30 Health

No need to forgo your daily run. Common sense and these top tips will see you through summer, says

As far as exercise is c oncerne d,w e tend t of all into two camps during warmer weather: those who are too hot even to think abo utaw orko uta n d th ose who rise at dawn to fiti n awa lk , ru no rc ycle in the coolest part of the day .I maintai n my daily ru n– but I move it forwards to 7am an d ru n in the shad e of the bush.

Experts say there are strategie sw e can apply to ensure we exercis e op timally fo r th e rest of the summer. “Regular exercise is one of the things that enables o urb odie st o become mor ee fficient at adaptin g to temperature change sa n dr emainin gr ead y fo r sw eltering days,” say s Ji mP ate ,as enior exercis ep hysiologist at the Centr efo rH eal th a n d Hu ma n Pe rformance in London. And while it may be temptin gt ol aunch yourself into exercis efo rth e first time when the sun is out, Pate urges caution .H ere ’s h o wt o exercise safely.

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DON’T RUN FOR MORE THAN 15 MINUTES

Pate say si n the heat your first step s sh oul db e to reduce the duration an di ntensit yofyo urw orkout. That means prolonge dt ennis matches o rr ounds of golf ar eo ut; short walks o rc ycle sar e in.

“When it’s very hot, the body is u nder more strain than usual during exercise as it trie st o reduce its temperature t op revent overheating,” he explains. “There are greate rd emands on the cardiovascular system too ,asth e heart come su nder mor ep ressure to delive rb loo dt o the skin’s surfac e fo rc ooling, which see sh eart rate rise higher than usual.”

A st emperature scr eep up ,tr y t om inimise exposure by reducin g th e duration of more vigorous exercise, such as runnin g,t onomo re tha n1 5 minute sada yon extremely warm days.

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ON HOT DAYS YOU CAN SWEAT 4 LITRES AN HOUR – MAKE SURE YOU’RE HYDRATED

Yo urb ody’s ability to self-cool depends on its ability to sweat, which acts as a cooling mechanism allowing evaporation t oo ccur – and that come sd own to how well hydrated yo uar e. “Whenever you exercis eyo u lose water through swe at a n da lso through wate rva po urin the air yo ubr eathe,” says Anita Bean ,adi etitian and author of The Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition .“In warm conditions, your fluid losse s ca n be very high, and i fno tr eplaced quickly can resul ti n a stat eof reduced body water, which we call hypohydration.”

In ho ta n dhu m id c onditions your sweat rat em ay be as high as 3-4L an hour. “Your priority shoul d be t o en sur eyo uar e hydrate db efore exercise ,a n dthe general recommendation sar e to sip 5-10ml of fluid per kg of yo urb ody weight in the 2-4 hours beforea workout on ah o tda y,” Bean says.

Starting off well hydrated means that i fyo u’re doing exercise that lasts less tha n90m inutes, as mo stw orkouts d oonah o tda y, you nee dt o drink only when you’re thirsty. Over-hydratin gca n be as problematic as dehydration, causin ga potentially dangero usi mbalance in the body’s salt levels.”