Exercising during hot weather can be extra intense and even dangerous if you ask too much of your body. With hot weather, it is extra important that you pay attention to the signals your body is giving you. You definitely don't want to catch sunstroke or overheat. Therefore, train early in the morning. It's light very early in the morning and therefore the ideal time to exercise. It is still reasonably cool and you are still full of energy! In this article, we give 7 useful tips to make exercising in hot weather enjoyable and safe. Read along?
1. Don't start too fast
Start your workout slowly and listen carefully to your body. Also, take careful time for a good warm-up so your body can slowly get used to the temperature. Do you feel that you tire faster or that your body feels heavy? Then keep going at a lower intensity.
2. Drink enough
Drink enough. And remember: if you are thirsty, it is already too late, because you have already lost too much fluid. Did you know that you can sweat more than a liter of fluid per hour during a vigorous workout in the heat? Try to drink as much fluid as you expect to sweat out. You can gauge this better by weighing yourself before and after your workout, for example. Want to know more about this topic? Then read our blog "What happens when you drink too little water
3. Protect yourself from the sun
4. Dress
Wear airy clothing that allows evaporation of sweat to cool the skin. Also pay attention to the color of your clothing. Go for lighter colors. Because light colors will reflect the sun's rays and therefore absorb less heat. Dark colors, on the other hand, absorb the sun's rays, thereby retaining heat.
5. Beware of high humidity
Not only heat plays a role in summer. Humidity also determines how tiring it is to exercise. The higher the humidity, the harder your sweat can evaporate and the harder it is for your body to cool down. During exercise, you need to be able to sweat to cool down.
6. Eat more iron
Iron is a very important part of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is in your red blood cells and regulates the transport of oxygen through your body. When you lack iron, oxygen cannot be transported as easily through your body and you will run out of breath faster. Therefore, eat some more iron-rich products if you plan to exercise heavily on hot days. Iron is found in products such as meat, eggs, vegetables, fruits and nuts, among others.
7. Cooling down
Make sure you have a good cool down after you finish to prevent a sudden drop in your blood pressure. Drink and eat something to replenish fluids, minerals and carbohydrates and put on nice dry clothes. Want to know more about the importance of cooling down? Then read our blog "Don't forget the cool down
Pay attention to these symptoms
In addition to the above points, it is very important to pay attention to the following symptoms.
- Is your urine dark in color? Then your fluid balance is not good and dehydration may be present. Drink extra water to get this back to normal.
- Cramping (in the calves) can often indicate fluid loss and/or mineral deficiency too quickly.
- Cold shivers or goose bumps? Then it is important to stop right away. A brief explanation: when your body temperature rises on a hot day during exercise, your body automatically sends moisture to your skin to evaporate. That way you lose your heat and cool down. If you have not drunk enough, there is not enough moisture in your body to evaporate. Your skin becomes dry, you no longer sweat and so you don't cool off. Your skin then becomes warmer than the outside air. You therefore feel every breeze along your body and this feels "cold." As a result, you get chills and goose bumps. Take a thirst quencher with minerals and salt! Only when you are completely chilled can you possibly resume your workout. This story also applies when you feel nauseous, get a headache or get giddy. Your body gives these signals for a reason.
- If you notice that you have one or more of these symptoms, you need to get your body temperature down and drink something quickly. Stop your workout immediately and seek shade!
Check out our blog for more interesting workout related articles.
