Working out in the heat

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Wophie
Wophie Posts: 126 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Good morning all!

Since Monday it has been extremely hot and humid here in the UK (for what us Brits are used to anyway! ;) ). I made myself do a 40 minute Tabata and abs workout last night, and struggled a lot more than I usually would!

Does anyone have any tips for getting a workout in while the weather is hot and humid? I know some suggestions will be drinking a lot of water during the day (my workouts are usually early evening), and I have increased my water intake from the usual 3 litres a day to around 5.

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  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
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    Is it possible to do them in the morning, even if it means waking up earlier? Evening is better than nothing, but I find that it gives time for the humidity to build. I can stand heat, but the humidity kills performance in my experience.

    Otherwise, as long as you're drinking enough to replenish what you lose in sweating, including electrolytes, your body eventually becomes more accustomed to a difference in temperature if you stick with it.
  • BodyzLanguage
    BodyzLanguage Posts: 200 Member
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    Like the above poster said, shift your workouts to the Mornings. That involves sacrifice buts it's a question of how bad do you want it, especially if evening workouts are impeding your overall productivity during the session.
  • Wophie
    Wophie Posts: 126 Member
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    vespiquenn wrote: »
    Is it possible to do them in the morning, even if it means waking up earlier? Evening is better than nothing, but I find that it gives time for the humidity to build. I can stand heat, but the humidity kills performance in my experience.

    Otherwise, as long as you're drinking enough to replenish what you lose in sweating, including electrolytes, your body eventually becomes more accustomed to a difference in temperature if you stick with it.

    Unfortunately I'm working a 7am start this week, meaning a 5am wake up as is. I also live in a studio flat so I would wake my partner who doesn't need to get up until about 6:30am.

    It is something to consider for the weekends, or if the weather is the same for my 10am starts next week - so thank you! :)
  • Wolfena
    Wolfena Posts: 1,570 Member
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    I agree to do your workouts either in the morning or at dusk or instead of a long one maybe take two short sessions per day... & be sure to have water with you!
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Don't do high intensity exercise - do something else instead while this 3 days of summer continues.
    Get outside and enjoy it - I had a lovely cycle ride at dusk yesterday, the airflow was enough to keep me from overheating (until I stopped!).
  • Redbeard333
    Redbeard333 Posts: 381 Member
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    On very hot days, I'll do my run in the evening, or even at night. I wear a reflective vest so I am more visible, and it's worked out pretty well for me. The only problems are oncoming car headlights making it tough to see where the uneven pavement is.
  • purplemoonpie
    purplemoonpie Posts: 25 Member
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    here in NC it is miserably hot and humid. I work at 7 am which makes it difficult to workout before. I have tried running in the mornings with a headlamp but I live in the city - and it's not so safe to be running around in the dark at 5 AM. When I get off at 4 pm, it is wretched hot. I tried running in the heat one day at this time, despite having water and being hydrated I did not feel good afterwards. I *try* to wait until evening but for me, getting my workout in as soon as possible after work is best. Otherwise I'll get into relax mood and not want to work out. Do you have access to a treadmill? It's not my favorite but a great alternative to avoid the heat. I do a series of inclines and HIIT workouts on the treadmill to maximize calorie burn and avoid getting bored.
  • berolcolour
    berolcolour Posts: 140 Member
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    I'm with you with the heat in the UK. I did and intervals run, not that I could tell because it was too hot to go fast/slow and was really just dragging my carcass about for 40mins. That was at 8pm!
  • Determinedtoloseliz
    Determinedtoloseliz Posts: 89 Member
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    I went for a run this morning and it was awful! Id say just do something not so high intensity. Or maybe weights with less cardio?
  • saragd012
    saragd012 Posts: 693 Member
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    I am in Florida, so even at 6am the heat and humidity is oppressive. A lot of the women I used to work out with have switched to working out inside, but I'm still trying to power through it outside. When I am doing HIIT workouts I take a liter of water with me, and a towel. It's still pretty terrible, but I manage. For running, I keep my runs limited to 30 minutes (which sometimes means running in the morning and again in the evening) and just hydrate as well as I can before and after.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    I just worked out in my furnace like flat (I live in London so we're getting some of the highest temperatures). Deeply unpleasant but doable as long as lots of water is drunk! So sweaty though, so so sweaty.
  • Bluepegasus
    Bluepegasus Posts: 333 Member
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    I wasn't going to run last night as it was so hot, but I decided to run to the sea front, swim in the sea, then run home wet. It was really nice!
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
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    Work to adapt to the heat. Many people over air condition their houses and cars. Instead, turn the thermostat up to just tolerable, spend more time outdoors, and let your body adapt. I do all of my exercise outdoors in the afternoons, and it's often in the mid-90s here with high humidity.
  • Wophie
    Wophie Posts: 126 Member
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    Bluepegasus wrote: »
    I wasn't going to run last night as it was so hot, but I decided to run to the sea front, swim in the sea, then run home wet. It was really nice!

    That sounds absolutely amazing! Unfortunately Hertfordshire doesn't have a coast line though ;)
  • Wophie
    Wophie Posts: 126 Member
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    Determinedtoloseliz wrote: »
    I went for a run this morning and it was awful! Id say just do something not so high intensity. Or maybe weights with less cardio?

    I think that's what I will do tonight when I get in. Possibly a leg set with short cardio intervals.
  • smotheredincheese
    smotheredincheese Posts: 559 Member
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    I'm in the UK too and normally go for a run at 6.30 am. The last few days it's been so hot and humid that it's been tough even that early in the day, so I've mainly just been walking instead.
    I've been taking walks after dinner too because hot weather normally means pretty sunsets which motivates me to get out of the house.
    I don't know how people who live in hot countries manage to exercise at all, three days of heat and I'm done.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
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    sunnybeaches105 wrote: »
    Work to adapt to the heat. Many people over air condition their houses and cars. Instead, turn the thermostat up to just tolerable, spend more time outdoors, and let your body adapt. I do all of my exercise outdoors in the afternoons, and it's often in the mid-90s here with high humidity.

    Yep, you can adapt, spend some time hanging out outside instead of hustling from a/c house to a/c car to a/c office, etc.
  • Here4Ponies
    Here4Ponies Posts: 116 Member
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    Hot and humid here also. I teach horseback riding all day on the weekends so I'm outside moving from about 7am to 5pm. I find an electrolyte supplement helps a lot. Look for an intraworkout supplement geared toward endurance athletes. Also, try one of those cooling towels.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    You will need more salt too, along with the water.

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