The more intensive a fitness regime is in the winter, the greater the susceptibility to illness.
This means aerobic exercise aimed at staying healthy in the winter should be moderate-to-intense basic cardio training and people should avoid workout sessions that last more than 60 minutes, said Christoph Eifler of a college for health management and disease prevention in Saarbruecken, Germany.
Interval training is a good fitness option once or twice a week with at least one day of rest in between.
“When weight training is the chosen workout, the length of the workout session should be kept in check,” said Eifler, who leads the fitness department at the college.
In a training session that lasts more than 60 minutes the body secretes more of the stress hormone cortisol, which has a negative effect on the immune system and impedes regeneration, Eifler said.
For all types of sports one thing is certain: A high-intensity workout should be alternated with low-intensity workouts. This allows enough time for physical recovery.
If an infection sets in despite following this advice and wearing weather-appropriate clothing, avoiding people with colds and eating a balanced and varied diet, then the body should be granted the rest it needs to recover.
