Table of contents:
- 1. Know the signs that body heat has exceeded the limit
- 2. Make sure you drink enough before exercising
- 3. Do not exercise in broad daylight
- 4. Reduce speed
- 5. Wear the right workout clothes
- 6. Use sunscreen
Exercise in hot weather triggers heat stroke faster than normal temperature. Heat stroke is a condition when the body experiences a very high temperature increase and the body is unable to regulate this condition. Heat stroke is a life-threatening condition. Therefore, exercise during hot weather should not be arbitrary so as not to cause harm. Here are the tips for exercising during hot weather to be safe from heat stroke.
1. Know the signs that body heat has exceeded the limit
Before entering heat stroke, the body will experience heat exhaustion first. This is your alarm that the body must be cooled down first, do not continue exercising. If you keep pushing yourself, you might have a heat stroke.
When the body heats up, the blood pressure will also increase, the heart beats very fast, you can feel extremely tired, and then pass out.
One could not feel the core temperature of his body soaring up high. However, very wet skin and a very fast heart rate are some of the first signs.
Here are the signs and symptoms heat exhaustion what you need to watch out for:
- muscle cramp
- pulse that is fast but weak
- the body feels weak
- nausea or vomiting
- cold, sweaty skin
- dizziness and sometimes as if you were about to pass out
- dark urine
- headache
2. Make sure you drink enough before exercising
Sports during hot weather will make the exercise load heavier. This is because the body will heat up faster not only because of the training load but also because of the weather. This condition will greatly deplete the water and mineral reserves in the body which must be replenished as soon as possible. If not, someone is at risk of experiencing it sooner heat stroke.
From before exercise to exercise periodically fulfill your fluid needs. Try to drink it every 20 minutes during exercise. If you exercise for a long duration of up to 2 hours, meet your needs for fluids that also contain electrolytes of sodium, potassium, and magnesium.
3. Do not exercise in broad daylight
When the weather is hot, you should avoid exercising during the day so that your body heat can be more stable during exercise. Because, heat can slow down movement or performance during sports. The hotter it is, the less exercise you can do.
If possible, do sports before 7 in the morning or in the afternoon. If you are forced to exercise during the day, choose a more shady place to reduce sun exposure.
4. Reduce speed
If the ambient temperature rises very high, aka hot, do not force yourself to expend energy the same as when the temperature is not hot.
Also, be careful not to engage in the exact same exercise as your fitter peers. Do exercise at a steady pace so you don't run the risk of having your body temperature rise too fast.
5. Wear the right workout clothes
Sports during hot weather requires t-shirts that are lightweight and loose so that sweat evaporates easily. Clothing should also be brightly colored so that it does not easily absorb heat from the sun.
Choose clothes with materials such as coolmax, drymax, smartwool, or polypropylene which have small pores in the material so that sweat evaporation is easier, and the clothes don't lock heat around the skin.
Do not cover the body with excessive layers of clothing. When you exercise in hot temperatures, then cover your body with layers of clothing such as a jacket, the body will get hotter. Risk heat stroke even bigger.
Besides clothes, wearing a hat and sunglasses is also the right choice to protect the head area. Choose a hat whose material is not tightly closed so that your head sweats easily. Choose a hat whose material allows air exchange in the head area.
6. Use sunscreen
Before exercising, apply sunscreen aka sunscreen evenly on the hands, feet and body parts that will be exposed to direct sunlight. Using sunscreen is not only for maintaining skin tone, sunscreen can also help prevent heat stroke.
Exposure to too much sun can reduce the skin's ability to cool itself. Therefore, sunscreen is needed so that the skin's ability to reduce heat is not disturbed.
