Thursday, December 3, 2009

Synovial fluid, warming up in winter.

For most of us December means the coming of colder (or just plain cold) weather. It means the runners start to move indoors to begin their often thought mundane training on the treadmill for the next 4 to 5 months. All of the outdoor activities come to a close and everyone starts to move inside to stay warm. Even the birds fly to wherever the warm air is. As the weather changes it's important to remember that our workout should change as well. During the cold season I cannot stress to you enough how important warming up is before your workout. A warm up is just that, you are getting your body warm. Your muscles aren't going to work properly if they are still frigid and unwilling to budge from the trek outdoors you had to take in the cold to get indoors. Also, it is really important to warm up the synovial fluid around your joints. What is synovial fluid? Synovial fluid is the liquid, almost like an egg white kind of thickness, that surrounds your joints and prevents frictions between articulating (meeting or touching) cartilage. This synovial fluid cannot do its job correctly unless its warm. Staying with the theme of egg whites imagine what happens when we cook that egg white, it becomes solid. That solid mass isn't really going to help reduce stress between any joint. If the synovial fluid stays cold, it has pretty much this same texture and it won't protect anything. A warm up during winter is CRUCIAL to exercising safely without injury.
I stress how important a warm up is anytime you workout regardless of the weather but in the winter months I have no leniency. It just puts too much stress on your body. So don't let the cold weather keep you from a really great workout. Hop inside, warm up, and get your fitness on!