When the cold outside turns notorious, it does not just become unpleasant, but the chill that creeps to the bone is also dangerous. The most common saying is that you need to get into layers, eat more, and move often to beat the cold. The first few steps are easy but, when it comes to the moving part, it is the best way to beat the cold.

Elevating your heart rate and generating body heat gives you a natural feeling of warmth then, a much-needed relief from the cold. Also, you need to adapt the survival skills according to your situation and surroundings to get the most of activities you are doing to beat the chill.

Activities to Swear By

When you are really feeling the cold, the most common problem is stiff muscles. The trick is to gradually increase the speed of your activity and take control of your motion as the muscles start to warm up.

  • Jumping jacks warm you up fast

 This is an ideal warm-up exercise that works on your entire body by increasing the heart rate and making you feel warm. Start this exercise by standing tall with hands on your sides. Then jump your feet out and simultaneously swing your arms out as well. Repeat this exercise 15 to 20 times.

    • Get your legs moving

    This activates your leg muscles by generating heat and pushes blood to your feet and toes. Doing this activity is quite easy as you stand on the support of one leg and swing the other one back and forth while keeping your knee straight. Repeat the same 10 to 15 times and switch to the other leg. You can also do the same thing in lateral swing, but the movement will be on the sides.

    • Swing your arms

    This exercise focuses on a set of muscles from a specific body part. Here, arm swings are ideal to recharge your chest shoulder, and upper back muscles by circulating warm blood through fingers and hands. Another version of arm swing is windmills where you spin the arms in circles starting from slow motion to speeding up. This loosens your shoulder and back muscles.

    • Try some squats

    Do air squats to activate the quads and the glutes. Quads are your legs’ biggest set of muscles and loosening them up means generating enough heat to overcome the stiffness from your lower abdomen region. This activity is excellent when you are stuck and cannot move your hands off the belay.

    • Get running

    The classic move of all that works on your entire body, and as a result your heart rate rises, blood reaches every corner of the body, and body temperature rises simultaneously. Start by running at the same place or back and forth till you have warmed up a bit and you are breathing hard.

    • Shrug your shoulders

    As the name suggests, this pushes warm blood to your arms and your fingers by doing a shoulder activity. Repeat should shrug for 10 to 15 times to completely reap the benefits and feel the warmth rushing through your veins from your shoulder to the arms.

    Try these simple yet effective tips and stay warm in this harsh, chilly weather, of course with a hot cup of chocolate or mocha by your side!