Cold weather is all very well and good over Christmas – as we bundle up by the fire, drinking mulled wine and relaxing in the thick new socks we were gifted – but what about the rest of the time?
Well though we moan about the freezing temperatures it turns out that it is doing our bodies a big favour when it comes to calorie burning.
*Lifts head from under duvet*
In the cold, the body needs to burn extra fat, to produce energy in order to heat it back up to the ideal temperature – meaning that we use up more calories in winter.
But if you want to take particular advantage of this fat burning hack then personal trainer Max Zeumer says that working out in the frosty temperatures will maximise the calories that get used.
When you work out in the cold, ‘your body will work really hard to stay warm and burn a ton of calories to do it, but that really only starts when you’re shivering,’ he explains to theMail Online.
And though of course high intensity workouts and explosive movements (like squat jumps) always burn the most of amount of calories in the shortest time, Zeumer says that you don’t have to start jumping around in order to take advantage of the cold/calorie trick.
‘If you want to burn a couple of extra calories, just walk outside. It sounds funny, but it will add up,’ he advises, and says that this works best after lunch.
Walking in moderately warm clothing on a cold day will keep your heart rate from getting high enough to cancel out the shivers, but is enough activity to require burning some fat for energy.
We think that’s pretty good motivation to leave the house, don’t you?
