base layer top with winter running leggings and knee high deadlifting socks, neck gaiter (unless I was doing cleans). I had a full length puffy coat I put on in-between sets and my secret weapon was a hot water bottle. So in between sets I could hug that and defrost my hands. I did start off training with more layers on but I do Olympic lifting which has to skim parts of the body and I just got irritated with stuff getting caught. I understand the barefoot thing but that would personally kill me - you can get barefoot socks or even try tight fitting slipper socks (with grippy soles). I gave up when it got too cold as I was getting stiff and it started getting dangerous. Good luck!

cutevixen

I don't lift outside, but here's what I've figured out to deal with my workshop area and old experience camping in andirondaks:
1. Hang tarps, blankets, whatever it takes to keep the air in one place. I've found something heavy like canvas tarps and moving blankets works better than plastic tarps, but a combo of both is fabulous especially in damp climates. Make sure the fabric pools on the floor (drafts at floor level are terrible when you throw in both concrete floors and bare feet) and overlaps by at least several inches anywhere seams aren't actually sealed.
2. For the floor, I use a layer of overlapping moving blankets under a layer of overlapping wool rugs covering the entire cement floor, and then additionally some foam flooring stuff right under where I'm standing most often (the stuff they sell for putting under your exercise equipment to protect your floors, those standing mats that they sell for standing desks, even yoga mats are decent). I like being barefoot too, and this works pretty well for me.
3. Hardware stores have infrared heaters designed for poorly insulated workplaces and they're not crap. If you've (mostly) eliminated drafts, they'll heat the whole space, but even if you can't, just point 'em directly at where you're standing and they seriously help.
4. You're going to care about how cold your hands are because that affects grip, but *mostly* you care about core temp and that the muscles you're working at the moment are warm. Dress with that in mind. Silk long underwear is actually super insulating if bulky clothes bother you. I get those cheap knit gloves from the drugstore (they're like $1-$2 a pair here or something) and snip the fingers off them so I can have some warmth without sacrificing dexterity.