Tips to have more vitality in our training sessions during the winter

Sometimes when temperatures begin to drop and drop, it seems that a feeling of dejection and a certain lack of energy floods us. Sensation that sometimes comes as a result of the body taking time to adapt to the lack of light and weather changes.

And it is that even, in winter, it could be considered that sleep is not totally restorative since despite sleeping the corresponding eight hours, many people feel the need to have to rest more .

The explanation for this lack of energy is attributed to the absence of light and the fact that serotonin (a hormone that acts by regulating, among other things, mood, sleep, appetite, heart rate, body temperature or sensitivity ) is influenced by daylight hours.

Therefore, in winter the days are inevitably shorter and we enjoy fewer hours of sunshine and in general the weather is not exactly optimal. These factors move many to a state of greater sadness during these months . To combat this state, a good solution is to have a healthy lifestyle by doing some type of exercise and eating a healthy and balanced diet.

And to be more energetic in our training sessions during these dates, you just have to follow these tips.

Tips to have more vitality

Do not stop doing any sport or exercise

The recommended thing so that your energy does not drop is to force yourself to do some exercise. Do something that motivates you and if it is outdoors better. It is a fact that outdoor training improves our immune system and, even more, some research carried out, such as that of the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, suggests that training in a cold environment can reduce the possibility of getting the flu by up to 30%.

With only 30 minutes a day of this exercise you will feel more energetic and you will fill with vitality.

Sleep the necessary hours

The ideal is to sleep for 7 to 9 hours to wake up with all the attitude and energy necessary to face the day. Much research shows that lack of sleep increases the risk of obesity, heart disease and other conditions such as diabetes. While you sleep, your body releases hormones that help repair cells and control your body’s use of energy. Think that you will be sleeping more than a third of your life, which means that sleep is biologically essential to live, and not only to improve your productivity and memory.

Eat well

To fight the flu and diseases typical of this time of year, it is important to eat properly. Even more so if you are going to do physical exercise. In addition to carbohydrates, fats and proteins, people who regularly do sports must meet their daily needs for nutrients, such as vitamins or minerals, essential to ensure a rich and balanced diet.

Fruit is a natural source of nutrients, and within it, kiwi stands out for being rich in fiber and having a high content of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Its high nutritional value distinguishes it from other fruits that we consume regularly, such as orange, apple or banana, among others.

And also the grilled chicken breast is recommended for athletes because of its high protein and low fat content and accompanied with vegetables such as broccoli, green beans, it is a great and healthy combination.

Don’t skip the five meals

Feeding regularly and at the right times provides your body with energy in small doses throughout the day, as it is key to maintaining high glucose levels and avoiding fatigue which causes hypoglycemia. Not skipping the five meals recommended by nutritionists is the most effective and important to get the athlete to have energy all day.

You will check that you follow that eating routine, the feeling of hunger or fatigue will not appear. The body is like a machine and when it runs out of energy it does not perform the same.

Benefits of training in winter

In addition to taking into account the recommendations that we have presented, also think that different studies tell us that running in the cold is not only not bad, but also beneficial. Running or practicing any sport outdoors when it’s very cold has many more benefits than you can imagine:

More caloric expenditure : when the thermometer goes down, our body consumes more calories, precisely to compensate for this thermal drop. According to experts, exercising outdoors in winter increases calorie burning by up to 30% more since in cold weather the body must work harder to regulate its internal temperature against external elements, and this is achieved by consuming more calories and part of the accumulated fat. So look at the positives of training in the cold!

More tolerance to cold: physical exercise is a good way to warm up our body through movement. This will increase your tolerance for low temperatures over time. Therefore, do not stay home because of the cold because you will warm up very quickly.

Stronger heart: Cold weather also strengthens the heart, as it causes it to have to work harder to distribute warm blood throughout the body. If you do sports frequently in winter, your chances of developing cardiovascular disease in the future will be considerably reduced.


Why do active people tend to be happier?

More and more studies conclude that “the happiest people are active people” (Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky, 2014), but why?

We all know that when you engage in moderate physical activity, there are a number of benefits with regard to fitness:

-Improvement of physical qualities: endurance, speed, flexibility, coordination, strength …

-Enables a healthier life

-Improvement of body composition (higher percentage of muscle and lower fat)

-Increases defenses, helping to protect against viruses and bacteria.

Now, are the advantages of sport reduced to a physical point of view? The answer is no, there is a long list of benefits at the mental and psychological level that are of equal or greater importance than the physical ones, and are the fundamental reason why most amateur athletes perform physical activity.

In any activation situation, the nervous system releases chemicals called endorphins . Endorphins have a analgesic effect that produces a momentary sensation of well-being and reduces pain . That is why, after performing a session of any type of activity that activates the body, we are going to experience that feeling .

If a physical activity is carried out with some constancy, this transitory feeling will last over time, becoming a lifestyle. Performing moderate sports in a persistent way gives us more energy and allows us to be at ease with ourselves, feel more healthy and more secure. Overcoming personal challenges at the sporting level improves confidence in oneself as well as the personal vision that each one has about himself and the ability to make decisions .

There is no doubt that maintaining an active life transmits happiness, but what happens if we take sport to the extreme, forget its nature and become obsessed with a goal? When happiness is determined by the sports result and not by the path traveled, the chances of achieving happiness through sports are reduced and a problem occurs. The activity transmits happiness by itself, it is an “end” that should not be used as a “means” to achieve the “end” that we believe will bring us happiness. Of course, sport helps us achieve certain personal goals, but not at any cost.

From Personal Running we encourage you to choose a physical activity that motivates you and that you value in itself, so that each day of practice is a day of enjoyment and that the achievement of the objective becomes secondary, implicit in the activity itself . In this way happiness is guaranteed and therefore the goal will be much more viable.

In the same way that sport favors the feeling of happiness, feeling the emotion of being happy improves sports performance, so the happier we are in carrying out a certain activity, the higher the percentage of success we will have in our sports goals.

Just as we take care of training, nutrition and rest, it is essential to work on emotional intelligence and put our emotions at the service of our goals, since the events happen, but in our hands is the decision of how to interpret them.

Everything there is to know about popular races

People outside the running world don’t understand what a popular race is all about. They see it as something strange, where thousands of “crazy” gather to run, cutting the streets of the entire city, obstructing traffic … and what surprises them the most is that on top of all that, they pay to run! A lot of people can’t explain it to you .

But when those same people go over to the other side and end up “falling into the clutches of running,” the prism is seen from a very different point of view. What is special about these competitions, or rather these sports “meetings”, to bring together such a large number of people?

Below we expose the different aspects that make each weekend more people fill the streets of the world to go running.

1. Environment

Everything that surrounds a competition of this type makes the atmosphere that is breathed different and special for those who live it. Hundreds or thousands of people come together to enjoy the same passion together. Excluding the few who fight for the top positions, the remaining 99% live it in a festive way and with the main intention of having fun and enjoying what surrounds such a test, together with the fact that they also seek, obviously, an improvement staff in said competition.

In addition, everything is usually taken care of to the millimeter so that the runner finds all the comforts and only has to think about running:

-Animation with music to entertain and motivate the runners before, during and after the race.
-Suppliers during and after the race to hydrate and replenish forces.

-Rider’s bag with gifts.

-Ropero to leave a backpack and run with the greatest comfort.

-Rider’s fairs with the latest news, discounts…
-Delivery of prizes, raffles, free services such as physiotherapists, podiatrists…

2. Social aspect

A popular race is a different and entertaining plan to do with a group of friends, acquaintances, with the group of co-workers with whom you share training … or simply to socialize and meet new people.

In addition, more and more competitions are being held to run as a team, either by running individually and then adding the times, running the whole group together at all times, or through relays. This increases your commitment to your teammates and increases your motivation both during training and on race day.

3. Self-improvement

A popular race is a great excuse to challenge yourself. Proposing yourself a challenge whose objective is a certain race, either simply to finish it, or to do it by trying to improve your brand or get a certain time, is the best option to keep your motivation active by having a tangible objective and with a certain date.

Fighting to achieve your goal, reaching that day and achieving it, greatly increases personal self-esteem. And in this context, seeing yourself participating in a test surrounded by hundreds or thousands of people, and on many occasions with friends, acquaintances or family watching the race and encouraging you behind the barrier, it makes the motivation that day go through the roof.

The fact of crossing the finish line and realizing that the work that you have been doing for months has paid off, causes a feeling that is very difficult to explain, and is the key point that makes people « hook »definitely to running.

4. Excuse to travel

Once you have experience in popular races and have completed many of them in your immediate environment, the challenge of overcoming different races outside your city often comes to mind.

This sup one to schedule a trip, with the main objective of competing in a popular race, but also with the double intention of sightseeing . This type of tourism is becoming more fashionable and you can see a multitude of people traveling around the world participating in races of all kinds: popular races, marathons, mountain races, triathlons, etc.

An example of this, and perhaps one of the greatest exponents of this new culture of sports tourism, is the New York marathon, where more than 50,000 people run each year, and more than 50% are newcomers. from other countries. And not only that, but there is such a great demand from people from all over the world, that the vast majority of people who want to participate cannot do so since the requests far exceed the number of available places.

5. Fashion sport

Running is an activity that is in fashion, this is a reality, and the greatest exponent of practicing running is participating in one of the massive popular races.

Why has this activity become so fashionable? It is mainly because running can be practiced anytime and anywhere. You do not need facilities to do it, you do not need a specific material to train or need to travel to a sports center, simply put on your shoes and go for a run. It doesn’t matter if you are at your usual home or going on a trip, you can always take some sneakers and your sports clothes and do it practically anywhere.

Socially and culturally, in recent years, people have been becoming aware of the importance of having a healthier lifestyle , and for this there is nothing simpler and more « cheap ‘than running. This, among other factors, has led to a real running boom in the last 10 years or so.

6. Social networks and technology

As we have said before, running is fashionable and highly regarded by society. Being an active person who does sports is highly regarded and valued by others. In this age of technology and social networks, most people use applications and social networks to save their workouts and races , see their statistics and their evolution, and share all this on the networks social with their followers.

Of course, all these sports activities are very followed by people and therefore, in a certain part, having a popular race also means showing off your best clothes and giving your best knowing that everyone is watching the result. In a way, for many people, this fact of being able to show what you do on social networks and have the approval of the people is, in itself, almost more important than the training itself or the fact of playing sports itself. This is what in the running world is called “posture runner”.

However, it does not have to be a negative aspect, far from it, but we have to take it as something positive that also greatly increases our motivation to try to improve ourselves, among other things, show it on social networks and have that recognition .

Listening to music improves physical performance

For many people, headphones are an essential part of their sportswear, with a similar importance to shoes or any other clothing. It may be thought that this factor depends on the habit, on the customs of each one, but the reality is that there is already research that shows, with scientific criteria, that music not only motivates , but also helps A direct way to improve sports results.

Choosing a list of songs especially suitable for physical work has notable benefits in performance. It seems hard to believe, but in this text we will present the results of a study carried out at the University of British Columbia that corroborate it.

Music and sport, much more than motivation

The importance of the role of music in sport is undeniable; however, it is normal to think that serves to motivate athletes and help them focus on key moments. It is not a negligible capacity, of course, but from TiendaCulturista we want to make it clear that music is much more important than that .

First of all, you have to identify what it is that allows songs to have such a direct influence on the human body. We are no longer talking about the mind, a place where it undoubtedly exerts a tremendously beneficial influence at all levels, but about how it modifies the body’s behavior . What, in reference to the state of mind, we call motivation and concentration, is called drag or induction in physical terms.

The phenomenon of drag can be defined as the natural desire of the bodies to match biological rhythms with the tempos and melodies of the music that is being listened to. Among these biological rhythms are functions as essential to sports performance as heart rate, blood pressure or pulmonary ventilation.

If these factors can be modified, it means that You can design a kind of musical strategy specifically devised to improve physical abilities and, ultimately, sports results. It is only necessary to discover more specifically what are the characteristics that the chosen songs must have to achieve a notable improvement.

The physical influence of music

For Matthew Stork , a researcher at the University of British Columbia, the key is in what he calls the “dissociative capacity” of music. According to this concept, songs serve as an element that attracts the body’s attention, diverting it from negative sources such as pain or exhaustion. And it is that, on many occasions, we begin to feel fatigue much earlier than we should because of fixing all our thoughts on it.

Beyond this phenomenon, Matthew Stork set out to find, in more detail , the physical modifications that music achieved in the human body during intense physical exercise. To do this, he gathered 24 subjects and divided them into three working groups. All would undergo the same training: some with music, some with talk radio, and some without any auditory stimulation.

It was no surprise that the people who trained with music stated have felt much more comfortable than the rest, but it was the result of the measurements made during the exercise. The heart rates of this work group had been higher than those of the other two, showing that the influence of music has a real reflection on a physical level.

In case this Besides, a Canadian university carried out research that pointed to another benefit of music, much more unexpected: training while listening to music makes the body more easily recover a heart rate after the exercise rest .

Choose the songs well

Music can make the difference between getting stuck in your workouts or start the path towards the improvement of your personal brands. Together with its motivational power, it makes it a factor with exceptional utility.

Once its influence has been scientifically proven , the task of each athlete is to design a playlist with the perfect songs. Tasks for physical activity . The decision is purely subjective, although there are some tips that can help. The main one has to do with the musical tempo, which should be around 130 beats per minute . To calculate it you just have to keep the rhythm of a song with your hand for 15 seconds, count the hits you have made and multiply them by four.

You can also search lists of songs with that tempo and, among all the hits. that there are —that are many—, choose the ones that convey the most to you. The motivational factor is very important , so do not focus all your attention on the technical characteristics of the chosen music, pay attention also to the influence they have on your state of mind when you listen to them.

Circuit to strengthen the arms at home

Good morning, family! The holidays begin today for a large number of people, who take advantage of the Christmas holiday to take a days off and enjoy with the family and the friends of these special dates. Stopping working for a week means, on many occasions, also stopping going to the gym , because the vacation mentality excludes practically everything that is not pure leisure.

Yes it is your case, don’t worry, because on the TiendaCulturista blog we have many alternatives to train from your own home , without the need for too much equipment. Specifically, today we will talk about how to keep our arms in shape during these days without a gym. For this circuit only requires a little space , as can be found in practically any room, so you will have no excuse not to carry it out.

The importance of maintaining toned arms

The arms are one of the muscle areas that many fitness fans insist on the most. Perhaps one of the main reasons is the good look they offer when they are well toned, but also the enormous usefulness that their strengthening has. If you think about it carefully, you are using your hands and arms continuously throughout the day, so keeping them in good shape has a positive influence on your daily activity . From opening a jar of chickpeas to moving a piece of furniture when cleaning at home, everything requires the strength of your arms.

As with everything related to sports, it is very difficult to obtain an optimal habit, but it is very easy to lose it. In this case, this reality is quickly appreciated, since the loss of strength in the arms is very noticeable, and it only takes a few days without training for this to begin to occur.

We are at Christmas time, which means vacations, family meals, dinners with friends, parties and a lot, a lot of leisure . Among all that fun it is very easy to forget about training , so there is a real danger of spoiling all the progress of the last few months.

The exercises for doing it at home are one of the best solutions, since they allow you to maintain a good state of shape without having to waste too much time going to the gym to train. Today we will explain a circuit specifically designed to tone biceps, triceps and shoulders , although it can also positively influence other muscle areas. The best thing is that you don’t need any type of equipment .

Circuit to strengthen the arms at home

Exercise 1. Sit on the floor and bend your knees to support both soles of your feet. Place your hands behind you and rest them on the ground just below your shoulders, fingers should be facing forward. Stretch your arms to make your torso rise off the ground and your buttocks are no longer supported. When they’re fully stretched out, slowly flex again as you lower your torso. Repeat the movement 10-12 times.

Exercise 2. Get into push-up or push-up position and bend your elbows while lowering your torso slowly. When you are down, support your knees and, using force with your arms, lift your torso first and then your knees to return to the starting position. Repeat the movement 10-12 times.

Exercise 3. Get into a plank position: hands and tips of your feet resting on the floor, legs and arms stretched out as far as possible, and back straight, forming a straight line from feet to head. Tense your muscles to keep that straight line. The movement consists of bringing your left hand to touch your right shoulder, return to the starting position and repeat the same with the right hand towards the left shoulder. Repeat 10-12 times without losing tension.

Exercise 4. Get into push-up or push-up position and bend your elbows to lower your torso slowly, until you are lying face down on the floor. At that moment, take your palms off the ground and stretch your arms as far forward as you can, prolonging the line that your body forms. Return to support them in the place before and stretch your elbows to raise your torso, finishing the push-up movement. Repeat 10-12 times.