Exercising and Competing in the Heat--Safe Summer Outdoor Workouts

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For good acclimatization, exercise at least three days a week in conditions similar to those you’ll race in. If you can’t do this, avoid races held in the heat of the day. Early morning and evening training sessions will not fully prepare you for the midday heat. You’ll need to allow 10-14 days of slowly progressive exercise to adjust to the heat.

The benefits of acclimatization are less sweating at a given workload, and less elimination of electrolytes in your sweat. Are salt tablets necessary? Some research has shown the chloride in table salt can inhibit your body’s ability to deal with heat stress, so high levels of salt intake may not be necessary, or may even be counterproductive. You’ll get adequate salt intake from your meals, even without salting them.

Alcohol should be avoided because of its diuretic effect, causing you to dehydrate quicker. Wearing rubber or nylon sweat suits on hot days is an extremely dangerous practice. Presumably people do this to “sweat off” pounds, but this weight loss is fluid loss and is replaced as soon as you drink water.

Electrolyte replacements drinks are highly advanced these days, and lots of research has gone into their efficacy. However, watch out for the imposters that are simply loaded with sugar and no better for you than soft drinks. One problem that athletes may encounter with electrolyte drinks is that they’re too concentrated, making the athlete feel nauseous. If this is the case, dilute the drinks 100% or more to make them palatable.

Lastly, there is nothing macho or intelligent about shunning water on your racing or training efforts. This practice is detrimental to performance and can lead to heat injury.

Recognition of the signs, symptoms and treatments of heat exhaustion and heat stroke is half the battle to dealing with heat injury. Knowing them could save your life, or a fellow athlete’s life. It’s a good idea to be familiar with these guidelines to prevent unnecessary hyperthermia. Use these precautions to prevent you running into problems when exercising outside in hot and humid weather.

Roy Stevenson is an exercise physiologist with a master’s degree in exercise science and teaches physical education and exercise science at community colleges in Seattle. He set a New Zealand under 20 record when he ran a 2:42:28 marathon at age 19, and competed in New Zealand championships on the track, road and cross-country. He’s coached several hundred runners from around the Puget Sound.

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