Sandyspringscrossfit

Great job everyone, on Saturday's WOD. K-Bird finishing a thruster with great form.
Our newest CF'r looking fresh after "Cherry". Wlecome to the family Melissa.

"Diane"

21-15-9 reps of:

225 lbs. Deadlift

Handstand Pushups

As some of you may have noticed we are in the middle of winter. In the mornings especially it can be brutally cold. I've pulled together some tips and tricks that might help stay warm when working out . If you've got a good idea I didn't cover post it to comments.

For cold weather especially you want to think in layers of clothes rather than one penultimate insulting layer. If I have one big coat and a t-shirt and my friends has 5 layers of clothes on who will have the more variability in his wardrobe? My friend can choose from any number of combinations of layers to fit any condition. I would advise y'all to think in light layers combined. These layers can be any material, although I would advise against cotton. If you've got a mile run to do in a cotton t-shirt with weather like we've been having (rainy and cold) you're going to shiver through the entire workout after that no matter how warm you think you are. Synthetic insulates whether wet or dry, where as cotton absorbs heat when wet. Capilene from Patagonia is excellent, Under Armour is pretty popular, I like JL Racing stuff and Smart Wool stuff is really nice but heinously expensive. Really anything synthetic is going to insulate better than cotton.

When choosing insulating garments it's not what they keep out but what they keep in. We are looking to trap body heat to keep us warm, rather than to exclude cold air. However we also need some ventilation to prevent dampness from that hot air condensing, beyond sweat obviously. The easiest way to do this is to wear a long sleeve t-shirt (or the like) and when running outside throw on a hat. 40% of your body heat will escape through the head trapping that will immediately make you warmer. When I lead camping trips I really wouldn't listen to someone saying they were cold unless they had a hat on. It's pretty easy to keep a hat near the door and grab it on the way out if you're doing a run in a workout. It is certainly much easier than a jacket.

When it's especially cold outside the tendency is to bundle up and then to strip layers once you've gotten hot. In Crossfit most of our workouts are against the clock so saving time where ever possible is highly recommended. Warm up with a good bit of your layers on, you'll warm up quicker for one and you can judge how you're feeling that day. When getting ready to start strip down so that you are a little cold going into the workout, especially if it starts outside and then moves inside, i.e. "Helen". By starting a little cold it gives you room to become warm. If you start out warm then you immediately go to hot and sweaty, before you've even had a chance to really workout. No need to get hot and sweaty before you really have to.

It is important to expirement with your layering and clothing system to achieve the optimal mix of insulation, breathability and comfort. What works for me is not neccesarily going to work for someone else.

-Paul Siegel