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5 Tips For Exercising Safely In Warm Weather

Don’t quit your exercise class or workout routine because of the warm weather. Learn how to hydrate your body, what to wear and more. If your workout depends on the weather, that means you still haven’t found the one you really enjoy, and most importantly the one which makes you feel happy afterwards.
There are two big mistakes you can make when the weather is warm:
1. To stop exercising completely.
2. To exercise even harder, thinking that the more you sweat the more calories you will burn.
The first one is a huge mistake as without regular exercising your stamina will decrease, your body will get weaker, it will loose its firmness, you will sleep worse and endless of health problems might occur. 
The second one – to exercise harder – is a huge mistake because the extra sweating doesn’t mean extra calories burnt. That’s only water leaving your body, together with toxins and salts.
Let’s see now how to exercise safely in warm weather conditions
1. Body temperature
Our body has its own cooling system – sweating. When the body is overheated, it starts sweating to cool itself. Its job is getting harder when the temperature is high and/or the humidity is high. If we wear “stuffy” clothing, we put our body in a very uncomfortable, and even dangerous situation. So one of the most important things when exercising in warm weather is to wear cloths made of “wicking” fabrics. Keep uncovered as many areas of your body as possible, to let it “breathe” and cool itself.
2. Hydration
As discussed before, everybody should drink 2-3 liters of clean water every day – that’s without working out. Warm weather adds to this amount. Exercising adds to this amount even more. Make sure you start hydrating your body 2-3 hours before exercising, and then continue doing that during your workout. Of course, don’t forget to drink plenty of water after your exercise.
Try to avoid coffee, black tea before your workout routine. They dehydrate your body even more. Also, try to avoid sugary drinks. So-called ‘sports drinks’ could be also very dangerous due to their sugar and artificial additive content. These will all bring you to a sudden tiredness point. (See my article about the dangers of sugar consumption).
Mineral still water is the best, and it is advisable to take a good quality vitamin+multimineral supplement (this should be taken by everyone regardless exercising).
3. Food
Many people combine exercising with starving to get better results when trying to loose weight. Also, on a busy day it happens that we just “forget” to eat. In addition, when it is warm out, our appetite usually decreases.
Now starving should never happen on a day you exercise. It is very dangerous to exercise hungry, especially in warm weather conditions. 
That doesn’t mean you should eat a big plate of spaghetti carbonara right before your fitness class. In general, the time between a main meal and your exercise should be about 2-3 hours, depending on what you eat and depending on your metabolism (how fast your body digests the food you ate).
It is advisable to eat lots of veggies and fruits, as their water content is high, so they will help you in hydration, without that feeling of heaviness what you get after a ‘heavy’ meal.
In a nutshell: eat small portions, many times during the day, and only eat small healthy snacks before exercising.
4. The pace of your workout
You know yourself. You know at what pace you exercise in general. When the weather is warm, start it at a much slower pace and see how it goes. Then gently add some more. Don’t forget, even if we say “Sweat is fat crying”, you won’t burn more calories, nor more fat just because of sweating more.
If you are very fit, most probably you will be able to do everything at your usual pace. Make sure you re-hydrate your body afterwards.
5. Outdoor
In case you are exercising outdoor, in addition to the above 4 points make sure you protect your head and skin.
Exercising in warm weather is the same important as exercising in bad weather. You only need to pay attention on these small details, and you will be proud of yourself, you will feel and look healthy. 
My ZUMBA classes are indoor, with open windows/doors. We always drink a bit of water between the songs. And when the weather is warm, we have the feeling that we are at a Spanish beach-party! Click here to see locations and times. See you soon at the class!