Answer

By Anonymous

Senior sport scientist at Birmingham University, Eleanor Rogers says, “Going walking every weekend or as regularly as you can will be enough to let your body acclimatise to the outdoors this winter. While you are actually walking being cold is not usually a problem as you’re generating heat. When you stop for lunch however, there’s a few things you can do to help your body adapt.”

Perceived cold

Toughen up against cold lunch stops while you sleep. Your body temperature naturally falls at night so this is an easy acclimatisation fix. Aim to sleep at 9 deg C or lower by turning your heating off at night and opening a window.

Best build

Great news for short, bulky people; your surface area to volume ratio means you lose less heat while you munch freezing sarnies in the summit shelter. Tall people, you can hunch over and cross your arms to protect your core, or insulate your bum from the cold ground by sitting on your backpack.

Dexterity boost

Avoid tarring your gloves with eau de tuna sandwich by training your hands for cold-weather action. Walk to work everyday, and get outside as much as possible without wearing them and warm your hands in your armpits at your lunch stops.

Blood and core

The lowest temperature your body can be without conking out for good is 13.7 deg C. Keep your inner thermostat going by putting an extra insulating layer on as soon as you stop, even if you feel warm. You’ll be less stiff post-lunch as better circulation will provide oxygen and fuel to your muscles.

Stop shivers

Your muscles fight cold by moving to create heat, guzzling energy. Avoid lunchtime shivers by staying out of the wind and layering up, but if you do have a case of the shakes, replace your muscles’ glycogen stores with low-GI bananas and wholemeal tuna sarnies that release energy slowly.