Why being outside in the winter won’t make you sick.. Quite the opposite in fact. 

There is a very common misconception that being outside  for any length of time will make you sick and have you coming down with a cold or flu in winter months. Perhaps this is why so many people choose to avoid the outdoors during the colder winter months, and any exercise plans started in the summer months take a back seat when the temperature starts to drop. 

The truth is though, being outside in the cold, even with wet hair… i know shocker, doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be struck down with a bug. 

The germs, or viruses that cause common winter illnesses are transmitted, and breed much easier in warmer environments, like offices and homes, so being outside actually means your chances of getting poorly are lower than if you stayed inside and avoided the cold at all costs. 

Did you know, in Scandinavian countries when it’s nap time, they wrap up their babies and leave them in the pram outside to sleep. This is a tradition that has been followed, i suspect hundreds of years, but more recently researchers have found that this practise means not only does the baby sleep better, and for longer, but it also decreases their chances of them becoming ill as the germs cannot reproduce in the nose when the child is sleeping and breathing in fresh air. It’s truly fascinating stuff really. 

Further more training outside in the colder winter months burns more calories than are burnt in the summer or by training indoors during the winter.
Your body has to work harder to maintain its core temperature, the metabolism is kicked into overdrive and more calories and fat are burnt. So there really is some truth in the saying ‘summer bodies are made in the winter’. 

For more than 13 years now Body Shape Fitness, In Ely Cambs, has been training their clients outside, it all weathers, rain or shine. Only once has a session been cancelled and that was because it was too hot! (Remember the summer of 2022 when the mercury hit 40℃+) 

Never once has it been called off for rain, snow, or sub zero temperatures. 

And you ask any member who has trained for more than 12 months and seen the full range of British weather, what they prefer. More will tell you they enjoy the winter over the summer. It rains less in the winter than it does in the summer too!  

All you need are some decent trainers desinged for traning outside, some gloves and layer. Even it sub zero temperatures you will be getting hot and sweaty so being able to remove a few layers is a must.

The sessions are tailored around the weather and conditions so dont expect too much running on an icy January morning. Safety is a priority. 

So there really is no excuse to avoid the outside when it’s cold/rainy. It's uncomfortable, but if we avoided all uncomfortable things in life, we wouldn’t ever do anything, go anywhere or really enjoy our lives. Sitting on a no-frills airline for 4 hours to Greece is uncomfortable, But we still do that because the reward at the end is a week in the sun. 

The reward for training for 45 min 3x a week in not perfect conditions is living a longer, happier, healthier life, being in the best shape, and feeling super confident in your clothes, and in front of the mirror. 

Seems like a pretty good trade to me.

Sometimes we have to do things that are uncomfortable in order to get the results we want. 

So don’t let the colder weather put you off. It’s the best time of year to get into shape. If like most people you want to see results FAST then starting now is going to get you where you want to be faster.

And by the time spring rolls round and the layers come off, you’ll be rocking a smaller clothes size and a toned body in plenty of time before summer.