It’s summertime and it is hot! That means when you are doing your training outdoors, it is important to take extra precautions. Working out in the heat can add another challenging dynamic to your training program. Heat puts additional stress on your body and can significantly impact your performance and recovery! Here are a few tips to manage the heat while still training for peak performance.
Overheating
When temperatures start to rise, risk of exercise-related heat exhaustion, heat stroke, or dehydration becomes a risk. This occurs when the body is unable to cope with the additional heat created during exercise, causing your body temperature to rise. This can lead to muscle cramps, rapid heart rate, headache and dizziness. In some more extreme cases, it can cause nausea, vomiting and even fainting.
So how do you train during hot weather while still avoiding any heat related stress?
Timing
Aim to train either first thing in the morning or later in the evening when temperatures and UV index are at their lowest during the day. The hottest part of the day is usually between 11am-3pm.
Stay Indoors
On those very hot days or when you can’t get out in the morning, take your training indoors. Ideally an air conditioned gym or even a pool would be ideal.
Hydration
Staying on top of your water intake throughout the day and especially while exercising is especially important for staying cool and avoiding dehydration or heat exhaustion.
Electrolytes
When you sweat, in addition to losing water, you are also losing minerals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. Along with hydration, it is important to replenish those minerals with an electrolyte on those particularly hot days.
Wear Light Clothing
Although this may seem a little obvious to some, it is not always intuitive. Dressing in lightweight clothing will help to wick away sweat and keep you cool and prevent any overheating from excessive layers.
Take a cold shower
Once you are finished with your workout, help your body cool off by taking a cold shower for a few minutes. As mentioned, when you exercise in that heat, your body can overheat leading to heat exhaustion. So by cooling off with a shower, you can lower your body temperature.