Keep Sweating Through Exercise Even in Winter

Only exercise that makes you sweat can truly be called aerobic exercise. In winter it is cold and people do not sweat easily, so everyone likes to hole up at home (northerners call this cating through winter) and avoid exercise. This is why the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases is markedly higher in winter than in summer, and patients who develop such diseases in winter are also much harder to rescue. Tumor patients are also prone to recurrence or progression in winter; because of lack of exercise, immunity drops, they catch colds more easily, and some tumor patients even die from complications of a cold.

I have repeatedly emphasized the importance of aerobic exercise to the body, so I will not belabor it here. Many patients follow medical advice and exercise in spring, summer, and autumn, but exercise little in winter and eat more, piling on plenty of fat. Some people think the body stores fat in winter because it needs warmth; this view is wrong.

I have stuck well to winter exercise these past two years, cycling at least four times a week, and every ride makes me sweat. Because I choose a long stretch of uphill road, I sweat quite a lot during the ride. Thanks to regular exercise, I wear less than in previous years and my weight is slowly dropping, yet I am not at all sensitive to the cold. People who exercise often are far more resistant to cold spells than those who rarely exercise.

Winter exercise must be intense enough to make you sweat, and each session must last longer than in summer. So in winter you can exercise 3-4 times a week, 1-2 hours each time, keeping weekly exercise above six hours. You can choose cycling or running, or racket sports; at the same time, it is best to do 40 push-ups every day—this is very good for the heart. This amount of exercise basically keeps our body healthy and us full of vitality.

I personally do push-ups plus cycling. I cycle fast and often overtake electric scooters. Cycling uphill in winter does make you sweat, but uphill roads test the knees, so patients with bad knees should not cycle or run on uphill roads.

I have benefited greatly from exercise. In the past I gained weight in winter if I did not exercise; now my weight still slowly drops or basically stays stable in winter. I do not diet—every day in winter I eat meat or eggs, and I have a large appetite—but because I keep exercising, my weight does not rise.

The value of exercise lies in persistence. Only by exercising all four seasons does one immunity improve. Exercise for three quarters and stop for one quarter, and laziness easily rears its head. In fact, after resting through a winter, the motivation to exercise the following spring is also much weaker. Only by treating exercise as a habit through heat and cold can one cultivate a healthy lifestyle.

Having cycled for over two years, I love it more and more. Winter cycling also lets me enjoy many beautiful sights. I used to think northern winters were bare and gray, which spoiled my mood—unlike my hometown, which stays green even in winter. But these past two years of winter cycling have shown me many beautiful landscapes along the way, and my mood is very pleasant. So winter exercise also keeps me in a cheerful state.

If you want health, get moving! Do not make winter an exception.