What's too cold for outdoor fitness?

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Replies

  • Snipsa
    Snipsa Posts: 172 Member
    We very rarely get temp below 0C so it's never too cold to work out for me, but when it reaches 38 - 45 C as it has the past month, I only exercise very early mornings, as the heat is just too much to bear...
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    I've hiked and slept outdoors at -30 to -35C. It's all about clothes and material.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    I downhill ski in ~0F (down to about -15F windchill) weather (-18C, or -26 windchill)

    I lifted in my garage when it was -2F outside (-19C), granted I had the house door open and an electric heater. Neither seemed to do anything other than cool the house down (the heater said it was 32F, but I'm pretty sure it was lying), but the electric heater did serve to re-warm my fingers after moving the plates.

    Personally I'm glad that I don't have the opportunity to see if I'd go colder. It was sub 0F this past weekend and it is brutally cold when you just want to go out and get in your car and drive and don't want to bother layering up.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    Nothing stops me running except ice. Toay it was too icy so I had to go walking instead.

    Hooded base layers with the face cover are fab!
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    so far ice and a gym membership perk is the only thing that is keeping me inside. I ran 5ish miles in 1F. not sure what the windchill was.
    i do think i would draw the line at -30F windchill.
  • meritage4
    meritage4 Posts: 1,441 Member
    I lived in Inuvik. Outdoor recess was -40 or warmer. (and that's the same C or F). You can WALK in that temperature. With a scarf or neck tube to breather through. You don't want heavy exertion as that draws too much cold air into lungs.
    I used to load my 2 preschoolers on sled and pull them to playgroup (about a km or so)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I ran outside for about two hours Saturday. It was -9 when I started. I was fine except for my hands -- they got really, really cold even with special gloves. I wound up cutting a mile off my run because I was worried about how my hands were doing.

    But I would try it again if I had better gloves or hand warmers.
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    The coldest temperature I went out for a walk in was air temperature-22F with -40F wind chill. I did not walk when it was - 18 F with a -65 F wind chill. The wind is brutal, but if there is no wind, as long as you are dressed for it, it can be invigorating.
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
    I have asthma that is compounded by cold, so I don't do anything outside once it drops below 50F (+10C).

    My boyfriend, however, will run out in the freezing cold and the boiling heat. The lowest he's done this year is -7C (20F).

    The important thing is to make sure you stay hydrated (as it's harder to feel thirst sometimes in the cold), and to make sure your limbs and face are covered enough to avoid frostbite and windburn. Otherwise, from my understanding, it's extremely healthy to exercise in the cold.
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
    If it freezes the vitreous fluid in your eyeballs, it MIGHT be too cold. The coldest I recall running was -6F with a -40F windchill. I was dressed appropriately and actually turned my short run into a long run because it felt great.

    Cold weather tip; rub petroleum jelly (Vaseline?) on all exposed skin before venturing out.
  • ROBOTFOOD
    ROBOTFOOD Posts: 5,527 Member
    Coldest run -11f actual temp. Not running in any colder.
  • mean_and_lean
    mean_and_lean Posts: 164 Member
    For me it's 40F and below in the winter. I don't even like walking out to the car to go to the gym when it's cold.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    I can do about 10F with wind (once winter has been around for a while) to 107F, but my skin can't seem to take any colder for anything other than a brief walk outside. My face gets numb fast! I definitely don't have the right gear.

    The high temperature is also only something I can do if it's been progressively hotter over the season, which is when we see that temp here. If it just jumped up above 100 too soon, I'm not acclimated for that either.

    I don't know how to tell when numb is bad in the cold. It can get feeling scary, so I go back inside, lol.

    We go from 0-10F to about 107-108F real temps here (nevermind humidity!), so anything outside of that basically freaks me out.

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