The summer of 2021 came in sizzling, with June temperatures in
many parts of the United States shattering records, baking landscapes and
prompting those of us who usually exercise outside to question when, how — and
if — we should continue to work out in nature’s furnace.
اضافة اعلان
Helpfully, a group of exercise scientists wrote a comprehensive
scientific review about training and competing in scorching heat, in
preparation for the upcoming Summer Olympics in torrid Tokyo. Published in the
aptly titled journal Temperature, the review focuses on elite athletes — but,
the authors agree, the advice can be adapted for those of us training for a
summer fun run or charity bike ride or aiming simply to stay active and safe
outside until fall.
It’s too hot, so be strategic
When we exercise, we generate internal heat, which our bodies
shed by sweating and shunting warmed blood away from our cores and toward the
skin. If ambient temperatures rise, though, this process falters. Body heat
builds up. Our hearts labor to send additional blood toward the skin. We
glisten with sweat, and the same run, stroll or ride that felt tolerable during
cooler weather now drains us.
To sidestep these conditions, we can move our workouts indoors,
into air-conditioned comfort, or schedule them strategically.
“I would always
recommend the morning,” especially for city dwellers, says Oliver Gibson, a
senior lecturer in exercise science at Brunel University London and lead author
of the review. “In an urban area, it is likely that the concrete will have
retained a high amount of residual heat that will radiate back” at exercisers
later in the day, he says. Unshaded sidewalks similarly will be hotter than
parks and leafy pathways.
Aim for acclimatization
We also should accustom ourselves, slowly, to unfamiliar
swelter, Gibson said, a process known to exercise scientists as acclimatizing,
which involves working out sometimes, by choice, when the day is warmest. This
approach helps to condition our bodies to better cope with the heat. Once
acclimatized, we will sweat earlier and more abundantly than before,
dissipating internal heat better and leaving us feeling bouncier and less
fatigued.
Acclimatizing should be gradual, however. To start, slather on
sunscreen, fill a water bottle, head outside after about 10 a.m., when
temperatures intensify, and try to complete a gentler version of your standard
workout, says Carl James, a senior physiologist at the National Sports
Institute in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and co-author of the review. If you
usually run for 30 minutes, for instance, maybe jog for 20, and monitor how you
feel. If your heart seems to be racing, he says, or you feel lousy, “slow
down.”
After a few acclimatization sessions, you should notice your
clothes and skin are drenched, Gibson said. Congratulations. “Earlier and more
profuse sweating is a great sign that heat adaptation is taking place,” he
says. Most of us acclimatize after about five to 10 hot workouts, he adds,
although women, who tend to sweat less freely than men, may require an extra
easy session or two to be fully prepared for harder workouts in the heat.
Take a warm soaking
After each acclimatization session, head for the showers, but
dial up the heat. Standing under a warm shower spray or soaking in a hot
bathtub for 10 minutes or so after a sweltering workout prompts our bodies to
continue acclimatizing, Gibson said. “It extends the stimuli for heat
adaptation,” he points out, “and is therefore welcome and beneficial.”
Slurp a slushie beforehand
An icy beverage before a hot workout “will help with hydration
and provide a combination of perceptual and actual cooling,” Gibson said. Aim
to drink about 16 ounces of cold fluid 20 minutes or so before you head out.
Drinking closer to the session’s start could cause stomach upset during your
workout.
Slapping a cold washcloth onto your neck, donning an ice vest or
slipping into athletic undergarments that have spent the night in the freezer
likewise can up coolness (if not comfort) during hot-weather exercise. So can a
gentle misting of chilly water on your face or licking an ice pop, says Ashley
Willmott, a lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, England, and
another review co-author.
But these techniques can be risky, too, he cautions, because the
cooling effects are limited and short term, and potentially deceptive. “We
sometimes see people cool before exercise, feel great, then head out too fast
or hard,” he says, winding up prematurely winded and possibly on the cusp of
heat problems.
Recognize signs of overheating
If you feel nausea, headache, dizziness or cramping during a hot
workout, slow down or stop and hunt for shade, Gibson said. These could be
signs of incipient heat illness. (You can learn more about the symptoms of heat
illness and heat stroke at the website of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.)
Unfortunately, heat illness also clouds thinking, said Neil
Maxwell, a lecturer in environmental physiology at the University of Brighton
in England and the review’s senior author. “Your judgment becomes impaired,” he
said, and you may not realize you are overheating.
He and his co-authors strongly recommend exercising with a
partner in the heat. If either of you starts to feel “seriously hot or shows signs
of cognitive dysfunction,” he said, such as sudden confusion, get off the path,
under a shady tree or awning, and call for help. “Rapid cooling is essential
within the first 30 minutes” of such an episode, Maxwell said. Immediately
applying a cool cloth could help to start lowering body.
You might also protect yourself and your training partners by
the simple expedient of rejiggering your routes, Gibson said. “On hot days, do
shorter loops” than normal and include “a dedicated water station,” he suggests,
such as a public drinking fountain. Refill your water bottle there or stick
your head under the flow each time around. Plus, “if you are feeling the heat,”
he concludes, running in short loops “makes ending the session early more
realistic.”
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