The summer is upon us and with the longer days and added sunlight, many people want to exercise outdoors. However, in many places, the sun, humidity, and heat can make people not want to exercise at all! Here are some helpful ideas to make getting off the couch easier and the thoughts of working out more appealing.

1. Choose the right time to exercise. If you are a morning person, get up earlier and hit the outdoors before the sun is overhead and beating down. If you are an evening person, make time to exercise right before sunset. These are the times when outdoor exercise will have the least amount of sun heat and you will be more comfortable exercising.

    

2. Change Your Exercise Routine. You may already know the benefits of cross training, and the added strength and stamina your body will receive from trying a new exercise routine. The summer is a great time to trade in jogging for doing laps in the pool, or for relinquishing indoor aerobics classes for outdoor roller blading.

    

3. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate. The most common cause of exercise related illness in the summer heat is the lack of hydration. It is mandatory to drink water before, during, and after any exercise sessions in the summer. If you are on a boat or in the sun for a prolonged period time, it is essential to hydrate, even if you aren’t exercising, as the sun will dehydrate your body at an accelerated pace.

    

4. Make Good Choices for Exercise Locations. If you can only exercise during the day when the sun is hot and the air is humid, then choose an exercise area that is shaded and cool. Air conditioned gyms, air conditioned rooms at home, and shaded outdoor areas will be easier on your body than exercising in the full sun.

    

5. Learn About Heat Related Illnesses. If you are planning on exercising outdoors in the summer, then you owe yourself the discovery of learning more about heat related illnesses and what to do if you experience any of the symptoms associated with these maladies. For example, if you start to feel dizziness, nausea, develop a terrible headache, or feel like you are going to faint, you will need to stop exercising, sit down, cool off, and hydrate.

    

6. Take New Classes. The summer months may be the time when you feel more energy, and you can take advantage of these energy spurts to learn new sports or to try something new. For example, maybe you would like to try ballroom dancing classes which will be indoors and air conditioned in most places. Maybe you would like to try handball, or indoor tennis, or even buy a Wii for indoor exercise sessions with a virtual hulahoop. The summer gives you an opportunity to explore and try new things.

    

7. Think Cool. The best way to get exercise and stay cool is to think about the cool places that surround your area. For example, you could get into a pair of waders and fly fish in the middle of a cool river, or you could do water aerobics in a pool. You could get a kayak and hit the rivers or go to the beach for a long swim.

    

8. Wear Sunscreen. If you are going to be in any amount of sun for any amount of time, you need to wear sunscreen. Put sunscreen on at least a half an hour before you exercise so the lotion can sink into your skin and not be removed by perspiration or water. Re-apply sunscreen every half an hour to get the optimal benefits. Sunscreen will protect your skin from aging, wrinkles, potentiality for skin cancer, and sunburn. There is nothing hotter than having a sunburn, so if you want to stay cool, use sunscreen.
   

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 1st, 2010 at 2:54 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.