How To Naturally Boost Your Immunity This Winter Through Exercise
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While you may want to stay wrapped up in fuzzy blankets with a cup of hot cocoa or ginger tea, exercise can help you keep in good health during the winter. A good immune system helps fight off viral infections, which everyone needs when colder months set in. Here’s how to boost your immunity this winter with exercise.
Get Your Heart Rate Up With Cardio And Aerobics
Cardio helps you keep a healthy heart, strong muscles and lung fitness. Moderate cardio exercises pump your white blood cells around your body, which helps your body find pathogens and fight them off. It also reduces the risk of high blood pressure, strokes, diabetes and heart disease.
Besides maintaining overall health, cardio is a great way to boost your immune system in the winter. Cardio exercise protects you from the effects of the cold and flu, and can help you fight off the symptoms. When you do cardio in cold weather, your immune system works harder, and is better prepared to fight off disease and infection.
Your body also pumps blood around your body faster, which keeps your heart in good shape. Additionally, cardio and aerobics can ward off seasonal affective disorder, which can cause feelings of stress, low mood and depression.
Some exercises you can try include
- Walking, hiking, running or jogging
- Treadmill or elliptical machine
- Dance workouts
- Jumping rope
- Team sports like basketball, football, hockey or volleyball
Try High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
If you have a full-time job or struggle to exercise, HIIT is one of the most time-efficient methods. A workout can be as short as 10 minutes and continue to burn fat and repair your muscles long after. It increases your metabolism for hours through post-exercise oxygen consumption, which can help maintain your overall health.
HIIT uses short, high-intensity bursts of exercise with low-intensity recovery. Some examples of a HIIT workout are:
- On a stationary bike: Half a minute of cycling fast with high resistance, followed by a few minutes of slow cycling with low resistance. Repeat 4-6 times to complete the workout.
- Using dumbbells: 45 seconds of each exercise with 15 seconds of rest — Romanian deadlift, kneeling overhead tricep press, plank to pushup, skull crushers, dumbbell marches.
Other types of HIIT workouts include activities like:
- Bodyweight workouts
- Boxing
- Rower sprints
- Battle ropes
Because HIIT is a powerful exercise technique, you must ease into it and do the workouts only once or twice a week to avoid overwork or burnout.
Relax And Detox With Yoga
The benefits of yoga are endless. The movements and breathing help you relax and ease your mind. Some of the benefits of yoga include enhancing immunity and reducing inflammation. Some yoga positions can help to balance and boost your immune system, and the practice can be used to fight oxidative stress to prevent damage to your cells.
Some exercises you may want to try that boost immunity and protect from cold symptoms include:
- The reclined cobbler’s pose relieves congestion and protects your sinuses and mucus membranes. To do this exercise, lie on a mat with a rolled-up blanket under your back. Bend your knees, bringing the soles of your feet together. If you need more support, use more rolled towels under your knees. Place your arms at your sides and hold for as long as possible.
- The fish pose strengthens your immunity by detoxifying your body and improving energy levels. It can also relieve congestion and open up your nasal passageways for easier breathing. To do this pose, start by lying flat on a mat with your knees bent. Lower your legs flat, elevate your head and raise your chest slowly, lacing your hands underneath your buttocks. Keep your chest relaxed, breathe and stay in this position for a few minutes.
Build Muscle And Immunity With Strength Training
Strength training boosts your immunity by building muscle. When you gain muscle mass, your body stores protein as amino acids. Your body needs 20 different amino acids to maintain good health and 11 of them are produced by a healthy body.
Amino acid metabolism promotes immune cell function and improves immunity. In other words, amino acids help fight off infections and protect against illness by producing white blood cells and antibodies.
Some exercises that build strength include:
- Squats and split squats
- Lunges
- Planks and pushups
- Deadlifts
- Calf raises
- Bicep curls
- Leg raises
You can do strength training at a gym or home — it’s up to you. If you don’t have dumbells, you can use old water bottles filled with sand and find a strength training video online.
You can also try something new, like visiting an outdoor gym where you don’t have to pay a membership fee, and using the equipment for exercises like pull-ups or ab work. This will also give you a chance to get some fresh winter air and socialize with people in your community. Who knows — you could start a winter fitness club and hold each other accountable for your health goals.
Tips For A Safe Winter Workout Routine
When you exercise, keep these points in mind:
- A good exercise routine consists of a few minutes of warm-up, the actual exercise, and a few minutes of cooling down and stretching after.
- Stick to a routine that feels comfortable for you. If 20 minutes of walking every day in the first few weeks is all you can imagine, that’s enough to boost your immune system.
- Always consult a doctor if you have any exercise-related mobility issues or pain.
- Consistency is key. Ten minutes a day beats an hour of overexertion. Eventually, you’ll be able to do more and sustain your energy longer.
- Pick activities you enjoy so you’ll stick to your routine.
- Remember — it’s not punishment but self-care.
Exercise is good for your overall health. In the snowy months, it can help boost your immune system, and protect you from congestion and infection. Prioritize a consistent work routine to keep your health in check this season. It’ll give you more time to enjoy cozy moments in wintertime without feeling under the weather half the time.
Mia Barnes is a freelance writer and researcher with a passion for holistic healing and healthy living. She is also the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the online publication Body+Mind magazine.
