Tips for Exercising In Summer
Summer is the hottest and most humid season when the days are longer and the nights are shorter. Exercising in summer increases our body temperature that is already heightened by high temperature and humidity. This prevents sweats from evaporating and may cause dangerous heat stress and heat stroke in which the body loses its temperature control.
In summer, our motor capacity tends to decline and we can easily feel tired because the blood is focused in the skin to control temperature and the muscles cannot get sufficient blood it needs. Sweating also gets rid of water and electrolytes from the body and reduces the volume of the blood, sending less venous blood to the heart. This makes the heart pump less blood, and the body tries to make up for it by raising heart rates which makes us feel more easily tired.
Recommended Sports
In summer, water sports like swimming is highly recommended, but the most important thing is to do workouts you can really enjoy.
How to Exercise Appropriately
Aquatic exercise: Do warm-up exercise including stretching for 10 to 15 minutes before workouts. Take a ten-minute break after every 50-minute exercise.
Water sports: Make sure to wear safety equipment before playing.
Muscle building: Focus your routines on large muscles. Do 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps.
Related Injuries
Heat injuries are most common and include heat exhaustion, heat syncope, heat stroke, and hyperthermia.
Aquatic exercise and water sports may result in injuries such as muscle spasm and fracture.
Precautions
As you can get tired easily in summer, make sure to take a break more often during workouts and lower the intensity by 10 to 20% than usual.
If you do exercise at daytime, don’t forget a hat or a cap and put sunscreen on any exposed skin.
To prevent dehydration, make sure to drink water. When you feel thirsty, it means you’ve already lost water equal to around 3% of your body weight. Even if you don’t feel especially thirsty, drink a cup or 150ml of water every 20 minutes.
Also, limit your exercise to one hour.
To help cool down during exercise, wear something loose or functional workout clothes that help dry sweats.
To avoid heat as much as possible, try working out in the morning or in the evening.