• 27 November 2020

Exercising safely during winter months

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During the winter months, as the hours of daylight are shorter, getting outside in the morning or evening to keep active becomes more challenging.

Don’t let the darker skies beat you though. Simply follow these safety tips to help you keep active in lower light conditions:

• Carefully plan your route before you leave. Try to avoid any potential dangers and make sure you can easily find your way around your chosen route. Stick to well lit areas that you know well.
• If possible, take along an exercise buddy, but if you must go alone, make sure someone knows where you’re going and how long to expect you to be out.
• Take a mobile phone with you and make sure it has plenty of charge, credit, and signal (another thing to consider when planning your route!)
• As well as dressing according to the weather, it’s a good idea to avoid dark coloured clothing. Bright colours are great but high-vis is even better. You could even invest in some light up accessories such as a head torch, a chest torch or a vest with red LED lights.
• If you are walking or running alongside a road, it’s best to be moving in the opposite direction to the flow of traffic so that you can see what’s coming. Obviously, that’s not possible if you are cycling though!
• Always be aware of your surroundings. Find the safest places to cross roads and follow the rules of the highway code. If you wear headphones while out, make sure you can still hear what’s going on around you.
• If you have any existing health conditions, make sure you take along any medication, for example an asthma pump, or wear your medical ID bracelet.
• For solo walkers/runners/cyclists, it’s worth investing in an ID Tag/bracelet which you can personalise with your ICE (In Case of Emergency) contact details.

Stay safe and keep active!