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3 ways to stay healthy this winter

Meld Magazine

Tue Aug 05 2014

FIND yourself staying in bed more often this winter? Trinity College Foundation Studies students Gary Guan and Christopher Chia share their tips on staying healthy in the cold weather.

During winter, many find it difficult to find the motivation to exercise – especially with drastically cold temperatures. Staying at home in a warm bed often seems like a better option.

However, staying fit during the winter is especially important – and it all starts with eating right and exercise.

Exercising helps keep the body warm, and the cold weather delays fatigue during exercise. Eating right during wintertime would help provide your body with sufcient energy to generate heat. A good diet can also assist with fat burn. 

There are many ways to incorporate exercise during the winter. Some boys may prefer to do outdoor sports like basketball or football while some girls will choose to swim indoors.

Gymnasiums are also popular amongst Trinity College Foundation Studies students for their exercise routine. Often, one does not need to worry about the weather when at the gym, and there are many machines available for different exercices.

Gyms also provide different services such as group classes and personal training sessions. Some Trinity students choose to exercise with a personal trainer in order to achieve certain results and improve their technique.

We spoke to Jeremy, a certied personal trainer currently working at Fitness First. Jeremy currently holds a Certificate III and IV in Fitness and he gave us a few tips on staying fit during this cold season.

#1: Eat well

A healthy diet is an essential part of tness, especially in winter. Jeremy has 3 main rules of eating right:

– avoid processed foods, such as KFC

– prepare your meals as much as you can

– buy organic food as far as possible. 

Processed foods often contain too much sodium and preservatives, which may deplete your energy levels quickly. Preparing your own meals allows you to control the amount of salt, fat, and sugar, so you know exactly what you are consuming. Cooking at home is often much cheaper, too!

#2: Schedule in exercise time

When assignments start piling up, exercise is often relegated to the bottom of the to-do list. However, exercise could be beneficial for your studies!

Jeremy says some exercise can make students create better neuron pathways in brain, and as a result think better. He suggested that students can try to get into gyms at least 2 or 3 times a week. Half an hour of exercise will be enough, while 45 minutes is ideal.

#3: Use the right exercise techniques

People exercise for different reasons. Some want to lose weight, while others want to build muscle. Jeremy said that students can all do some forms of strength or resistance training, even if they are at home. Strength training allows for both weight loss and building muscle mass.

Strength training doesn’t need to be expensive, too. If you do not own weights, you can use two waterbottles or soup cans as a replacement.

How do you keep fit during wintertime? Share your tips with us in the comments box below!

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