While exercising outside allows you to enjoy the sun and breeze, it has its setbacks, especially if the sun is too hot. Exercising in the summer heat and humidity will strain your body resulting in heat stroke, exhaustion, or extreme dehydration. Therefore, if you feel the effects of the hot sun, consider working out under a shade and hydrate immediately. Symptoms of heat exhaustion include weakness, headache, nausea, and muscle cramps. Fortunately, you can survive summer workouts with precautions, as this article details.
Tips To Survive Hot Summer Workouts
Despite your body’s cooling mechanism, you will likely overheat in hot conditions, but with the following tips, you will survive hot summer workouts.
1. Let Your Body Adapt To the Heat
However fit you are, your body needs time to acclimatize to the changes in weather, failure to which you risk heat-related illness. Acclimatization helps your body adapt to the operating temperatures, preventing shock during workouts. If you acclimatize accordingly, your body will take up more workouts for longer periods and maintain a lower body temperature despite the high environmental temperatures. To acclimatize effectively, start shorter workouts as the weather changes and increase the duration and intensity over up to two weeks.
2. Beware of Health Risks
While the summer heat will affect everyone regardless of their fitness level, age, or health concerns, the following groups have higher risks of heat-related illness:
- Individuals who work out infrequently
- Older adults
- Persons with preexisting health issues like heart disease
- Individuals with acute illnesses
- Individuals under diuretics and COPD medications.
If you fall under any of the above categories, take caution under your doctor’s guidance when exercising outdoors. Better still, consider indoor exercises with air conditioning.
3. Schedule Your Workouts for Cooler Times
During summer, the sun is hottest between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., and working out outside these hours is advisable. Consider an early morning or late evening workout where the temperatures are cooler. However, if you work out in darker hours, wear reflective clothing in a well-lit area to minimize risks of injury and accidents.
Besides the temperatures, consider the air quality, especially if you have a compromised respiratory system due to asthma or allergies. The air quality will affect the oxygen exchange in your lungs, and a compromised system will increase your risks of complications under poor-quality air. You can play safe by choosing times of the day when the air quality is good or reviewing your workout intensity or duration.
4. Stay Hydrated
During summer, water should be your all-day friend to stay hydrated. Consider sports drinks if planning to be out for more than 60 minutes. Sports drinks contain potassium and sodium, which are useful electrolytes in rehydrating and replenishing your body. To tell if you are hydrated, pay attention to your urine, including your frequency of peeing and the color. If well hydrated, your urine will be clearer than yellow, and your peeing frequency will be normal.
Besides taking water, you can hydrate by consuming water-rich foods such as watermelon and cucumber throughout the day.
5. Wear the Right Clothing
Wearing bright-colored clothing during summer workouts is advisable to reflect the sun, making you visible, especially if working out on pathways. Given the high perspiration rate, consider antimicrobial, lightweight wools to absorb the sweat and keep you dry. While cotton is a good absorbent, it is not ideal for summer workouts as it holds moisture and will stretch as you move, causing friction and blisters.
6. Protect Your Skin
Sun exposure is a major risk for skin cancer, and protecting yourself is advisable. Therefore, slather your body 30 minutes before leaving the house with an SPF 30 and above sunscreen. Reapply the sunscreen every two hours per the guideline, but if sweating, apply it every hour. In addition to sunscreens, you can protect your skin by wearing clothes with an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF). Wearing a visor or vented hat will also protect your neck and face if out in the sun for long hours.
The sun contains UVA and UVB rays, and prolonged exposure will affect your eyes, predisposing you to eye problems such as cataracts. Therefore, wear prescription sports sunglasses that reduce sun glare.
7. Avoid Eating a Big Meal Before Workout
While your body needs fuel to move, avoid big meals before heading out for any summer workouts. Digestion, like other body processes, requires energy to take place and will pull energy and blood to the system, generating more heat. This, in return, will make you feel sluggish. Therefore, eat large meals at least three to four hours before exercising and light snacks at least an hour before. Avoid eating too little, as you will lack the energy to stay strong throughout your workout.
8. Adjust Your Workouts To Suit the Weather
The risks of heat-related injuries increase with temperature and humidity, and adjusting your workouts depending on these conditions is advisable. During the hot weather, reduce your workout intensity by switching to lower-impact activity for shorter periods. Also, your workouts should have breaks in between to allow you to hydrate and allow your heart rate to fall. If you are a gym member, consider taking your warm-up and cool-down exercises in the club to reduce your time under the heat.
9. Know Your Limits
Your body will respond and communicate as you work out; listening to it will help you know your limits. For instance, if you start feeling nauseous, dizzy, or tired, give yourself a break. Overdoing your workout amidst these signals will increase your risk of injury and ill health. If the sun is too hot for your high-intensity workout, consider breaking it up into multiple, manageable workouts throughout the day to give your body adequate time to rest and refuel.
Final Thoughts
The summer season is a great time for outdoor exercises, but this comes with risks from exposure to the hot sun’s rays. As such, exercise precaution by acclimatizing your body, staying hydrated, avoiding eating before heading for your summer workouts, caring for your skin, and dressing appropriately. Finally, check with your local forecast before heading out for the air quality if you have a compromised respiratory system, adjust your workout time and intensity accordingly.