Cool weather is nice to workout in, warm weather helps you work up a sweat, but hot weather can make it difficult to even breathe while working out. So, what do you do? Do you workout at the same intensity as you would with cooler weather or do you take it down a notch?

Recent research¹ suggests that we need to understand that in addition to increased perspiration while working out when the weather is hot, the heat has a positive effect on an individual’s blood plasma volume.

This, in turn, helps the individual become more conditioned, reduce core temperature, experience increases skeletal muscle force, and train better in cooler temperatures. “Heat training not only does a better job at increasing VO2 max than altitude, but it also makes individuals better at withstanding a wider range of temperatures (Brown).”

Embrace the Heat

My gym does not have air conditioning and we are smack dab in the middle of summer with temperatures ranging in the mid 80’s to low 90’s. So, training in the heat is certainly nothing new. The important thing for me is to make sure my clients stay hydrated.

A lot of my workouts are circuit based to ensure everyone is taking drinks often during class. I keep the circuits short, but intense. I may have anywhere between 2-4-minute circuits that create enough time for Warriors to get their heart rates up, but give them enough rest as not to overheat. This creates more time to stay hydrated during their workouts.

When groups are involved versus personal or private training, there is a lot more overhead that is involved, so safety always comes first. Coolers of water and ice are kept in the building at all times. We have two big industrial-sized fans, along with water bottles, to spray the members during and between circuits.

To help individuals become acclimated to the heat, keeping the workouts at a moderate pace and increasing the intensity over time is important to help the body become accustomed to the heat.

Complete this circuit until you get down to 1 push up and 10 triceps dips. Stretch 10 minutes to cool down.

As you can see working out in the heat has its benefits, but proper planning and care is important in taking care of members. Many enjoy the additional sweat they receive but always plan with safety in mind.

Reference:

1. Lorenzo, Santiago, John R. Halliwill, Michael N. Sawka, and Christopher T. Minson. “Heat Acclimation Improves Exercise Performance.” Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md.: 1985) 109, no. 4 (October 2010): 1140–47.

The post How Safe Are Group Workouts in the Heat? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Heat exhaustion occurs when the body’s temperature control system is overloaded. Many factors can contribute to this, and a person can experience it even if their body temperature is only slightly above normal. The mechanism can be compromised and the body fails to cool itself, causing body temps to rise rapidly.

Though it might not be as serious as heat stroke, you don’t want to risk getting heat exhaustion, either. It is a small step from there to heat stroke, which can kill quickly. About fifteen years ago, I got heat exhaustion while driving railway spikes on the job. The heat index was over 125 degrees Fahrenheit. I was ill for several days after, and let me tell you, since then I can’t deal with the heat as well as I used to.

Good news is, being proactive and understanding how heat works can go a long way in preventing these problems. 

If this is where you have to train in the summer, you’ll want to keep reading. [Photo courtesy Pixabay]

Interpreting Weather Reports

Most people are aware of the wind-chill chart. In cold weather, low temperatures coupled with the speed of the wind cause the cooling effect, which means the temperature you feel is lower than the measured temperature.

Check this out (quoting the National Weather Service):

“Since heat index values were devised for shady, light wind conditions, exposure to full sunshine can increase heat index values by up to 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, strong winds, particularly with very hot, dry air, can be extremely hazardous.”

Training with little clothing in direct sunlight exposes you to a greater heat index by up to 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Additionally, strong gusts of wind can turn hot conditions into a convection oven. The wind multiplies the effects of the heat, just like wind-chill but in reverse. The wind and dry air suck moisture off your skin so rapidly you often do not realize how much you are sweating. This can cause a person to fail to realize they need to drink more water because they don’t feel sweaty.

Knowing the temperature isn’t enough. You have to take all these variables into account to make your training as safe as possible. Your local weather report might say it’s 90 degrees Fahrenheit. However, in your backyard it might be 100 degrees in the shade. So if you train in the direct sunlight with shorts and a tank top or no shirt, you could be exposed to a heat index of at least 115 degrees. That’s 25 degrees higher than the local weather report, and it can put you in danger if you are not extremely careful.

Here’s a handy chart to refer to to help translate all these variables. For those of us who live in a much dryer climate, use this version instead. Keep this chart handy or keep some sort of app on your techno-gizmo so you can track conditions. Even the northern states here in the United States can reach temperatures of 90-95 degrees Fahrenheit and higher. What people do not realize is that at 96 degress and a relative humidity of 65 percent (which is not rare in eastern states) the heat index is 121 degrees.

Training under such conditions is asking for a death sentence. Relative humidity of about 65-70% prevents the body from cooling by evaporation. So even at lower temperatures, higher humidity can exacerbate training conditions to unbearable levels.

Finally, don’t assume the local weather report of temperature is accurate for exactly where you are training. Temperatures can easily vary by 10 degrees across even a relatively small area of just a square mile. Buy a good thermometer and learn to use these charts. It can save your life or someone you care about.

If You Must Train in the Heat…

Now that I’ve discussed the scary stuff, let’s get into how you can continue to safely train in the hot summer months. Some simple tips:

• Drink plenty of water. Don’t be an idiot and think you can adapt to dehydration. You can’t.
• Use electrolytes.
• Educate yourself on hyponatremia and also hypernatremia.
• Train in the shade.
• Train indoors during the worst heat/humidity of the day. Train outside in the morning.
• Use a water spray bottle if the humidity is relatively low. This works really well for those who just don’t seem to sweat much and overheat easily.
• Soak your clothing with water in dryer conditions.
• Be intelligent and pay attention to heat-index charts. If it’s too dangerous to train outside, then train indoors.
• Cover up with loose-fitting clothing, which catches the breeze easier than tight-fitting clothes.
• Cover your head with a wet bandana. As the water evaporates, it provides a wonderful cooling effect, especially if you live in a dry desert climate like southern Arizona, where I live.

If you’re smart about it, you will be able to adapt to hot weather just as you would to cold weather. It takes a healthy person about 10-15 training sessions to adapt to higher temperatures. Take it a bit easy in your training for a while as you let your body adapt to the heat. Shorter training sessions can help, too. If you train three times per week for an hour each session, try something different if you train outside. Try breaking that down into thirty-minute sessions spread over six days. Thus, you can train outside with less risk of overheating.

Another option is to train 20-30 minutes in the morning when it’s cooler, then hit a 20-30 minute session later in the day. Spread the load out. Remember, not only are you dealing with the heat index, but you are also creating metabolic heat, which adds to the external heat load upon your body.

Train smart. Train safe. If you are a coach or a trainer, you had better know what you are doing and monitor your clients closely. And if you train alone, forewarned is forearmed. There is a time to push things and a time to play it smart and live to battle another day.

Next article, I’ll jump into some ideas for training through the summer.

Got a summer race coming up? You’ll want to check this out:

Success Strategies for Racing in the Heat

The post The Heat Can Beat You: Training Safe in the Summer appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Why These Workouts Are So Effective

Before I dive in, I want to explain how these workouts came about, and the reasons they are so effective.

I got married almost a month ago in the Dominican Republic, and it was amazing. I was down there for nearly eight days, five of which were before my wedding day. Seeing that I was on the beach with my closest friends and family at an all-inclusive resort, I found it somewhat challenging to stay lean and trim for my big day and to look great for my now wife. I had been training my ass of for the past eight weeks leading up to my wedding trying to gain as much muscle as I could, and the last thing I wanted to do while on my wedding vacation was to work out more.

These workouts are amazing because they fit my vacation checklist:

1. Each workout had to be under 45 minutes, unless I felt great and wanted to repeat a couple more rounds. I wanted to keep time to fish, swim, and lay around.
2. Each workout had to burn calories, as I was drinking rum, beer, and devouring food.
3. Each workout had to incorporate abs, lower back, and arms, as those are not only every man’s trouble spots, but also confidence booster as well (ladies, my now wife hit these workouts with me as well, and she looked fabulous).
4. Each workout had to use minimal equipment, or even none at all. I was in the Caribbean, and the last thing I wanted to do was have to spend hours in the gym instead of getting my fitness on outside (or at least quickly indoors).
5. Each workout had to be repeatable, even multiple days in a row. I literally did these three workouts twice each, nearly back to back to back….to back.

The Beach and Bodyweight AMRAP

This workout was perfect for doing on the beach with my wife, or by myself. All you need is a stop watch. That’s it.

Time Duration: 40 minutes

Type of Workout: Cardiovascular and Muscular Endurance

Equipment: Bodyweight and Mother Earth

Perform four rounds consisting of:

• 5 minute beach run/jog at moderate pace
• 5 minute bodyweight AMRAP consisting of: 20 squats, 15 push ups, 10 V ups or 20 lunges (10/leg), 15 burpees, 10 side plank openers

For the sake of variance, I switched every time between the two AMRAPs. You can view both AMRAPs below. (I didn’t shoot on the beach, since I dropped my phone in the ocean.)

Thruster Party and Bodybuilding Circuits

I was fortunate enough to have an archaic barbell located in the hotel fitness center, so I made do and got in a good barbell session.

Time Duration: 40 minutes (can add beach run afterwards if you like)

Type of Workout: Strength and Hypertrophy

Equipment: Barbell, Cable and Weight Machines

• Barbell Muscle Clean + Push Press x Heavy Triple

After that, my wife and I did a partner thruster workout. We loaded the barbell and completed five rounds of 10 thrusters in a “you go, I go” fashion.

Following both those workouts, we did a quick 20-minute EMOM of four machine exercises, trying to get challenging rep ranges of 8-12 repetitions.

• Lat Pulldown 5 x 8-12
• Machine Close Grip Chest Press 5 x 8-12
• Cable Row 5 x 8-12
• Machine Bicep Curl 5 x 8-12

The Solo Dumbbell Session

This was arguably the hardest workout for me. Maybe it was because I chose to do it outdoors in the heat, or maybe because I did this after a long night of drinking. Whatever the case, it was a calorie blaster, and it left me with one insane pump.

Time Duration: 30 minutes (can add beach run afterwards if you like)

Type of Workout: Metabolic Conditioning

Equipment: Dumbbell (one only)

Perform the following list as a 30 minute AMRAP:

• Burpees x 10
• Single Arm Dumbbell Snatch x 10/side
• Single Arm Dumbbell Front Squat x 10/side
• Single Arm Dumbbell Push Press x 10/side

Get Results No Matter Where You Are

No matter where you are, there are always ways you can be creative to build your own workout program. I recommend scoping out your facilities or environment on day one, and get out a pad of paper. Do the things you love to do (arms, cleans, etc.) and then add some things you don’t like to do but you know are good for you (running and metcons). Regardless, doing anything is better than nothing on vacation, so take what your body gives you and do your best to train hard.

More on maintaining goals during travel:

Stay on Track While Traveling

Headline image courtesy of Pixabay.

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