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Extreme(ly Hot) Exercise Tips: Eight Ways to Safely Work Out When the Mercury Rises…and Rises…and Rises
Hot weather workouts come with their own challenges, but they are soooo worth the effort, says fitness expert Thomas B. Gilliam, Ph.D. Here, he explains how to stay safe while you’re sweating through the summer.
Hudson, OH (July 2008)—The sun beats down relentlessly. Temperatures have hovered near “oven” territory for weeks. Some days, even the AC struggles to draw a cool breath. But rain or shine (and it’s usually shine!), you’re outside hoofing it on your daily walk. Yes, just like the U.S. Postal Service, the truly dedicated walker refuses to let less-than-ideal climate conditions prevent the swift completion of her appointed rounds! If you can relate, Thomas B. Gilliam, Ph.D., has two things to say to you: 1) congrats on your willpower, and 2) whatever you do, make sure you stay safe this summer!
“Whether you walk, run, hike, bike, or pursue some other form of physical activity, you must take safety precautions during the hottest part of summer,” asserts Gilliam, coauthor (along with Jane Neill, R.D., L.D.) of Move It. Lose It. Live Healthy.: The Simple Truth About Achieving & Maintaining a Healthy Body Weight (Move It. Lose It. Live Healthy., LLC, 2008, ISBN-13: 978-0-9762703-5-5, ISBN-10: 0-9762703-5-8, $19.95). “Most people know intellectually that they need to drink more water, for example, but you’d be surprised how few of them are really doing all they need to do.”
Gilliam says the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) issued a position statement on Exercise and Fluid Replacement in its February 2007 journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. This 14-page document goes into great detail about the proper rehydration of the body during extreme heat conditions while performing physical activity.
“While the ACSM piece is mostly geared to the athlete in training, its advice applies to anyone who exercises in the summer, including casual walkers, kids who play on summer softball teams, and anyone who does physically demanding work outdoors,” Gilliam points out. “It’s better to take too many precautions than too few.”
He offers the following insights and tips—some of them inspired by the ACSM position statement—for anyone who exercises in the heat:
Know the frightening facts about dehydration. “Anyone can get dehydrated, but children, women, and older and overweight individuals are particularly susceptible,” says Gilliam. “When we exercise, we sweat, and sweat is the loss of fluid and many electrolytes critical to normal physiological function: potassium, sodium, calcium, and chloride, for instance.
“Dehydration is extremely dangerous,” he adds. “The worst-case scenario is heat stroke. If left untreated, heat stroke can lead to death. But there are other concerns, too, such as muscle cramping and the breakdown of muscle tissue.”
Do regular “hydration checks.” Don’t just assume you’re hydrated enough simply because you aren’t feeling particularly thirsty. It is quite possible to be dehydrated and have no discernible thirst. Gilliam suggests you regularly monitor your hydration status (and that of your kids) in the following ways:
• Urine assessment: If the volume of urine is diminished and is a deep yellow, you are either dehydrated or becoming dehydrated.
• Weight check: During extreme temperatures, weigh yourself daily, advises Gilliam. A loss of more than 2 percent of your body weight following an exercise routine is a loss of fluid. (Yes, you may be trying to lose weight, but it takes time to lose “fat weight.” It will happen gradually, not suddenly, even in the heat of summer.) If the “fluid weight” is not replenished before your next exercise routine, you are more susceptible to dehydration. Therefore, don’t return to the exercise routine until your body weight returns to the pre-exercise level.
“This is extremely important for young athletes participating in fall sports with summer drills and pre-season games,” says Gilliam. “Weigh your child each morning. If a weight loss is occurring immediately following a workout, your child is becoming dehydrated, and you should keep him or her out of the activity until the weight returns.”
Drink up! Drink plenty of fluids before, during, and after your exercise routine. If you are training in extreme heat, a sports drink might be appropriate because of the electrolytes it contains. However, if you are a casual walker, drink water. Remember, says Gilliam, there are calories in a sports drink. It is conceivable the amount of calories expended in your walk could be less than the calories consumed from the sports drink.
“It is recommended that you drink about 16 ounces of fluid just prior to your workout, then drink small quantities during your workout, then another 16 ounces after your workout,” says Gilliam. “Remember that your body does not monitor thirst very well, which is why it’s important to consume the fluids even if you are not thirsty.”
If you must have a sports drink, cut it in half. “If you do elect to consume a sports drink, dilute it with one part water to one part sports drink,” suggests Gilliam. “The reason is the sugar in the sports drink may slow the reabsorption of fluid back into the digestive tract. This is especially important with children, and after all, they’re the ones who usually beg for the ‘blue drink’ or the ‘red drink.’ And yes, adding water also reduces the number of calories consumed.
“For most individuals, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables will provide you all the electrolytes lost during your exercise routine,” he adds. “Many processed foods contain plenty of sodium and chloride. So really, the average person doesn’t need sports drinks at all.”
Lay off the caffeine and alcohol. You may be tempted to drink several cups of coffee to get revved up for your morning run, or maybe enjoy a few icy beers when you’re painting your house in the heat of August. Avoid temptation, says Gilliam. “Caffeine and alcohol may have a negative effect on fluid retention or rehydration,” he says. “It’s best to avoid drinks and foods containing these substances when you’re working out—or just plain working—in the heat.”
Be careful not to over hydrate. Believe it or not, it is possible to drink too much water. Endurance athletes in particular need to be careful about over hydrating. They’re susceptible to a disorder called hyponatremia, which is a severe dilution of the sodium in your body that can lead to death. This does not occur very often, but it illustrates why you don’t want to go to extremes with fluid replacement.
Yes, it’s hot—but it’s never too hot for your bike helmet! “No matter how sweaty it makes your hair, you absolutely cannot go bareheaded when you’re on a bike,” asserts Gilliam. “It’s just too risky. Try an early morning or late evening ride when temperatures are more pleasant. And no matter how much they whine, don’t let kids ride without the helmet, even ‘just this once.’”
Don’t soak up too many rays. Finally, says Gilliam, give careful thought to what you wear during your exercise routine in extreme heat. On one hand, you want to expose as much skin as is possible (and decent) to accelerate heat loss. On the other, you don’t want to get too many harmful UVA and UVB rays.
“Choose white or light-colored clothing because it repels the heat,” suggests Gilliam. “And be sure to protect your skin with sunblock and your eyes with a good pair of sunglasses.”
Don’t let all of these precautions scare you away from summer exercise, says Gilliam. All the hot-weather worries in the world pale in comparison to the health benefits you’re reaping from regular physical activity.
“Regular exercise not only keeps your weight at a healthy level, it helps you prevent high blood pressure, heart disease, and a myriad of other serious health issues,” he notes. “But you have to make it a part of your everyday lifestyle. That means you don’t get summers off! So even if you have to alter your routine—moving indoors to a fitness center or even joining the mall walkers in their air conditioned comfort—do it. Once you lose momentum, it’s very hard to get it back.”
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About the Authors:
Thomas B. Gilliam, Ph.D., is the founder and president of T. Gilliam & Associates, coauthor of the book Move It. Lose It. Live Healthy.: The Simple Truth About Achieving & Maintaining a Healthy Body Weight, creator of the Move It. Lose It. Live Healthy.® wellness program, designed to teach workers how to achieve a healthy body weight, creator of www.moveitloseitlivehealthy.com, and founder and owner of Industrial Physical Capability Services, Inc. (IPCS).
Since 1982, Dr. Gilliam has designed and managed many corporate fitness centers ranging from 500 square feet to 34,000 square feet. He has established a variety of wellness programs to deal with such health issues as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, physical inactivity, stress, osteoporosis, low back pain, and many more.
In addition, Dr. Gilliam is a pioneer and acknowledged expert in the field of dynamic strength testing for industry based on the sports medicine model. Since 1982, he has provided isokinetic physical capability assessments for Fortune 1000 companies through his company Industrial Physical Capability Services, Inc. (IPCS) (www.ipcs-inc.com). Dr. Gilliam’s programs have dramatically reduced workers’ compensation costs and decreased injury incidence and severity rates for major industrial clients. In addition, Dr. Gilliam has been instrumental in identifying and presenting to industry the higher risk for injury and disease caused by obesity in the workplace.
Dr. Gilliam is the creator of the Heart “E” Heart program, which is a healthy lifestyle program for children and their families. He was the principal investigator in a National Institutes of Health research study investigating the impact of physical activity and nutritional habits on heart disease risk in young children. Conducted in the late 1970s, this research resulted in numerous scholarly publications and television and radio interviews throughout the world, including NBC’s Today Show and NBC’s Nightly News with its science editor, Robert Basel.
In 1973, Dr. Gilliam earned a doctorate degree in exercise physiology with a minor in graduate statistics and research design from Michigan State University. From 1974 to 1982, Dr. Gilliam was a tenured faculty member at the University of Michigan. Before resigning from his tenured faculty position, he was involved with numerous funded research projects (i.e., N.I.H., Kellogg Foundation, State of Michigan, and others) that resulted in twenty-nine refereed scholarly publications.
Jane C. Neill, R.D., L.D., is the 2004 recipient of the Nutritionist of the Year Award for the State of Alabama Public Health. She is an active member of the American Dietetic Association and currently employed by the Alabama Department of Public Health, where she works with the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program as a WIC coordinator and a licensed dietitian. She has worked in the WIC program for over ten years, providing daily nutrition counseling for women, infants, and children.
While on the staff as a registered dietitian at the University of Michigan Health System in the late 1970s, Jane was instrumental in working with Dr. Gilliam as an investigator on the National Institutes of Health research study to investigate the impact of physical activity and nutritional habits on heart disease risk in children ages six to eight years.
Ms. Neill is a member of the team that developed and wrote the Heart “E” Heart program for children and their families.
She received her bachelor’s of science degree from the University of Alabama in 1977 in food, nutrition, and institutional management. Ms. Neill has been working as a registered dietitian for over twenty-seven years.
About the Book:
Move It. Lose It. Live Healthy.: The Simple Truth About Achieving & Maintaining a Healthy Body Weight (Move It. Lose It. Live Healthy., LLC, 2008, ISBN-13: 978-0-9762703-5-5, ISBN-10: 0-9762703-5-8, $19.95) is available in bookstores nationwide and through all major online booksellers.
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