The Best Ways to Beat the Oklahoma Heat

The Best Ways to Beast the Oklahoma Heat
(Without Sacrificing Your Summer Workouts)

It is summertime in the south, and it is hot outside! However, you do not want your workouts to suffer. If you plan properly, the summertime is a great time to improve your fitness and make some strides in your current exercise program. The extra sunshine seems to do wonders for our soul. Here are some tips to remember as you exercise in the heat of summer:

Choose the Right Outdoor Activities. Summer time is a great time to cross-train and try new outdoor activities. Try swimming, kayaking, paddling, windsurfing, water-skiing, running along the lake, or mountain-bike riding. Go outside the box and try a couple of new activities that you don’t normally experience.

Drink More Cold Water. Water is so critical to our bodies functioning correctly. Humans are made up of approximately 70% water. The brain is 85% water, blood is 83% water, our bones are 35% water, and the liver is 90% water. Water also plays a critical role as a lubricant in our joints, it regulates the body temperature, helps the digestion system, and helps to regulate metabolism. Cold water is absorbed into our system faster than warm-water, so it is recommended to drink cool or cold water if possible. One should drink half their body weight in ounces of water. If you feel thirsty, you are already 2% dehydrated. In order to prevent dehydration, check your urine color; if it’s dark in color, you are dehydrated. If it is pale in color like lemonade, that is a sign of proper hydration.

Exercise Early in the Morning or in the Evening. If you prefer to exercise outside, it makes sense to avoid the hottest, most humid parts of the day. The earlier you work out in the morning, the better. Otherwise, work out around sunset to avoid the blazing sun. The other option is to exercise inside the gym or the house where it is air-conditioned and heat doesn’t play as much of a factor.

Decrease Your Duration. Increase Your Intensity. Instead of going for long bouts of exercise in the heat, shorten the duration of your workouts and increase the intensity. In the heat it is better to do 4-5 days a week of 20-30 minutes of exercise using high intensity interval training than 3 days a week of 60 minutes. Stoke up your metabolism, wear your heart rate monitor, and make your workouts fun, efficient, and results-driven! The bottom line is that you get your workouts in.

Choose the Right Gear. When exercising or playing sports outside, be sure to be smart about your clothing. Avoid the following: black colored clothing, cotton fabric, sweatpants, and long-sleeved shirts. Nowadays, technology has created dri-fit clothing (shirts, shorts, and socks) all of which do a fantastic job wicking away sweat. This obviously keeps you cooler while exercising. By the way, excessive sweating does not help you lose fat. It helps you lose a lot of water weight that you immediately replace when you eat again. The idea you want to strive towards is to lose fat and minimize water weight loss. In addition, it is very important to wear sunscreen if you are out in the sun.

Wear a Heart Rate Monitor. The heat can drive up your heart rate. A heart rate monitor will help you informed of your heart rate. If you are on medication, this can also alter your heart rate and combined with the heat, it is important to track your heart rate via your monitor.

Know the Signs of Heat Stroke and Heat Exhaustion. During hot, humid weather, the body’s internal temperature can rise and can result in heat exhaustion or heat stroke. If not treated quickly, heat exhaustion can progress to heatstroke, which requires immediate emergency medical care and can be fatal.

Bring a Recovery Drink. Although it is recommended that you drink water throughout your exercise duration, in the extreme heat or if it is in long duration, it is recommended that you also drink carbohydrate-rich drinks while exercising. Examples include Gatorade, Power-Ade, Cytomax , etc.

Avoid Foods and Drinks that Dehydrate. Examples include tea, coffee, alcohol, and anything with added sugar or caffeine. Fruit juices are examples of drinks that have high sugar content and are not recommended. Again, focus on pure water. If you want to “spice” it up a bit, add fresh lemon slices, orange slices, or green-tea pure extract.

Focus on Fruits that have High Water Content. By focusing on foods such as watermelon, melons, blueberries, strawberries, pineapples, and oranges, you will be assured of getting great water in your system along with highly nutritious fiber and vitamins/minerals.

Be Aware that Pets Overheat More Easily Than Humans. Unlike humans (who sweat through their skin to allow for evaporation and cooling) the only way a dog perspires is through their tongue. Their skin doesn’t breathe, so it is critical you give them plenty of water and to also allow them to get some water on their coat.