We have officially reached the dog days of summer. With high humidity and even higher temperatures, your typical run outside can be unappealing, let alone dangerous! When the humidity level is high your body can have a difficult time cooling itself. Your skin keeps sweating in an attempt to cool your body off, but with so much moisture in the air, your sweat isn’t absorbed as easily, leaving you feeling clammy and uncomfortable. Instead of using the weather as an excuse to skip your workout, try these fun alternatives!
Speed it up indoors.
Challenge your body and step it up from your typical outdoor endurance run. On hot summer days, head inside and hop on the treadmill for an interval run. Every few minutes increase your speed to a sprint, followed by a slow jog or fast paced walk to recover. Challenging and tricking your body to adjust to varying speeds will keep you burning fat far after you shut off the treadmill. With the versatility of treadmill speed and incline settings, you can get a seriously butt-kicking workout!
Hit the hills.
Sculpt your lower body with an indoor hill workout on the treadmill. After warming up for 5 minutes at little to no incline, increase the incline of the treadmill every 1-3 minutes to challenge your body. As you climb the “hills,” you will be sculpting and lifting your entire lower body, not to mention burning mega calories. Next time you head outdoors for a run, you may be surprised at how well you can take on the changing terrain!
Stretch with the sun rise!
Set your alarm clock a bit early on those hot days or head outside at sun set for a calming yet challenging yoga sweat sesh. Going outside during these non-peak sun hours will give you the ability to enjoy the scenic outdoors without the harsh heat and humidity affecting your workout. Yoga is a great workout to do outdoors, too, since the scenery helps set the mood.
Suit up!
Grab a swim suit and head to the local pool. Indoor or outdoor, the pool is a great place to workout. You can cater pool workouts to whatever your goals may be- strength or cardio focused. Be sure to wear sunscreen and break as needed; swimming can be a lot more challenging workout than you’d expect if you’re not used to it!
Ya gotta Tabata!
Tabata is the latest high intensity interval style workout that can be done anywhere, any time! In the comfort of your own home (and air conditioning) you can get a total body toning and fat burning workout in a very short amount of time. Pick a handful of exercises that hit multiple muscle groups (think squats, lunges, push-ups, planks, etc.) and perform one exercise with as much intensity as possible for 20 seconds. Then, rest for 10 seconds. Repeat this all-out work and rest combination for a total of 4 minute per exercise. Taa-daa! You’ve toned your entire body!
Hike the shady hills.
Find a wooded, shaded park nearby and hit the trails for a booty-lifting, leg-toning workout. Hiking is one of the most effective and fun workouts around, and you don’t even feel like you’re exercising! Just be sure to plan ahead with snacks and plenty of water and stay in cool, shaded areas.
Join a league.
Summer and fall are popular times for adult recreational leagues. Soccer, basketball, flag football, and volleyball are all great ways to stay in shape while making new friends. With the constant change of pace, your body will burn fat, fast. Most of these local leagues hold games in the evenings, after work hours, which will help keep you away from the heat and humidity.
As with any workout, prepare ahead of time by packing a cold water bottle and being aware of your surroundings. During this time of year pay extra attention to the heat index, rather than the temperature, to be sure you know how hot it feels outside. Listen to your body and never push yourself too far! How do you like to workout during the hottest time of the year? We would love to hear your get-fit ideas!
Manon McGovern, creator of The Traveling Trainer, is a fitness and weight management specialist who loves sharing her passion for a healthy lifestyle. She studied Exercise Science at The Ohio State University and started personal training and teaching group exercise classes to introduce herself into the fitness world. She enjoys personal training and teaching Yoga, Spinning, KickBoxing, and strength classes. Now working... Read More
Comments are closed.