Summer Heat: Exercising Safely Outdoors

 Summer Heat: Exercising Safely Outdoors

As you gear up for the coming summer months, you may start take into consideration the idea of exercising outdoors.  Outdoor workouts can be the perfect opportunity to refresh your mind, challenge your muscles in a new manner, and enjoy the warmer weather.

Plus, if you can spend some time outdoors for your summer workouts, this will enhance your motivation come the fall when it’s time to head back into the gym.

That said, there are some important things that you need to take into consideration when exercising safely outdoors.  If you don’t, you could be in for some problems ahead.

Let’s have a quick look at a few of the main points to remember so that you can stay safe at all times.

Hydrate Yourself Before, During, And After

The very first thing that you should be doing is making sure to stay very well hydrated.  If you aren’t hydrating well before the session and enter it already in a state of partial dehydration, you are definitely headed for trouble.

Always have at least 8 ounces of water about 30 minutes before you head off to work out and then another 8 ounces during the workout as well as after.

This will ensure dehydration doesn’t become a factor for you.

Wear Proper Breathable Clothing

Second, make sure that you also wear some breathable clothing as well.  It’s important that you don’t let yourself overhead as that is what will trigger heat stroke and cause fatigue to rapidly set in.  You want clothing to wear clothing that is designed to wick sweat away from the body, rather than cotton-based clothing that tends to trap the heat next to you.

If you can, also wear a hat while exercising as well as this will help to keep the sun off your head, which can also help to keep your body temperature down.

Understand The Beginning Stages Of Heat Stroke

The next important thing that you should be taking into account is what the initial signs of heat stroke are.  When you know what to watch for, then you can stay on the lookout should they begin to occur.

One of the first symptoms to take note of is a full-body fatigue sensation. If you feel fatigued everywhere and not just in a certain muscle group, there is a very good chance that this could be heat stroke at work.

Heat stroke tends to hit everywhere since it’s a central nervous system issue rather than just muscular, so this is why you’ll feel this way.

Second, you may also notice that you feel very light-headed and dizzy, so if both of these set in, that’s your signal to rest.

Stopping immediately at these initial stages will help to prevent it from becoming much more severe.

Exercise At Non-Peak Hours

Finally, the last thing that you can do to help avoid heat stroke is try and exercise at non-peak hours.  Rather than exercising mid-afternoon when the sun is the hottest, try and early morning or later night workout.

If you can exercise during these hours, the sun won’t be directly upon you so your chances of heat stroke are much lower.

Keeping these points in mind as you go through your workout program will help ensure you stay safe and that you enjoy each session that you do.