How to exercise safely in the heat
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Did you know heat-related illnesses are largely preventable?
Do you have a daily hydration plan?
Coming up with a plan and prescheduling your workout (avoiding the hottest time of day!) is a smart move to avoid heat exhaustion.
It’s already heating up, Canberra. Let’s be organised for a hot summer. Understanding the signs of dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke is important when exercising in the heat. You want to be prepared before, during and after exercise. Not just while you are exercising.
Dehydration is often a gradual effect. Symptoms of dehydration are feeling thirsty and lightheaded, headache, excessive sweating, dark urine, fever, altered mental state, and fatigue.
Heat exhaustion can develop after several days of exposure to high temperatures and is a milder form of heat-related illness. It often happens where there’s an inadequate or unbalanced replacement of fluids. Symptoms include:
- Dizziness, fainting
- Intense thirst
- Excessive sweating
- Pale, cold, clammy skin
- Rapid weak pulse
- Nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps, fatigue
Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related illness. Body temperature may rise to 39.4 or higher within 10 to 15 minutes. This is an ambulance situation.
Symptoms include:
- Headache, confusion
- Elevated body temperature
- No sweating
- Rapid strong pulse
- Nausea, vomiting
- Red hot skin
- May lose consciousness
Yes, it’s important to be informed, educated, and understand the signs, however, prevention is the smartest option.
I chatted to ABC Canberra’s Drive presenter, Anna Vidot about how to work out safely in the heat. Here’s a snippet.
My favourite two hot tips for staying safe while exercising in the heat are:
1) Stay hydrated – before, during and after exercise.
2) Monitor the intensity and know your limits.
As a general hydration guide, if you are exercising in the heat for under an hour, at a low-moderate intensity it is recommended to consume.
BEFORE: two cups, two hours before.
DURING: sip every 15 minutes.
AFTER: within 15 minutes to 30 minutes have two cups (500ml); within two to three hours, have two cups (500ml).
Exercising in the heat can rapidly increase your core body temperature. Your body’s hydration levels are so complex that it is almost impossible to predict how much water a person should drink. Many contributing factors affect your hydration status – the type of activity you’re embarking on, your fitness levels, the outside temperature, the humidity levels, your age, gender, body size, and what you are wearing – to name a few.
Be organised and plan how much you should drink. I wear a running backpack that holds two x 500ml of water
Did you know it’s not too complicated to find out your sweat rate? Kate Freeman, from Ayla Health, believes “A good rule of thumb is to consume 1L of water for every hour of exercise. You may need more in hotter and humid conditions.” There’s no need for sugary sports drinks if you’re exercising for under an hour, at a low-moderate intensity. Water is enough. On a side note, for those endurance nuts, if exercise goes for over 90 minutes, you will also need to consider an electrolyte drink or supplement to replenish what’s lost.
How much you sweat is influenced by your:
- Size: larger people tend to sweat more than smaller people.
- Environment: you sweat more in hot and humid conditions.
- Intensity: you sweat more as you exercise harder.
Nutritionist, Kate Freeman says, “We tend to recommend that you replace the water that you lost plus consume an additional 50 percent (particularly in endurance sports).” Therefore, if you lost 600ml (sweat and breathing) over an hour of exercise, then you should consume 900ml for every hour of exercise you do to avoid excessive water loss.
You can find out your sweat rate by measuring your weight immediately before and after exercise (don’t drink anything or change clothes) – the weight lost over the hour is your sweat rate! Kate believes that if you do this a couple of times in different scenarios, you get an average that you can use to plan your fluid requirements when exercising.
Bonus hot tips:
- Avoid the hottest part of the day (11 am – 3 pm). Before 9 am and after 7 pm is best.
- Be organised. Create a training plan.
- Wear light, breathable clothing. Synthetic fabrics like polyester, nylon, and Lycra easily absorb sweat and allow for evaporation.
Being organised and planning ahead will get you out of trouble when exercising in summer. Personally, I always carry a water bottle on me, and whenever I get out of the car, I take out my empty water bottles, and fill them up! It’s the simple daily routines, that will prevent dehydration and heat exhaustion.
How do you stay hydrated?
Love, Kirra.
