I have been training outside up until recently and was just wondering how much the temperatue affects performance?
For example, I recorded sprints from 1 month ago in 90 degree weather, wearing only shorts which are 1 second faster over 50m than sprints I ran recently that were in 40 degree weather (with under armor on). Does the cold have that much of an effect or is it something else that is slowing me down?
same here.
Yes. Cold weather is bad news for speed.
It doesn’t really hurt me, then again I am in one pair of long spandex, one pair of short spandex, and sweat pants on. Leave your sweats on! I may also have a sweatshirt, t-shirt and or windbreaker on also.
I wear a ski mask when it is below 32 degrees F.
A couple of main things I can think about when training in the cold.
Then get into your spikes and do the workout. No excuses.
It has worked for me. I see almost no variation in time on a cold day. Remember leave your sweats on, this is the key. The second you take them off you can forget about the workout. Trust me.
Good luck.
I like to wear a beanie when it’s cold. keeps in plenty of body heat.
I also like to rub my muscles till they feel warm and to make sure that the blood is flowing into them. makes me feel more ready.
any thoughts about this??
Yes, beanie, do-rag, winter cap, preferably something that goes around the ears as well. Completely forgot to mention that this is a key element too. Depends on how cold it is outside to which style you might use. Nothing like being fashionable during sprint workouts.
Yes I like massaging the muscle, before, after, and during the workouts. Esp, on cold days!
Sounds Good.
i would like insight on this as i reside in vacouver which is the worst place for a sprinter to run in with the rain and coldness and the snow, sigh. I have underarmour however for now i feel fast, doesnt look like i’m going slow moving crisp and with some snap. Whats your experience mortac?
Leave the sweats on. Either way…
Your gonna put the same amount of effort in regardless of how cold it is while your sprinting. So even if you run 7.5 for the 60m on a cold day, you might have put a 6.9 effort in. Don’t go by times in cold. Even if you run in your underwear, your still accomplishing something. Trust me, do the workouts with sweats on, you will see what I mean. It won’t tighten you up as much and you will be running a lot faster, although, it will feel weird running with pants on.
So to recap… Leave the sweats on, don’t complain, dress appropriately, and realize that cold days you have to alter your workouts a little, but it is possible to see little variation in time difference.
Thats my take on it.
I understand the fact that being tough is cool. I used to wear the underarmour, sweats, ski mask, etc and runs sprints even thought it was so cold my feet would start getting a bit numb. Made me tough but didn’t improve my sprinting at all.
If it gets uncomfortably cold or snowy I’d rather see people do treadmill tempo and 20m sprints in a hallway somewhere.
Its not about being tough, its about being smart. Some people don’t have access to indoor tracks. Personally when I started sprinting with the sweat pants on I noticed almost no difference in times between the cold and warm days. Remember when Randy Moss ran 4.1 in 30-40 degree weather. Its not all that unbelievable. I doubt he was out there in just spandex. Thats all I’m trying to say. What is a 20m sprint indoors going to do for you. Seriously.
what about increased stroke volume while training in the cold?
numbing in the feet, whoa how cold were you training in mortac? I have’nt experienced that only rain and wind usually. I’m not trying to be tough by training in the cold. There is not much alternative to training around here, schools are to small and not many places other then school campus have an indoor hallway spanning great distances, if there was ppl would complain, and boy do they complain.