Runner in snowy landscape, symbolizing fitness and cold tolerance

Cold Shock: Can Exercise Give You an Edge?

Rhea Morgan in Health & Wellness December 2025 • 4 min read.

"Discover how physical fitness impacts your body's response to cold and what it means for staying warm."

We all react differently to cold. Some people seem to shrug off a frosty breeze, while others bundle up at the first sign of a chill. What dictates this difference? While factors like genetics and lifestyle play a role, emerging research suggests that physical fitness could be a key factor in how our bodies respond to cold environments.

Studies have long hinted that regular exercise can improve our ability to handle heat, but what about the cold? Scientists are now diving deeper into how fitness affects our thermoregulation – the body's system for maintaining a stable internal temperature – when the mercury drops. Specifically, they're looking at the connection between physical fitness and vasoconstriction, the process where blood vessels narrow to conserve heat.

This article explores the findings of a recent study investigating the relationship between maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max), a measure of aerobic fitness, and peripheral vasoconstriction in cold conditions. We'll break down how the research was conducted, what the results revealed, and what it all means for your ability to stay comfortable when the temperature plummets.

Fitness vs. Frost: Unpacking the Science

Runner in snowy landscape, symbolizing fitness and cold tolerance

To understand the link between fitness and cold tolerance, researchers recruited a group of healthy male students. The participants underwent a cold exposure test, which involved resting in a comfortably warm room followed by a period in a cold chamber. Throughout the experiment, scientists carefully monitored several key indicators:

Body temperature: Rectal and skin temperatures were tracked to assess how well the body maintained its core temperature and how much the skin's surface cooled down.

Oxygen consumption: Measured to determine metabolic heat production, i.e. how much energy the body was burning to stay warm.
Blood vessel diameter: The diameter of a finger vein was measured to directly assess vasoconstriction.
Aerobic fitness: VO2max was measured on a separate day to determine each participant's aerobic fitness level.

The goal was to see how these factors correlated and whether higher fitness levels were associated with a different physiological response to cold.

The Verdict: Can Exercise Help You Beat the Cold?

The study revealed a fascinating connection: individuals with higher VO2max exhibited a greater degree of vasoconstriction in response to cold. This suggests that fitter individuals are better able to constrict their blood vessels and conserve heat in cold environments.

Interestingly, the study also found that fitter individuals didn't necessarily increase their metabolic heat production in the cold. Instead, they seemed to maintain heat production at a normal resting level, likely due to their enhanced ability to prevent heat loss through vasoconstriction.

These findings suggest that physical fitness can indeed improve your body's ability to handle cold. By improving vasoconstriction, exercise may help you conserve heat and stay warmer, without necessarily needing to burn extra energy. So, while bundling up is always a good idea, staying active might give you an extra edge against the chill.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1186/s40101-017-0158-2, Alternate LINK

Title: Relationship Between Maximum Oxygen Uptake And Peripheral Vasoconstriction In A Cold Environment

Subject: Physiology (medical)

Journal: Journal of Physiological Anthropology

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Authors: Takafumi Maeda

Published: 2017-12-01

Everything You Need To Know

What is vasoconstriction, and why is it important in the context of staying warm?

Vasoconstriction is the narrowing of blood vessels, a crucial process for conserving body heat in cold environments. When the body senses cold, blood vessels, particularly those in the extremities, constrict to reduce blood flow to the skin's surface. This minimizes heat loss to the environment, helping maintain core body temperature. The study's findings highlight the significant role of vasoconstriction in thermoregulation.

What is VO2max, and what role did it play in the study?

VO2max, or maximum oxygen uptake, is a measure of aerobic fitness, reflecting the body's ability to use oxygen during exercise. It indicates how efficiently the body can supply and utilize oxygen to produce energy. The study used VO2max as a key indicator of physical fitness to investigate its relationship with cold tolerance. Individuals with higher VO2max demonstrated greater vasoconstriction, suggesting a stronger ability to conserve heat in cold conditions.

What specific measurements did the researchers use to assess the body's response to cold?

Scientists measured Body temperature (rectal and skin), Oxygen consumption, Blood vessel diameter, and Aerobic fitness (VO2max). They tracked changes in rectal and skin temperatures to see how well the body maintained its core temperature and how much the skin cooled down. Oxygen consumption was measured to determine metabolic heat production. The diameter of a finger vein was used to directly assess vasoconstriction and VO2max determined each participant's aerobic fitness level. The goal was to identify the correlation between these factors and determine if higher fitness levels correlated with a different response to cold exposure.

What was the main finding of the study regarding exercise and cold tolerance?

The study's primary finding was that individuals with a higher VO2max exhibited a greater degree of vasoconstriction in cold conditions. This suggests that people with better aerobic fitness can constrict their blood vessels more effectively, which helps them conserve heat and stay warmer. This correlation implies that exercise, which improves VO2max, can enhance the body's ability to handle cold temperatures.

What are the implications of the study's findings for those looking to improve their cold tolerance?

The implications of the study suggest that improving physical fitness, particularly aerobic fitness, can enhance your body's ability to manage cold environments. By increasing your VO2max through regular exercise, you may improve your body's capacity for vasoconstriction, potentially allowing you to stay warmer and more comfortable in cold conditions. However, the study was conducted on healthy male students, and the results may vary for different populations.