Stay Fit, Be Comfortable

By Dr. Michael Cerami 

Sounds Counter intuitive right? Yes and no. Stay with me.

Staying active, healthy and fit does require effort and discipline but beyond the usual discomfort of pushing yourself, there’s no reason to add to that by not being prepared with the right clothing and equipment. This becomes immediately evident with the change of season we are currently in. If you dress to warm or too light you will be discouraged from continuing your efforts. 

via google images

The great thing is that with all of the advances in today’s technical clothing, you can be assured to find clothing that adjusts to your changing body temperatures and does an amazing job of keep you in the comfort zone. I recommend Salt Lake Running Company as a place to start as you can try clothing on for sizing and they have a great selection all year long. www.saltlakerunningco.com

A few thoughts:

Toss ALL of your cotton socks and t shirts.

     
     Cotton does not insulate and absorbs moisture which makes the cotton rough and then causes rubbing against your skin and can wreak havoc on your feet during a long run or even a long day at work. Wool or a synthetic blend will regulate heat better and be more comfortable. I even switched to wool dress socks at the office years ago and I wear them all year long. I love them.   

Know your perspiration rate

     
You don’t need to be super specific, just know how your body reacts to exercise. I perspire a fair amount which helps me cool down quickly so I always wear something on my head when running. I changed recently from a full cap to a visor after speaking with a friend who runs long distances. Having the crown of my head exposed turns out to be a big help in keeping my overall temperature down. If you are running with a cap now, maybe try a visor instead. It made a big difference for me.

      My body heat builds up pretty fast, so running with my dog Rita in the morning for the next 6 months means dressing warm enough to start in cool weather and knowing how much heat I’m going to generate later in the run (am I going long, or up hills) to wear clothing that’s light enough as I heat up. I also have less hair up top than I did in the past so I always take a light synthetic or wool cap (visor in the sun) when I run in cool weather that I can take off and stow in my tights without causing bulk. I’ve also come to learn my hands change temperature pretty quickly so I bring a very light pair of gloves on my runs that I usually peel off in the first mile and I can use them later if the wind picks up. Also, research has recently shown that the hands act as temperature regulators for the brains assessment of heat and cold so managing their comfort can affect your entire body.

Don’t be uncomfortable it you don’t need to be. Re-assess your clothing and see if it needs some tweaking and you’ll have more fun.

Thanks for reading.

Dr. Mike