Best winter kit - tried and tested

Hi, I’m Steve Quayle and I’m the Park Manager at BMF Croydon.

As the temperatures start to drop you'll want to keep warm when you are outdoors, however, keeping warm while you're exercising outside is something that far too many people get wrong. We're starting to see members start their fitness training classes with too much clothing on, then 10 minutes into the warm up, the outer layer of clothes come off and we hear that question…Can you put this in your daysack?!

When you turn up for your BMF outdoor bootcamp we recommend you put your bib on, but then put a warm layer on, like a jumper or fleece, just while you’re standing around before the outdoor bootcamp starts. You won't want to take it off, but it is strongly recommended. You'll feel the cold for the first minute or so, but once the warm up is under way you'll be glad you don't have it on.

A great bit of kit is a Base Layer Sweat Wicking t-shirt and shorts, worn under your normal t-shirts and shorts. These are tight, extremely light weight and do not restrict your range of movement at all. Base Layers hold you tight and compressed and are proven to increase blood flow and muscle support and help with muscle recovery. The sweat wicking mechanism draws the moisture away from your skin to keep you dry and the extra layer below your normal t-shirt regulates your body temperature. They can also help keep you cool in the hotter weather.

[LINK "http://www.underarmour.com/shop/uk/en/" "Under Armour"] have a large range of Coldgear Base layer t-shirts, long and short sleeve and short and full length bottoms, especially designed for exercising in the cold. Also recommended are the [LINK "http://shop.hellyhansen.com/US/section/?partner=6005&f_product_type=,Baselayer" "Helly Hanson"] LIFA base layer range. You could also try the [LINK "http://store.nike.com/gb/en_gb/?cp=EUNS_KW_NS09_UK_Google_B&#l=shop,search,c-300/f-792/ipp-48/pn-1/sl-base layers" "Nike Pro Thermal Base Layer"] range, t-shirt and long sleeve tops, shorts and tights.

Normal thermal underwear will give you the warm layer you need, but it is a lot thicker than the Base Layers and won't draw the sweat away and once wet will take a long time to dry out, keeping you damp and cold after the outdoor bootcamp.

Hopefully the above will help, so get to the shops quick!

Steve