Get chills after working out?

photo_kyla

I'm just wondering if anyone else gets chills after working out. I've been doing a lot of cardio (walking) the last week, usually 1 1/2 - 2 hrs a day. I'm sweating for most of my workout and warm enough that I don't want a jacket even if it's cool and foggy out. Once I get home, I'm fine for about half and hour and then suddenly I'm FREEZING. I'll put on a fleece and bundle up in a blanket, but I still have trouble feeling warm. My mom (retired nurse) suggested it was a drop in blood sugar, but it happens even if I eat something. Does anyone else have this problem?

skinnyminnie

That happens to me too. I haven't figured it out yet either. I have noticed that it only happens if I've REALLY pushed it with my cardio, so I had assumed that it had something to do with blood sugar as well. I usually just take a hot bath and eat something and then I feel okay again.

analisa511

I get the same thing, after I work out and after I eat. I still haven't figured out why that happens.

lauz45

Yep i'm cold now and I just worked out. I always assumed it's from going from being hot and sweaty to cooling down again...horses get a chill after being ridden if they aren't rugged up (blanketed) so I assume we're the same!

epa422

It happens to me too, even if I eat something. Sometimes, it's accompanied by extreme sleepiness (which happens when I get cold). Very bizarre. I would love an answer.

jimmydeanbakker

Dang cellphones. Yeah, this does happen to me.

billgiersberg

It seems this happens to a lot of people. I did a google search for "chills after cardio exercise" and got quite a few results. It seems though that people are guessing what causes it. Low electrolytes, blood sugar, nobody seems to know. I know that I get cold after spending time on the elliptical if I leave on the shirt I exercised in. It is so soaked with sweat, it's as if someone turned the hose on me. Leaving the shirt on while my body begins the cool-down makes it feel like it has ice water on it. By getting it off as soon as possible, it does not feel like I'm in a cold shower. Obviously what is happening is that evaporation is lowering the temperature of the shirt so it feels cold against my skin. But if you have put on dry clothes after your walk, this would not explain your chills. My first thoughts are that it's just a normal thermal response to sweating. Beyond that it seems to be anyone's guess.

LotusF1ower

I'm just wondering if anyone else gets chills after working out. I've been doing a lot of cardio (walking) the last week, usually 1 1/2 - 2 hrs a day. I'm sweating for most of my workout and warm enough that I don't want a jacket even if it's cool and foggy out. Once I get home, I'm fine for about half and hour and then suddenly I'm FREEZING. I'll put on a fleece and bundle up in a blanket, but I still have trouble feeling warm. My mom (retired nurse) suggested it was a drop in blood sugar, but it happens even if I eat something. Does anyone else have this problem?

It''s similar to cold sweats, you must wrap up afterwards!

For a few hours after working out, your immune system is low. Therefore any colds or infections you could easily fight off in the normal course of events, may be that little bit harder for your body to fight off after working out.

After working out, have your shower or bath and wrap up. Don't let yourself be vulnerable to any germs or infections out there when you are working so hard to keep yourself fit and healthy.

Oh yes, one more thing, be extremely careful about that "boiling hot" feeling, you may think you don't need to wrap up afterwards, but it is completely deceiving, so much so, that when people get hypothermia, they will feel boiling hot and begin to undress, hence why some victims are found with next to no clothes on. This is because heat is being pushed from the inside to the outside, trying to warm you up, in effect there can be disastrous results.

Out of interest, why not have a soak in a warm bath if you feel chilled, this will warm you through.

abeare

i get this too, but i figured it was my body adapting to a rapid cooldown.

missyhse

Happens to me as well, I always make sure to have an extra layer or jacket to throw on immediately after a workout or run (yes, even at races!) and have something small to eat/drink within 15-30 minutes.

FlashBang

Me too. I figured it was because I was sopping wet and not generating my own heat any longer. I have low blood sugar and the ability to test it, it is not related to sugar.

path2a6pack

It is normal - many get it - particularly if you have not been exercising for years and in top peak form - I just got them now for 10 seconds and now gone - one - you must be low on energy food prior to working out and you have not hit your juice or food after the work out 60 minute window - two - during exercise, your body temprature is elevated and sweat is produced to cool you down then you are done and I always take a shower after (those who dont surprise me odor people) again inducing a new temprature for the body to respond to - as time pass your body is hitting its normal temp and a shake happens - dont worry too much about it, but insure you take your 5 meals per day if you are truly active and long runs or walk are not necessary if you dont run marathons - for weight loss short high intensity intervals followed by 30 minute medium difficulty cardio will do the trick - do weight training for endurance, muscle building take a multi vitamine for sport female/male get your amino acids and breath deeply through out the day and if you want to lose weight avoid high sugar intake that give the body spikes and valleys and train it to extract sugar from natual souces such as vegies - see you at the top = P.S I am not a doctor so always consult your doctor Ciao

miey8201

Well i get the same thing i know i for a fact its not my sugar. the strange thing is that i feel it more when im wearing like underarmour heat gear...might sound crazy but i think its to keep you from over heating and i also relate it to not drinking enough water through out the day especially if you are doing extreme cardio....if anyone is wondering Im also a nurse so its the most reasonable explanation to me, lol.

abigailm83

This happens to me also.....glad to see that I'm not alone

leonalynn

I get this too. But I was wondering what "path2a6pack" means by having a 60 minute window to eat after working out.

L

Shock_Wave

I get em only on cold days. Its simply just body temp. dropping after a work out. Plus the moisture on your skin = cold skin on cool/cold days from sweating. I either turn up the heat or put on more cloths.

Jessamine

Yep - I get chills and sleepiness. I just put a sweater on and feel fine. I usually get REALLY hungry about 1-2 hours after strenuous exercise, so I just eat when that happens. I suppose I just give my body what it needs.

Shock_Wave

I get this too. But I was wondering what "path2a6pack" means by having a 60 minute window to eat after working out.

L

He might just be using his own preference by saying having a 60 minute window to eat after working out. Kind of like saying after lifting weights he eats soon after (like a 60 min window) to try and quickly restore muscle glycogen. You should all know the window is much larger than just 60 min and I hope he knows this as well.

myfitnessnmhoy

I get this too. But I was wondering what "path2a6pack" means by having a 60 minute window to eat after working out.

L

I've had several dieticians mention this to me. I have no training, so I'm only repeating what I've heard and forgive me any misstatements, but I can tell you that it prevents the chills for me, and that's good enough in my book.

Anyway, the idea is that exercise (particularly intense exercise = sweating) burns glycogen stores (also known as "blood sugar"). That same blood sugar is what sustains metabolism. Your body is cold because it's basically depleted of energy and burning fat and muscle for energy takes a little while and works best with a small kick-start. So there's a brief period after intense exercise (I've heard the optimal window being as short as 20 minutes, with the benefit dwindling in about 60-90 minutes) where you really want to get a small carbohydrate-and-protein snack in you. By "small", my understanding is something proportional to the exercise - 100-200 calories should usually suffice, though. Say a small banana and a handful of nuts, something like that.

I went for a 4-hour bike ride in the cold (45 degree) rain with no food and one bottle of water. About an hour and a half after I got home, I got severe chills - to the point where nothing was touching it. I thought it was simply that I was dehydrated and had allowed my core temp to drop a bit, but I was perfectly fine when I got home and felt great for an hour and a half, and had enjoyed a nice hot shower to warm up an hour before. I was in misery for another hour until dinnertime.

About 10 minutes after I took the first bite of dinner, I warmed up almost immediately.

Now I make sure I have a small snack shortly after working out, and a small nibble of something every hour of a heavy/long workout, and I feel the chills no more.

Your mileage may vary, but it's worked well for me and is certainly worth a try, I'd think.

Jessamine

Now that I think about it, I've begun to notice that I don't have chills anymore because I've been taking hot showers at the gym after my strenuous workouts.

On a side note: I loooooooove those hot showers. For years now we've only had warm water in our apartment because of our tiny and ill-insulated water heater. Two months ago I started taking showers at the gym. Heaven.

montana_girl

Yep, happens to me quite a bit after a long run. I take a hot shower, dress warmly, and still feel the need to snuggle under a blanket to get warmed up.