How to stay motiviated when it's so HOT?

krazgrl
krazgrl Posts: 86 Member
in Motivation and Support
I attribute most of my weight loss to walking (and now running) during my breaks at work. Well, I went out today in 100 degree heat and couldn't wait to get back inside and sit in front of my desk fan and be in air conditioning. I can tell that this will really set me back on how long I stay out, how hard I push myself, and overall mental motivation.

What do you all do to stay on top of yourselves during the hot days??? Please pass along your tips!! :sweat_smile::sunglasses:

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    I get out early morning or go to the gym to take a spin class.
  • mommazach
    mommazach Posts: 384 Member
    I work out in the house to videos in front of the AC unit. I also go out early in the morning or late at night. There's currently about 40 degree difference in the mornings here, and it cools down considerably later in the evening. Also, I found a cooling towel at Walmart that I soak in ice water before I go out jogging. My current walks at work are laps around the conference rooms when it's not occupied, or around the stairways in the office. Last week was a 20+ minute walk outside that left my clothing stuck to my body, so inside it is... So far today I'm about 11,000 steps and haven't left the building yet.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    I'm trying to exercise outside at the cooler times of day or do inside workouts.

    Maybe you could go walk inside at a mall, museum, indoor track or just around the building you work or live in.
  • krazgrl
    krazgrl Posts: 86 Member
    edited June 2016
    Thanks everyone! I have a cool towel that saved me last summer. I started my more active lifestyle last September, so I haven't really had to deal with my new activity level with the major summer heat yet. I'm trying to get prepared since yesterday and today are miserable.

    I forgot to mention:
    I'm in southern CA - summers don't really cool down too much at night.
    My house has no A/C. (kill me now)
    My gym membership just expired. (I hate gyms anyway - I have a Bowflex MaxTrainer M7 at home but with no A/C....)
    The building I'm in at work isn't suitable for major walking expeditions indoors. (I typically walk around the surrounding buildings or in the parking lot).
    I work 6:30-5:00 with a 30 mile one-way commute. (I take my breaks at 9:30 & 2:30). Getting up any earlier than 4:40am is really tough and it's still hot when I go to bed around 9-9:30pm.
  • happygalah
    happygalah Posts: 343 Member
    Can you buy a small air conditioner?
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
    krazgrl wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! I have a cool towel that saved me last summer. I started my more active lifestyle last September, so I haven't really had to deal with my new activity level with the major summer heat yet. I'm trying to get prepared since yesterday and today are miserable.

    I forgot to mention:
    I'm in southern CA - summers don't really cool down too much at night.
    My house has no A/C. (kill me now)
    My gym membership just expired. (I hate gyms anyway - I have a Bowflex MaxTrainer M7 at home but with no A/C....)
    The building I'm in at work isn't suitable for major walking expeditions indoors. (I typically walk around the surrounding buildings or in the parking lot).
    I work 6:30-5:00 with a 30 mile one-way commute. (I take my breaks at 9:30 & 2:30). Getting up any earlier than 4:40am is really tough and it's still hot when I go to bed around 9-9:30pm.

    Seeing that you have basically refuted every suggestion, all I can say is either do it or don't. If the heat is an issue, stay hydrated and break workouts into as many small chunks as you can. Or go to bed half an hour earlier so a 4:40am workout doesn't seem impossible. But no one can change the weather, so you can either work through it or use it as an excuse. In the end, the choice is only yours to make.

  • Closerthanthis
    Closerthanthis Posts: 24 Member
    krazgrl wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! I have a cool towel that saved me last summer. I started my more active lifestyle last September, so I haven't really had to deal with my new activity level with the major summer heat yet. I'm trying to get prepared since yesterday and today are miserable.

    I forgot to mention:
    I'm in southern CA - summers don't really cool down too much at night.
    My house has no A/C. (kill me now)
    My gym membership just expired. (I hate gyms anyway - I have a Bowflex MaxTrainer M7 at home but with no A/C....)
    The building I'm in at work isn't suitable for major walking expeditions indoors. (I typically walk around the surrounding buildings or in the parking lot).
    I work 6:30-5:00 with a 30 mile one-way commute. (I take my breaks at 9:30 & 2:30). Getting up any earlier than 4:40am is really tough and it's still hot when I go to bed around 9-9:30pm.

    I am in Houston, and the humidity here when it was 99 the other day made the "feels like" temperature 117... so I know that feeling. I am struggling with it too. I am thinking about making friends with pools...

    But this last week, it's been so hot that I have been taking the stairs up to the 7th floor and on that floor, you can make a walk loop all around the floor. The problem is, I think if I do that too often, I might be distracting other folks who work on that floor. On my floor I can only pace back and forth between the fridge and my desk which is about a 50 step round trip, so I just go back and forth... I also pace up and down the hallway on breaks. I have a hula hoop and I have practiced on the ground floor in the entry way. I get some looks but it is tooo hot outside to be sweating in work clothes. I got the security guard to hoop with me once. :)

    Other than that, you could walk around at the mall... my grandma used to do that. Some malls have ice skating rinks? Or you could find a roller skating rink... It's pretty cheap if you have your own skates.





  • williammuney
    williammuney Posts: 2,895 Member
    Embrace the heat
  • Closerthanthis
    Closerthanthis Posts: 24 Member
    Also, doing yoga in the heat may be similar to Bikram yoga, which is done intentionally in the heat.
  • ElJefeChief
    ElJefeChief Posts: 650 Member
    Exercise bicycle + AC
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    edited June 2016
    It seems cooler when on a bicycle, it really does. I ride when it is hot.

    ETA: I'm in inland So. Cal.
  • wtliftchick
    wtliftchick Posts: 84 Member
    edited June 2016
    Slow down and embrace to heat! Or eat less and quit exercising. And but yourself an air conditioner! That's crazy not to have one in your area. Go on craigslist.
  • WickedPineapple
    WickedPineapple Posts: 698 Member
    Get a medium to large fan, aim it in your general direction, and go!
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Shorter but more frequent walks, early morning walks, Walk at Home videos (Leslie Sansone). Be sure you're drinking lots of water.
  • motivatedsister
    motivatedsister Posts: 544 Member
    It's getting hot here too, so I know how you feel! I second going to walk around the mall during lunch, I do that sometimes. Do you have one near your job? If not, even try Target or Walmart and just walk either up and down aisles or one big loop on the outer aisle.

    Do you have your own office? You can bring weights and do a light weight lifting routine or do some abs.

    I'm about to have to get creative too not only because of the heat...over the summer my afternoons and evenings won't be as free as they are normally. So I know if I want to workout as much as I have been, I'm going to have to sacrifice and either get up even earlier like 4ish or go over lunch. Do I want to...no! But it just boils down to how bad do you want it? The heat won't last forever or will my summer responsibilities. Being deprived or inconvenienced for a few months won't kill you and you'll be that much closer to your goal.

    Good luck!
  • krazgrl
    krazgrl Posts: 86 Member
    Closerthanthis wrote: »
    Also, doing yoga in the heat may be similar to Bikram yoga, which is done intentionally in the heat.
    I love this idea! (This is what I was trying to get out of this thread! lol) I'm going to try to get some of my coworkers to bring in yoga mats and we'll go to a grassy patch in the parking lot and do yoga on some breaks. Thanks!

    wtliftchick wrote: »
    Slow down and embrace to heat! Or eat less and quit exercising. And but yourself an air conditioner! That's crazy not to have one in your area. Go on craigslist.
    We just got a whole house fan for our wedding - now pricing out the install. A/C is super expensive to install and also cost so much to run! We have a room A/C that we use in our bedroom when we're desperate - but that's it! Fans everywhere. (That's what we get for buying a house built in the 40s).

    queenliz99 wrote: »
    It seems cooler when on a bicycle, it really does. I ride when it is hot.

    ETA: I'm in inland So. Cal.
    I've been looking into buying a bike to use when I'm closer to home since I live so close to things, it would be an easy bike ride. I just have to be careful with the sitting position since I've had back surgery and the more bent over I am, the worse it'll be for my back. Thinking a beach cruiser with gears.

    motivatedsister wrote: »
    It's getting hot here too, so I know how you feel! I second going to walk around the mall during lunch, I do that sometimes. Do you have one near your job? If not, even try Target or Walmart and just walk either up and down aisles or one big loop on the outer aisle.

    Do you have your own office? You can bring weights and do a light weight lifting routine or do some abs.

    I'm about to have to get creative too not only because of the heat...over the summer my afternoons and evenings won't be as free as they are normally. So I know if I want to workout as much as I have been, I'm going to have to sacrifice and either get up even earlier like 4ish or go over lunch. Do I want to...no! But it just boils down to how bad do you want it? The heat won't last forever or will my summer responsibilities. Being deprived or inconvenienced for a few months won't kill you and you'll be that much closer to your goal.

    Good luck!
    Thanks! I have my own.. cubicle! lol I already sneak in resistance band work outs in it but it's hard to be discrete. My lunch break is only 30min and I'm not that close to any major a/c building like Target/the mall to just pop over to.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    How will yoga out in the heat be better than walking in the heat?

    There are lots of short workouts on you tube that don't take up much space that maybe you can do in your bedroom. Jessica Smith tv has some to do in small spaces.

    I live in Kansas in a house built in 1910. We have small window air conditioners in the bedrooms and a larger unit in the living room. We keep blinds and curtains closed. We have some insulated curtains. It isn't too bad temperature or cost wise.
  • kaaaayla
    kaaaayla Posts: 91 Member
    I often lose motivation for working out, but I think I can make up for some of it in the kitchen. So when it's hot, I just think, "I'm going to be in shorts and a tank top this weekend. Do I need this cookie?" or I lift up my shirt to look at my stomach and think, "this extra helping of mac and cheese is not going to do me any favors when I'm in a bikini on the 4th of July."
  • krazgrl
    krazgrl Posts: 86 Member
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    How will yoga out in the heat be better than walking in the heat?

    There are lots of short workouts on you tube that don't take up much space that maybe you can do in your bedroom. Jessica Smith tv has some to do in small spaces.

    I live in Kansas in a house built in 1910. We have small window air conditioners in the bedrooms and a larger unit in the living room. We keep blinds and curtains closed. We have some insulated curtains. It isn't too bad temperature or cost wise.

    I figured yoga in the heat and SHADE is better than walking/running in the heat and direct SUN. I'll find out when I try it! :smiley: Thanks for the other tips!
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,741 Member
    I hope you can afford to get your AC hooked up soon! It's been 102 degrees here for the past few days, so I hear you on this one. My suggestion is what I do: a nicely air-conditioned gym, but you said that won't work.

    Personally, when it's this hot I lose my appetite so I just tend to eat less naturally. Plus, being full and digesting food raises body temperature and eating something hot doesn't sound appetizing at all. Of course, I'm NOT suggesting to drop your calories to an unhealthy level!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    krazgrl wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! I have a cool towel that saved me last summer. I started my more active lifestyle last September, so I haven't really had to deal with my new activity level with the major summer heat yet. I'm trying to get prepared since yesterday and today are miserable.

    I forgot to mention:
    I'm in southern CA - summers don't really cool down too much at night.
    My house has no A/C. (kill me now)
    My gym membership just expired. (I hate gyms anyway - I have a Bowflex MaxTrainer M7 at home but with no A/C....)
    The building I'm in at work isn't suitable for major walking expeditions indoors. (I typically walk around the surrounding buildings or in the parking lot).
    I work 6:30-5:00 with a 30 mile one-way commute. (I take my breaks at 9:30 & 2:30). Getting up any earlier than 4:40am is really tough and it's still hot when I go to bed around 9-9:30pm.

    Can you do a YouTube video or DVD at lunch time (maybe close your office door)? Look for "walking" workouts by Jessica Smith or Leslie Sansone. These are low impact and can be done in a small space. You won't bug anyone in the office next door. I do these during the winter....piles of snow and/or below zero weather.

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