I don’t know what the weather is like in your neck of the woods. But here in Wisconsin we are experiencing unusually warm weather. In fact, I was just watching a newscast this morning and the weatherman said that normally we might experience a day or two in any given week with temps in the 90’s.
But the temperatures have been in the 90’s, with high humidity consistently for days now, with no relief in sight. Now for those who are used to this or live in areas of the country where it hits triple digits, I’m probably not getting much sympathy.
But all of this hot weather got me thinking about exercising. I am always amazed when it’s blazing hot out and I see someone running.
I can barely walk from my house to my car without feeling worn out. So how in the world do people manage to exercise outdoors in hot weather?
Well they might look like super humans, but the reality is that it could be dangerous. I am choosing to do all of my exercising indoors, in my cool home, thank you.
Heat and exercise don’t normally go together. In fact, you could become seriously ill. Here are three types of dangers you could face if you are exercising outdoors in hot, humid weather.
The least dangerous is heat cramps. These are painful muscle contractions that normally occur in the stomach, thighs and calves.
A more dangerous illness is heat exhaustion. This causes your body temperature to go up. In fact, you could become so sick that you experience weakness, vomiting, headaches, nausea or fainting.
Heat exhaustion can then turn into the most dangerous illness, heat stroke. This is a life-threatening condition where your body temperature is extremely high. At this point a person may experience irritability and confusion.
If heat stroke isn’t treated, it can lead to organ failure, brain damage or even death. So clearly, you have to take this seriously and not exert yourself unnecessarily. Better yet…workout in a cool gym or your home.
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