GET IN SHAPE TO GET IN SHAPE

If you thought you could just go out there and run to get fit, think again. You need to train for it first

The weather forecast said “fog” and a high of 6°C — enough to make anyone want to get back under the duck duvet and forget about exercising. But those of us who want to “build summer bodies in winter”, as the celebs like to say, have to get up and going despite the cold and poor visibility. And it is great for the immune system, so you are likely to ward off a cold rather than catching one by running around outside.

Biokineticist Bokamoso Moletjie says that before you actually exercise, you have to train for it in advance. A week before Hydrate: “Having the right amount of water in your system is highly important at all times, but people tend to not be hydrated enough on a daily basis, then try to have too much water on the day they are exercising.

“This won’t work because the intake will be rushed and the body takes a certain amount of time to divide food and water fairly,” says Moletjie.

“To prevent cramping you should always be hydrated whether you are going to train or not, and have a little salt in foods throughout the week. Generally “You need a technique. We tend to get tired quickly because we may not be positioning our bodies correctly or breathing properly. People who are not used to exercise, let alone exercising in winter, would normally find it very difficult to breathe properly,” he says.

Pace your breathing, for instance: three steps, breathe in, and three steps, exhale.

“Also, a mistake we make is to lean

‘To prevent cramping you should always be hydrated whether you are going to train or not’

forward, when running especially. This will put more pressure on the lower body and overwork it when picking up the feet, and the muscles will take strain.” On the day Get the blood flowing. “The circulation is not as it would be in summer, so warming up in winter, especially outside, is vital. What you want to do before your run or exercise, is to stretch at a high intensity, especially the legs to avoid cramping. Do four sets of jumping jacks, then kicks and high knee-lifts to get a full body warm-up. Muscles should be getting enough oxygen,” Moletjie says.