Hot Weather Notice
We are looking at temperatures rising for the first time this year and it will not be the last before summer is over. Training indoors or outdoors, there are a handful of considerations to make sure you are protecting yourself, keeping safe and getting the most out of the session.
When it’s hot, the main concern is controlling a rising body temperature and understanding the actions needed to control or lower it. First, we need to get our head around that the temperature isn’t the only culprit for messing with us, humidity and exercise will make it harder to lower our body-temp too!
What happens when your body get hot?
To cool our body down we send more of the blood circulating around the body through to the skin, this reduces the amount of blood getting delivered to the muscles, which in turn then increases the heart rate as it works harder to keep up with exercise. We all sweat, it’s produced as a method of cooling down the body, but if the humidity is high, that sweat will not evaporate and body temperature will continue to rise.
How to get ready for summer workouts:
First you need to first get your body ready! We are lucky, the body is very adaptable and can acclimate to hotter weather. It’s important to give it the opportunity to do so. If you step out of your air-conditioned home or office and head straight to a sunny outdoor session or in inside the Box, take it easy on first few days back, it can take up to a couple of weeks for your body to adjust.
Next, be realistic about your current fitness level. Whether returning to workouts after some time off or new to fitness all together, taking it easy for the first few weeks is important to get your head around how capable you are. Your heart be working harder than normal to keep up with the demands as you learn new exercises, it will also be working hard to keep you cool as well. Things are going to feel tough, taking appropriate steps can keep you safe and give yourself time to adjust!
We hear a lot about staying hydrated. Having good fluid levels in the body are important, if they are the body will not be able to produce sweat at the right levels to help lower its temperature. Hydration is something to always think about, it’s not measured by the bottle of water you had before coming to the gym but how much you drank the entire day beforehand.
Ladies, we know you love your gym leggings and hugging tops, and gents with your compression leggings and tops. However, when the temperature rises you need lightweight and loose-fitting clothing to help that sweat evaporate faster. Thankfully, we love our colours, but avoiding dark colours ais important as they absorb extra heat. Keep your head covered as well in the sun, especially if you are a bit lacking with hair!
Once you have covered all the above and factored in any personal health consideration book onto the session time that will suit you the most, cool morning, hot lunch time or mellow evening. Remember, if you do not like the sun, avoid mid-day workouts if you can when the sun will be the hottest and brightest. If you can’t, protect your skin from a sunburn with sunblock, which although decreases your body’s ability to cool itself down does protect you from skin cancers.
Whether indoor, or outdoors, the concern for heat-related issues is real. Heat cramps, syncope, exhaustion, and heatstroke are all real concerns that our coaches are always keeping an eye out for during hot and humid workouts. We have all been trained and educated on the warning signs and quick treatment options to help our members in the event of an emergency!
Some things we look for, that you should be aware of too, if you start to notice them in yourself:
Muscle cramps
Nausea or vomiting
Weakness
Fatigue
Headache
Excessive sweating
Dizziness or light-headedness
Confusion
Irritability
Low blood pressure
Increased heart rate
Visual problems
If you experience any of these symptoms, stop working out immediately and find somewhere to cool down. Sit in the shade, sit in front of a fan, elevate your legs, drink cool water, pour cold water on your body – especially the back of your neck and chest, or sit an ice pack on the back of your neck or chest. If a coach notices these things before you do, listen to them when they instruct you to take a break!