Winter Gear Guide 2018

Winter can be the hardest time of year maintain or even improve your fitness. Sometimes the right gear or even the right plan is just the trick to get you through the cold months. We take a look at some of our favorite gear used by staff here at Athlinks

TECHNOGYM SKILLRUN

The winter offseason is for turning weaknesses into strengths. Taking advantage of SKILLRUN’s MULTIDRIVE TECHNOLOGY™, users can hone their Speed, Power, Agility, and Stamina by combining resistance workouts with running sessions all on the same piece of equipment. With simulated Parachute and Sled Training modes, the outdoor feeling is reproduced and leads to ideal training workouts focused on speed and power. It is no secret that many of us fitness enthusiasts struggle with coordination, but this can be improved with agility and cadence drills. Aided by the wider running space, this enables you to do multi-directional exercises and cadence variations safely and comfortably. SKILLRUN’s combination of skill-driven programs, real time feedback, and a running-specific design will give you the boost to improve your running technique and performance as you power through the cold winter months.

La Sportiva Uragano GTX

The Uragano GTX is a technical, lightweight waterproof Mountain Running shoe with an integrated gaiter designed for running in diverse conditions and a broad range of elements. The upper of the Uragano GTX has extended Gore Tex/Gore Flex comfort booties constructed of Airmesh with a Gore Tex membrane to offer a combination of breathability and waterproofing.  Under the foot, the Strobel board is a Gore-Flex which is waterproof/breathable and designed to improve run ability.  Quality and durability are both top notch. “When temperatures are lower and and wet increases as when I tested Uragano in the White Mountains of New Hampshire on a wet day in the 40’s, I experienced perfect temperature comfort and dry feet.” – Sam, RoadTrailRun.com

2XU COMPRESSION

Clothes that insulate your body prior to warm-up help promotes thinner synovial fluid in the joints so that they can hit a better range of motion faster, which lowers your risk of injury. Compression clothing that covers the most important muscle groups for your activity will improve your awareness of the biofeedback going to your muscles and connective tissue. That means your coordination, agility and surefootedness clicks into place quicker, and you have greater awareness of posture and body positioning. 2XU’s Elite MCS Compression has extra compression mapped to the key muscles for your sport, which will give you even greater biofeedback to the muscles during warm-up.

ROKA APEX 

The Apex line consists of a variety of shield frames and a dual lens model, all of which feature water and smudge-resistant Carl Zeiss optics, ultra-lightweight frames, and adjustable titanium core wires for a more customized fit. The frames also feature an easy to use lens replacement system and  GEKO technology, which is a textured rubber compound in the nosepiece and earstem to keep the glasses secure to your face. The lenses come in different colors and in different shapes. The SL-1x offers increased upward viewing area over their SL-1. “Regardless of the style, the glasses feature a wrap-around design, making them much more useful for runner, cyclists, and athletes participating in other racing events.” – manofmany.com

FITBIT IONIC

The Fitbit Ionic smartwatch has advanced health and fitness features like GPS, swim tracking, on-device workouts, automatic activity, heart rate and sleep tracking – all with 5 days of battery life. “The Fitbit Ionic is a comfortable fit on your wrist, and compared to a lot of modern smartwatches is particularly light – so much so that you’ll instantly notice how lightweight this feels on your wrist, which makes it a more pleasant to wear” – TechRadar.com

ORANGE MUD ENDURANCE PACK

Utilizing a highly breathable and durable mesh, this pack is here for the long haul. The entire structure has a good bit of stretch, but with the balance of maintaining form while allowing plenty of movement in this design. This pack is excellent for running, hiking, biking, and more. The key to fit is to cinch down the sides first, then adjust the front per your desire. The front harness has a lot of adjustability while being super stretchy too.

TrainingPeaks

TrainingPeaks provides the complete web, mobile and desktop solution for enabling smart and effective endurance training. TrainingPeaks solutions are used by Tour de France teams, Olympians, and age group athletes and coaches around the world to track, analyze and plan their training. By introducing scientific tools and methods that have become the industry standard, TrainingPeaks has revolutionized the way that coaches and athletes track, analyze and plan endurance training. Registered trademarks include TrainingPeaks®, TSS®, Training Stress Score®, IF®, Intensity Factor®, NP®, Normalized Power® and VirtualCoach®.

GU HYDRATION

High-altitude and dry air suck moisture from your body with every breath (even when you’re sleeping), so up your intake of fluids and electrolytes. Adding flavor + electrolytes to your water (see Hydration Drink Tabs) has been shown to make you want to drink more! When it’s cold and snowy, it’s a lot easier to drink hot liquids. Try mixing Summit Tea Roctane Drink with hot water in an insulated mug for energy and hydration on the go.

Have some favorite gear of your own? Let us know by giving us a shout on twitter: @Athlinks

Athlinks Staffhttp://blog.athlinks.com
Posts by the Athlinks Staff are authored by our in-house group of athletes and subject matter experts in the fields of performance sports, nutrition, race organization, and training.

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