Tips for Hot Weather Workouts
One of MoveRunPlay’s trademarks is that we go outside and move our bodies in any weather ALL YEAR ROUND. Every season brings its gifts and its challenges. And sure, there are some conditions that are simply not safe to work out in, so we don’t – dangerous air quality alert days! Floods! Hurricanes! But for the most part, even through rain and snow and bitter cold, we are out there doing our thing and having fun. Somehow, I’m always surprised every year when it’s the summer weather that gives us pause. Working out in the summer is tough! While the long, bright days make it easier to leave our houses, the heat and humidity are harder on our bodies than the bitter cold.
Why is it hard to work out in the heat? When your core temperature heats up, and your body works to cool itself, there is increased blood flow to your skin’s surface to allow heat to leave the body. This means decreased blood flow to your heart and muscles. As a result, your heart must work harder, and your muscles fatigue a lot faster as well. And if it’s humid, that’s even more taxing on your body: It’s not the act of sweating itself that cools you, but rather the evaporation of sweat. So when you have a day of, say, 80 percent humidity, the air is saturated, making it hard for your sweat to evaporate - there’s nowhere for it to go! So it just pools on your skin and makes it harder for your body to cool down.
So if you are out for a run on a hot day and your legs feel more tired than usual and/or your heart is racing, it's not in your head and it's not an indication of how “good” or “not good” a runner you are. It's because the heat is making your body work hard! Even if you are careful about preventing dehydration and heat exhaustion, running or otherwise working out in the heat can feel downright crummy.
But there are some really good reasons to do it anyway!
Benefits of HOT workouts:
1. It will get easier. The more you go outside in the heat and move your body, your body will acclimate and adjust, and the running will become more enjoyable (or at least bearable). That’s why runners who live in Florida, for example, already have a higher heat tolerance than those who live in Alaska.
2. It will make you a stronger athlete. Think of the heat as a training tool. Running in the heat is just like running at high altitude, or running up super steep hills. When you run in the heat you are training your body to do more with less oxygen. Your body will make physiological adaptations and as a result you can improve your VO2 max (how efficiently you are able to absorb and use oxygen during exercise), increase your endurance, and build your resilience.
3. It will prepare you for anything. If you are training for a race, for example, you never know what kind of weather you’ll have on race day, so it’s great to be prepared for anything. Running in less than ideal conditions (rain, snow, heat, you name it!) will make you mentally tougher and help you deal with challenges and adversity in all aspects of your life. Knowing you can do it will boost your confidence! And you CAN do it!
4. It will make you FASTER! You’ll run slower in hot weather because your body is working hard to keep itself cool. But all this work will pay off when the temperature cools down and it will feel so good to be able to run faster with less effort!
5. Post-workout cold beverage. =) Finishing a workout and then celebrating with your friends over a morning iced coffee or an evening beverage of your choice feels good any time of year, but it’s the absolute best in the summer! It’s worth suffering through a hot workout!
Tips for getting through hot weather workouts
Choose your workout time wisely: When it's hot and humid, working out will be much safer, more effective, and more enjoyable early in the morning or late in the evening when it starts to cool down. I know I have an early morning bias, but I do think you'll have fewer distractions, conflicts, and excuses early in the morning, plus the summer thunderstorms are more likely to hit late in the day, so I like to get my workout done first thing!
Try pre-cooling: Lower your body temperature before working out by drinking a slushie or something cold, or even putting a cold towel around your neck. (Or try putting your sports bra in the freezer before wearing it! I suggest this method every year and have yet to try it, but let me know if you do it!)
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. (But don’t overhydrate!) Drinking water and eating water-rich fruits and veggies throughout the day will help keep you from going into your workout dehydrated. But during your workout, do use your thirst as a guide for when to drink so that you don’t overhydrate and deplete your blood of sodium and other electrolytes.
Dress light (literally!) In the summer, it's best to run in loose-fitting, light colored, breathable clothing (and as little of it as possible. Choose comfort over modesty! )
Short and sweet is fine! Do short workouts (even 10 or 15 minutes can be effective), or break up your longer workout with rest and water breaks.
Listen to your body: Everyone responds differently to heat, so it's important to listen to your body. If you are out for a run, for example, go as slowly as you need to go, and don’t worry about how your pace measures up to previous runs. If the heat is really making you miserable, cut it short before it becomes dangerous to your health.
One other important tip for running in the heat is to slow down and let go of your expectations about your workout. It can be frustrating to feel like you can’t run as far or as fast as you could just a few short weeks ago, but there’s really no way around it – You’re going to move SLOWER in the heat. So just embrace it! Don’t worry about your pace. Don’t worry so much about distance.
And one last tip, at the risk of being a little preachy: Ease up on the air conditioning, please! Too much air conditioning will not only tax the power grid, but also hinder your heat acclimation efforts! Try keeping your air conditioning set a few degrees higher than you usually do. (It will still feel amazing compared to outside, it will help you acclimate, and it will help you do your part to go easy on the power grid, especially during heat waves this summer!)
DO get out consistently for some kind of movement – even if it's a short (10 minutes) jog or walk or a little outdoor yoga. Anything you do in the summer will make it easier to build endurance and speed in the fall.
Check out our workout schedule, and join us! Use the code FIRSTCLASS to try your first workout for $10. Hope to see you out in the park this summer!
