Put the coat away and bust out the ultimate Frisbee gear. It’s almost summer, which means taking advantage of the beautiful sun and enjoying the warm weather while it’s around. Summer is a great opportunity to get out of the gym and take your workout outdoors. Here are some tips for enjoying the sun safely and comfortably.
· Stay hydrated. This one is a no-brainer. The increased temperatures will cause you to sweat more. In fact, if it’s extremely hot and humid, you can sweat as much as 7 liters throughout the course of a day. Drink plenty of water, and drink frequently. By the time you feel thirsty, you’re already in the first stages of dehydration. Eight to nine cups of water a day is the norm, but that’s in comfortable conditions with very little activity. Sports drinks can also replenish your body’s water and electrolyte levels (but some contain too much sugar!), but only drink these if you’re working out for longer than 40 minutes.
· Be aware of what you wear. If you’ll be exercising a lot, consider investing in sports apparel. Women’s and men’s sports clothing is designed to draw sweat from your skin to the surface of the fabric to expedite evaporation and cool you down faster. If you don’t have access to sports apparel, wear loose clothes to keep your sweat (and body heat) from getting trapped. Couple with light colors to reflect the heat.
· Hit the beach. The unevenness of the surface makes walking, jogging, and even yoga doubly challenging. The sand requires you to engage more muscle groups, giving you an extra bang for your buck when it comes to your time spent working out.
· Don’t forget the sunscreen. Extended exposure to the sun won’t just give you bad tan lines and painful sunburns. The sun’s radiation can severely damage your skin, speeding up the aging process and potentially causing cancer. That’s where sunscreen comes into the picture, but SPF ratings aren’t something most people understand. Don’t assume that higher SPF counts are necessarily better. An SPF 15 sunscreen blocks about 92% of UVB rays. An SPF 30 product blocks up to 97%. An SPF 45 product blocks up to 98% of UV rays. No product will block 100% of the sun’s rays, and the effects of all sunscreens wear off after a few hours. Stick with SPF 30, reapply often, and you should be fine.
· Try new things. Summer is as good a time as any to try new, more challenging workouts. Take a shot at aquatic aerobics. Register for a Pilates program at the gym. Learn a martial art. The sky’s the limit, and the warm weather means clear skies. Find new and exciting opportunities to have fun while you sweat.
Posted at: 02:26 PM
