Cold Weather Training Risks, Advantages, and Recommendations for Athletes Over 50

By Tracey Drews,
CTS Premier Coach

As a female athlete in my 60s who mostly coaches endurance athletes between 50 and 80 years old (with a few above 90!), I am sensitive to the risks and advantages cold weather training poses for athletes my age and older. My goals are always to reduce barriers to exercise, keep athletes safe, and contribute to a person’s health and longevity. Training outdoors in cold weather can have risks for anyone, but there are special age-related considerations for older athletes. Here is the information and guidance I use to advise athletes I work with.

Top Priority: Exercise Year Round

My top priority is to help aging athletes stay active year-round. The research is reasonably clear that prolonged time away from productive training is detrimental to performance, healthspan, and ultimately lifespan. The losses (e.g., VO2max, muscle mass, bone density) from prolonged periods of inactivity get increasingly difficult to regain as athletes get older. Increasing opportunities for exercise is an important part of keeping people active all year, and that includes increasing the willingness and ability to exercise when it’s cold outside.   

Cold Weather Risks for Aging Athletes

Although working out indoors is always a good option, spending time outdoors is an important part of being an athlete for many people. To train outdoors safely in cold weather, older athletes should be aware of the following risks:

Cardiovascular Risks of exercising in cold weather

Every winter, some people drop dead while shoveling snow, in part because it’s more intense exercise than they’re accustomed to, and the strain on their hearts may be exacerbated by the cold weather. Despite being in much better shape, aging athletes are affected by the same environmental conditions. Aged coronary and peripheral blood vessels are less compliant and therefore less efficient at warming the extremities. Decreased skin temperature leads to vasoconstriction, which in turn contributes to an increase in blood pressure (i.e., +5-30 mmHg systolic and +5-15 mmHg diastolic). In addition, heart rate may increase by 5-10 beats per minute. When added on top of normal exercise demands on the cardiovascular system, this extra strain can contribute to cardiac events, particularly in athletes who have a history of or elevated risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Hypothermia risk for aging athletes

Older athletes may be more susceptible to developing hypothermia than younger populations. Hypothermia is a potentially life-threatening situation that occurs when body temperature drops below 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Although exercise increases core temperature, athletes exercising in cold weather are at risk for hypothermia when sweat cools or athletes are exposed to windy conditions or long downhills. 

Older athletes face elevated hypothermia risks because the mechanisms for body temperature regulation become less effective with age. As the hypothalamus becomes less effective, target cells that initiate shivering become less sensitive to the signal. As a result, shivering – involuntary muscle vibrations that generate heat – may start later and be less effective. Aging athletes may also have less subcutaneous fat (i.e., “thinner skin”) and sometimes lower total body fat to provide insulation. 

Frostbite – the freezing of skin and tissues, especially fingers, toes, hands, feet, ears, nose, and cheeks – is another concern that goes along with hypothermia. The same factors that increase susceptibility to hypothermia, like constricted blood vessels and less subcutaneous fat, can lead extremities to cool to the point ice crystals form in skin cells. 

Dehydration risk elevated for older athletes

Older athletes face increased dehydration risk from a range of factors. Diminished hypothalamus function can negatively affect a person’s thirst response, leading to lower fluid intake. Older athletes may lose water more readily as well. Certain medications are purposely diuretic, like medications to treat heart failure or high blood pressure. Others may be diuretic as a side effect. Even salt-restricted diets that are recommended for patients with high blood pressure can exacerbate dehydration if water intake is lower than necessary. And for some athletes, plasma volume and water storage in body compartments may be lower because of altered kidney function. 

How does an elevated dehydration risk relate to training in cold weather? Cold air is drier, which increases water lost through respiration. And in cooler temperatures athletes often consume less water even though they are still losing fluids through sweat.  

Increased Fall Risk in Cold Weather

All athletes have increased fall risk when conditions are wet or icy, or when obstacles like potholes are hidden by fallen leaves. Older athletes often face a higher risk of falling due to slower reaction times, slowed reflexes, degeneration of the vestibular center responsible for maintaining balance (inner ear), and diminished proprioception or body awareness. Normal age-related vision impairments can be problematic as well, including diminished depth perception and reduced sensitivity to contrast. And finally, older athletes may not have as much strength, joint mobility, and balance to make a correction that could save themselves from a crash.

Strategies to Safely Exercise in Cold Weather

Despite the risks described above, I encourage the athletes I work with to exercise outside throughout the year, whenever they feel it is safe enough to do so. Risk tolerance is very personal. Some older athletes choose to do most or all their training indoors, even if they are preparing for outdoor events. Others exercise outdoors as much as possible because enjoying nature is what motivates them to exercise in the first place. Most of the recommendations below apply to athletes of all ages, but they are particularly important for athletes over 50 years old, and very important for athletes in their 60s-90s.

Preparation

• Schedule outdoor exercise for the warmest part of the day.
• Split longer training sessions into indoor and outdoor segments. Start outside and come back before you get too chilled, then continue your session indoors.
• Choose activities that allow you to modulate intensity to reduce the chilling effect of speed and wind. For instance, hiking, walking, cross-country skiing, fat biking, and snowshoeing can be great workouts but are slower than road or gravel cycling and may be done in places that are sheltered from wind.
• Be aware of the weather report so you’re not surprised by rapidly changing weather.
• Have an emergency plan in case the weather deteriorates, you have a flat tire you can’t change because of cold hands, or you’re starting to exhibit signs of hypothermia or frostbite.
• Inform someone of your outdoor exercise plan, including your route, approximate time for return, and an “if I’m not back by X” time for concern.

Execution

• If you’re cycling, start into the wind and return with the wind at your back. Use your clothing layers to minimize the buildup of sweat as you ride into the wind. Zip up layers or put on additional layers when you turn back. Although riding with a tailwind is typically warmer, you want an insulating or wind-resistant layer to minimize chilling from sweat.
• Pay attention to hydration before, during, and after cold-weather exercise sessions.
• Protect your skin and lips. Remember, aging athletes have less moisture in their skin and less subcutaneous fat, so chapped lips and dry skin happen more quickly.
• Ride with friends. This is important in case of emergency, but also because having a person to draft can be helpful for pacing and staying warm. Plus training partners make everything more fun! 

Fueling

• Bring more food than you would in warm weather. You want fuel on board to get home more quickly. The consequences of bonking and slowing down are higher in cold weather.
• Electrolyte drinks and sports drinks are less likely to freeze than plain water.
• Stop for warm drinks at cafes or gas stations
• Invest in insulated hydration systems, whether that’s bottles or hydration packs with an insulated hose.
• Test out different food products to see which are palatable and chewable at cold temperatures. Some bars and gummies will damage dental work when they’re too cold. Try keeping food products closer to your body to keep them from hardening, even if this means inner pockets. It’s better to stop and retrieve foods that are edible rather than have frozen bars that are easily accessible.

Too Cold? Stay Indoors to Train.

Exercising outdoors in extreme cold or dangerous conditions does not earn you a badge of honor. There is no prize for being the hardiest athlete or the person most willing to endure hardship. You are not a weaker spirit because you choose to exercise indoors, ever. When my “outdoor-first” athletes decide it’s too cold to train outside (and everyone has their own definition of “too cold”), I encourage them to consider the following:

• Indoor cycling. My athletes ride indoor year-round, so taking a cycling workout inside onto TrainingPeaks Virtual, Zwift, Rouvy, or any of the other indoor cycling platforms is automatic.
• Indoor sports. Variety is increasingly important for older athletes, including weight-bearing activities for cyclists. I recommend sports that feature side-to-side or lateral movements, like pickleball, tennis, racquetball, and basketball. Not only do these sports feature lateral movement, but they also improve agility, cross pyramidal movement patterns, reflexes, eye hand coordination, and balance.
• Yoga/Pilates. These low impact activities are great for improving joint mobility, working accessory muscles that help with balance and proprioception, and building strength.
• Resistance training. Older athletes should be engaged in strength training year-round to counter the age-related loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia) and bone density (osteopenia). During colder periods, I often increase an athlete’s focus on strength training.

My Personal Take

As a woman in my 60s living in the mountains of western North Carolina, this is a subject that affects me personally. Each year I find I am a little less tolerant of cold weather cycling. My temperature cutoff to ride outdoors edges upward a little more each year. Right now that means a clear and dry day at thirty-five to forty degrees Fahrenheit is my limit. Colder than that, or cloudy/rainy, and I ride inside. I make an exception sometimes for mountain biking in colder weather because the woods provide protection from the wind and I can modulate my intensity to reduce sweating and getting chilled. I also tend to dedicate more time to strength training because I take sarcopenia and osteoporosis seriously. For me that means lifting moderate weights (2-3x/week) in multiple sets (3-5) and no more than 6-8 reps (not to failure). My goal with strength training is to encourage maximal tension to the muscle/bone structure. I also incorporate and recommend compound movements, which means exercises that involve several joints and activate multiple muscle groups simultaneously. To maintain and improve balance skills I incorporate 3-4 one legged mobility drills 2-3x/week which include yoga and pilates movements a few times per week.