How cold is too cold to walk outside?

kommodevaran
kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
And why (asthma/arthritis/)?

-20 degrees Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) would be okay for me, if I just put on enough clothes and keep moving. -30 (-22F) for a short time.

What keeps me indoors, is icy sidewalks.

Replies

  • WrenTheCoffeeAddict
    WrenTheCoffeeAddict Posts: 148 Member
    Ice, and wet leaves.. Ugh.. my feet are like a magnet to them, until I tread on them, then my feet are like banana peels to them. Just started walking 4 miles a day, to and from the train station for work - my partner sent me a msg telling me to make sure I walk on the bus route. And get this - not because he was worried that I would fall victim to some sort of sexual predator. No. He said 'just in case you fall over!'
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    never, I head out in minus 40, fresh air is the best! the colder, the better for me!
  • EauRouge1
    EauRouge1 Posts: 265 Member
    I don't mind the cold, as long as it's dry and I have the right clothes. I don't like walking in heavy snow because I can't see where I'm going.

    But I live in the UK so I only have to deal with this sort of thing if I visit my in-laws in Winnipeg in the winter.
  • HannaSusi
    HannaSusi Posts: 857 Member
    Last week was around -25C all the time and yeah it feels like my eyeballs freeze but otherwise it's only a matter of dressing right :smile:
    So I'd say never. Though I heard it gets down to -70C in some parts of Russia... I might stay indoors there.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    I'll ski down to -5F, so I guess I'd walk at even colder temperatures. Granted -5F is about as cold as it gets around here except maybe in the middle the night.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    depends on what you are acclimate to.

    below 40(f) and i need a jacket/coat. below 30 and i dont go out.
  • brianlundlarsen
    brianlundlarsen Posts: 49 Member
    Depends on wet/wind. Some years ago I ran a few hours in -8c which is not too bad, but it was quite windy and snowing and my gloves got soaked quickly. The day after the run my hands were filled with blisters, so I had some level of frostbite.
    I've run in colder than that before with no problems and definitely gained some respect for cold weather running after that.
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    depends on what you are acclimate to.

    below 40(f) and i need a jacket/coat. below 30 and i dont go out.


    The high today is around +30F. I guarantee there will be people out in shorts here. It has been below zero F here (Minnesota) all week and the highs on the weekend are below zero. It will feel like a heat wave here today. If you are dressed for below zero, and it is not windy, it is invigorating. Wind can be nasty @ below zero F temperatures, but I still go out for walks. My dog doesn't go with me when it is that cold, though. It is really cold on his feet.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,616 Member
    I have walked and cycled in -40°C/F temps.

    Just dress for it.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Coldest I've run in is about -35C.....

    djg9zp0jmb6g.jpg

    and I have dogs (they hate their little booties) that need to be walked 365 days of the year.

    If you dress properly (and don't have any respiratory problems) no weather is "too cold".
  • Kyrenora
    Kyrenora Posts: 133 Member
    Anything below 40F is too low for me to do any serious walking. I still take the dog out, of course, but I don't leave my property on foot. There's a couple reasons for this. 1) I always go for walks with my baby daughter in her stroller, and she's not sustaining the same level of activity I am, so I worry about her getting too cold even when she's all bundled up. 2) I have raynauds syndrome, which is a circulatory disorder that makes me much more susceptible to frostbite and is just downright uncomfortable in colder weather. 3) I'm a pansy.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    I've run in nothing but sweats, the old cotton walffle long underware, a toque, and crappy gloves and running shoes in -40 (it's the same both in C and F) when I was in basic training. Walking, with the right clothing I've done -35C and both were never an issue. The improtant thing is what you are wearing and your attitude. Just make sure you can handle yourself in those temperatures and you'll be fine but if you might want to jump on the treadmill if you are concerned about the cold or walking surface conditions.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Nice to hear all the different responses from fellow walkers :) all around the world! There's no such thing as bad weather :# ZombieLauren, your boyfriend sounds like a nice guy, who knows exactly what a woman wants to hear :D I'll be laughing all day!
  • dirtycxer
    dirtycxer Posts: 22 Member
    bggn3pp7007c.jpg

    Ha! So far I for me I would say never : )
  • saragd012
    saragd012 Posts: 693 Member
    Wow, most of you have absolutely put me to shame. My partner and I went running today at 37F and both agreed that if the temps dropped below 30(F) we would find a way to workout indoors.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,616 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    I have walked and cycled in -40°C/F temps.

    Just dress for it.

    I spent most of my life on the Canadian prairies ... I grew up walking to school in bitterly cold temps. They'd close the schools when the actual temperature (not including windchill) got to -40°C/F ... but if it was only a mere -37°C, the schools were open ... even if the windchill factor put the temp down to -48°C. Used to annoy me as a kid because I wanted the day off to go outside and play in the snow! :grin:

    I started cross-country skiing when I was about 12, and you've got to do that when it is below freezing and there's snow on the ground. I got snowshoes in my early 30s and was out snowshoeing in temps around -30°C. If a person can do snow sports in sub-freezing temps, a person can walk in those temps.
  • aerochic42
    aerochic42 Posts: 843 Member
    Barring ice or really windy, I'll usually go down to about 0F assuming I've had time to adjust (wouldn't want to do it now as I've moved and this winter I've barely spent any time below freezing at all). In high school I was camping in about -30 with wind chill, but I would wimp out now.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    I have been a baby about the ice but I've been out in 15 degrees
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    Cold weather is about dressing correctly. People go out with inadequate coats and no layers and then are surprised when they are unhappy and uncomfortable. You know you are dressed correctly for cold weather if you can walk without crunching up your shoulders in hopes of husbanding your body heat.
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    I will take my girls out in up to -25 C, and if I'm by myself even -40 C isn't too bad. I can handle either cold or lots of snow. But both together make me want to curl up hibernate.
  • nicolen160
    nicolen160 Posts: 197 Member
    for me..... anything below 50F I just can't take the cold and wind
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited January 2016
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    And why (asthma/arthritis/)?

    -20 degrees Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) would be okay for me, if I just put on enough clothes and keep moving. -30 (-22F) for a short time.

    What keeps me indoors, is icy sidewalks.

    Ice doesn't even keep me in. If we are in a melting/cooling cycle where there could be black ice on sidewalks, I walk in the road. If it is just after snow or ice storms, I put my Kahtoola's on and go outside anyway. If we are in the midst of a snowstorm (6" or more), I wear my snowshoes.

    Dress for it in layers so you don't get too hot and make sure you protect exposed skin, especially if it is windy. If you are reasonably comfortable, it is not too cold.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    Never too cold. I've ice hiked/camped for two weeks in -30C in the Zanskar mountains (Himalaya region).
    And cycled in -40C/F. It's all about layering up and layering off as you exert yourself.
  • nicolen160
    nicolen160 Posts: 197 Member
    Kyrenora wrote: »
    Anything below 40F is too low for me to do any serious walking. I still take the dog out, of course, but I don't leave my property on foot. There's a couple reasons for this. 1) I always go for walks with my baby daughter in her stroller, and she's not sustaining the same level of activity I am, so I worry about her getting too cold even when she's all bundled up. 2) I have raynauds syndrome, which is a circulatory disorder that makes me much more susceptible to frostbite and is just downright uncomfortable in colder weather. 3) I'm a pansy.

    I have raynauds syndrome also and I just hate it outside when it is below 50F or even at the freezer section of the grocery stores. It sucks really bad and no one gets it.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
    -10 F temps. If it's -10 F wind chill, I'm staying indoors. Plain cold, and your body just warms as you walk. -10 windchill, and the wind is sucking whatever heat you generate right away from you, and you're liable to get frostbite on any exposed skin rather quickly.

    And, I don't enjoy walking with my face completely covered.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    nicolen160 wrote: »
    Kyrenora wrote: »
    Anything below 40F is too low for me to do any serious walking. I still take the dog out, of course, but I don't leave my property on foot. There's a couple reasons for this. 1) I always go for walks with my baby daughter in her stroller, and she's not sustaining the same level of activity I am, so I worry about her getting too cold even when she's all bundled up. 2) I have raynauds syndrome, which is a circulatory disorder that makes me much more susceptible to frostbite and is just downright uncomfortable in colder weather. 3) I'm a pansy.

    I have raynauds syndrome also and I just hate it outside when it is below 50F or even at the freezer section of the grocery stores. It sucks really bad and no one gets it.

    My best friend's mother had it. She couldn't even make hamburger patties or meat loaf because touching the meat was too cold for her hands. She moved to Arizona after she retired because she couldn't drive, even with good gloves, when the temps dipped below 50° (which is about half the year in Wisconsin).
  • PinkyPan1
    PinkyPan1 Posts: 3,018 Member
    I applaud all of you that are out there in the bitter cold. I personally have to draw the line at 32 degrees and under. I do not mind the cold but I fear the ice. I have fallen more than once and I am afraid of breaking a hip.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    And why (asthma/arthritis/)?

    -20 degrees Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) would be okay for me, if I just put on enough clothes and keep moving. -30 (-22F) for a short time.

    What keeps me indoors, is icy sidewalks.

    I think it would depend on all the conditions plus the temperature and how long. If it is not windy, snowy, icy it isn't as bad to walk outside at a lower temperature for awhile.
    If it is single digits or below zero F or the weather is yucky I'm probably just going to exercise inside.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    crazyravr wrote: »
    Its never too cold. You are just not dressed properly ;)

    Then you hit the arctic circle and the communities there gets to -60C (-76F) and only really heavy layers of seal skin work and you aren't going to walk outside unless you want to be hunted by polar bears! I'm staying away from there in the winter just to be safe.
  • Last_mango_in_paradise
    Last_mango_in_paradise Posts: 48 Member
    I hate the cold so . . . 45F and below for me.

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