Essay on Exercising During Cold Temperatures

Exercising during cold temperatures remains one of the most discouraging, but very motivating at the same time. Cold weather should not prevent one from having a fitness routine. Exercising is a safe practice even during the cold season and with good tips and considerations one can develop high motivation and stay fit during the cold season. However, according to Chapman et al., (2014), one should remain focused on the main factors during the cold season as it remains the primary factor in planning for a workout. Important factors to consider before venturing out in the cold for a workout include moisture, wind, temperature, and the duration one is expecting to stay working out in the cold. Exposed skin is very susceptible to frostbite and with a windy condition, one ought to clothe appropriately to protect the skin from exposure. A small wind chill raises the danger of frostbite and with a temperature below 0F, one ought to take a break from an outdoor exercise (Chapman et al., 2014). Snow or rain requires a waterproof gear but, without one, exercising needs to be put off until the temperatures improve. At the same time, getting soaked in cold weather is dangerous for the body may not be in a position to keep with high temperatures. It also raises the amount of time an individual takes during the exercise. Extreme weather calls for minimum time and caution while exercising as the body may not keep up with extreme cold for an extended period. Caution is thus necessary while training in cold weather as the body, tends to respond poorly to unfavorable exposure.

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Training at medium altitudes and competing at higher altitudes poses a grave threat to an athlete's performance (Chapman et al., 2014). Due to decreased oxygen at high altitudes, the athlete will struggle as the athlete will struggle to overstrain. Additionally, from training at medium altitudes to higher altitudes, adaptation to the change may be slow from others with an increased chance of fatigue. At high altitudes, the wind is dense, slowing down wind resistance. Additionally, at higher altitudes, the air is dry, which may cause massive loss of body water. According to Chapman et al., (2014), with reduced oxygen intake, and little wind resistance, an athlete will struggle to keep up with the changes in air density and resistance due to low wind opposition. At medium altitudes, the athlete has adequate oxygen intake, high wind resistance and proper humidity that enables for adaptively as the body experiences a cooling effect due to the small water loss. The runner's performance at high altitudes will thus decrease due to the struggle resulting from low oxygen intake, high water loss, and little wind resistance. At high altitudes, the amount of oxygen to the muscles is decreased, thus increasing the rate of dehydration. In some cases, an athlete may experience nausea, headache, coughing, vomiting, and the swelling of the feet.

According to Martinez-Bello et al., (2011), at the sea level, the amount of oxygen getting to the muscles is high. Oxygen at the sea level is abundant as the body is replenished with large amounts of oxygen as the runner experiences an increased performance. Training at the sea level, thus improves an athlete's performance as the body is well replenished with the low altitude conditions. According to Lundby et l., (2012), the "Live High, Train Low," principle takes the positive and beneficial benefits of training at low altitudes where the enhanced red blood cells have an improved oxygen capacity thus helping the runner strengthening and improving their performance. Additionally, at the sea level, the body maintains its water, thus controlling dehydration, a key component of improving performance.

Rapid ascent to high altitudes may cause cerebral and pulmonary syndromes (Martinez-Bello et al., 2011). The most prevalent are the acute mountain sickness that often occurs after a few hours of ascending to a higher altitude. The condition is accompanied by headaches, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue, loss of appetite, disturbed sleep, and dizziness. Other risk factors may entail mental impairment in addition to weight loss. The best remedy towards the above risk factors includes the use of acetazolamide and the use of Ibuprofen to reduce headaches (Lundby et l., (2012). Additionally, the symptoms can reduce by the rapid descent to lower altitudes. Some of the best measures to handling the risks of exposure to high altitudes include; taking it easy, systematically from the first day, avoid the use of sleeping pills and limitation of caffeine intake. Additionally, athletes need to take a nap or a walk to give the body time to adjust to the new environment. At the same time, lots of water is encouraged to reduce dehydration. However, alcohol is highly discouraged as it is diuretic and negatively affects the normal breathing rate. On the other hand, runners or athletes who may not benefit from the above measures may opt for the use of Diamox, drug aimed at controlling the symptoms of high altitude sickness (Martinez-Bello et al., 2011). However, with the use of Diamox, an athlete may not be in a position to run faster at sea level.

Detraining takes place because of reduced physical training or a complete stop to exercising. The body often lapses and is affected significantly by detraining. According to Martinez-Bello (2011), during the first weeks or days of detraining, the muscle power and strength is impacted in a small way. After a stop to training, muscle strength and power is maintained for up to 6 weeks. Power and electricity can, however, last for an extended period if training is added occasionally. Immobilized or ill individuals may experience a faster deterioration of power and strength (Lundby et al., 2012). Reduced training for up to a period of two to four weeks results in a decrease of blood volume by 9 percent and a 12 percent decrease in stroke. Additionally, it may lead to a 12 percent decrease in plasma volumes. Because cardiorespiratory fitness is influenced heavily by blood and heart, the above percentages cause an oxygen reduction by approximately 6 percent. Thus detraining has the significant effect of causing cardiovascular conditioning in an individual who has not trained for a given period in addition to the loss of cardiovascular endurance and muscular power. It thus has an adverse effect of negatively affecting cardiovascular health and stability training. The resulting effect is primarily due to reduced blood supply, reduced storage of muscle glycogen, in addition to decreased oxidative activities in the body (Martinez-Bello 2011). On the other hand, reduced flexibility has the side effect of increasing an individuals vulnerability to an acute injury.

Some of the similarities between detraining and spaceflight are that both results into reduced oxidative enzyme activities, reduced muscle glycogen upkeep, interruption of the acid-base equilibrium, and reduced blood supply intended for the muscles (Noskov 2014). Additionally, in both scenarios, an individual may have to go through a rigorous training exercise to make the muscles stronger and stable.

In case the body cannot adapt to the lack of oxygen, it does become accustomed to weightlessness, which can be for a short duration or for an extended time span (Kubo et al., 2010). During the first few moments, the fluids of the body shifts and redistributes in the upper parts of the body, such as the head, chest, and the legs. According to Noskov (2014), the change of body fluid results in a "puffy face" as depicted in the appearance of the astronauts in addition to nasal congestion. The high occurrence takes place to balance the body, which is central in the inner ear. The loss of gravity results of disabled sensation with the fluid in the body (semicircular canals) unable to convey rotational feelings (Noskov 2014). Thus explains the loss of the up and down sensibility. The feeling thus results in the "space adaptation illness" characterized by a headache, and vomiting. During the journey, the kidney attempts to balance the excess fluids by producing more giving rise to the abnormal low volume of liquids. The resulting effect sees an increase in mineral concentration, thus exposing the individual to kidney stones (Kubo et al., 2010). The net result may cause anemia. The body makes the above adjustments to help the body maintain stability, steadiness, and mental balance.

References

Chapman, R. F., Karlsen, T., Resaland, G. K., Ge, R. L., Harber, M. P., Witkowski, S., ... & Levine, B. D. (2014). Defining the dose of altitude training: how high to live for optimal sea level performance enhancement. Journal of applied physiology, 116(6), 595-603.

Kubo, K., Ikebukuro, T., Yata, H., Tsunoda, N., & Kanehisa, H. (2010). Time course of changes in muscle and tendon properties during strength training and detraining. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 24(2), 322-331.

Lundby, C., Millet, G. P., Calbet, J. A., Bartsch, P., & Subudhi, A. W. (2012). Does altitude trainingincrease exercise performance in elite athletes?. British Journal of Sports Medicine, bjsports-2012.

Martinez-Bello, V. E., Sanchis-Gomar, F., Nascimento, A. L., Pallardo, F. V., Ibanez-Sania, S., Olaso-Gonzalez, G., ... & Vina, J. (2011). Living at high altitude in combination with sea-level sprint training increases hematological parameters but does not improve performance in rats. European journal of applied physiology, 111(6), 1147-1156.

Noskov, V. B. (2014). Orthostatic tolerance after space flight and model experiments: new approaches to evaluation and prevention. Human Physiology, 40(7), 704-712.