Rowers are notorious for never letting up, even in extreme weather. It might be an early morning row in below freezing temperatures, or a cross-training run where the water has frozen over but rowers keep going. Still, some are concerned about the effect on the body of exercise in such extreme temperatures.
A recent position paper from the American College of Sports Medicine, reviewed in the New York Times, indicates that exercise in cold weather - no matter how cold - is safe, even for those with exercise induced asthma. Two key points:
1. The air is warmed to body temperature before entering your lungs - no matter how cold it is outside.
2. Those who suffer from exercise induced asthma need not fear the cold - or at least can now know that it is actually the dry air that accompanies cold that causes them stress. The effect in dry warm air is just the same.
The author suggests that wearing a balaclava will help by becoming moist and thus moistening the air before it enters the lungs. It is also important that asthma sufferers take precautions in dry warm weather,
