Staying Cool!

intensitylisa

intensitylisa

Cathlete
:D How do you all stay cool during the hot weather while working out? We have a wall unit air conditioner in the dining room and I workout in the living room which is the next room, so it still is pretty warm. I love the feel of sweat pouring off me, which tells me I am working, but don't want to become a victim of heat exhaustion. ;-)
 
I am in the same situation, window unit in the dining room, me working out in the next room, I usually put a fan between the rooms so the fan blows the colder air toward me. Plus we just put in a new, larger ceiling fan which puts out alot of air so that is helping too. We have yet to put the window unit in though, it is in the 90's this week and I am ready for it. I also exercise in the morning when it is a tad bit cooler.

I know not much help. But I just blow myself to death with fans.LOL!!
 
I too have central air and DH put ceiling fans in my workout room. When it is very hot, like today, I will also use a floor fan. When I'm not in virus mode as I'm in now, I try to workout early morning and later at night when it is cooler outdoors. I realize this may not be an option for some.
Having air circulated helps along with plenty of water close by. That's it for me anyways. :D
 
There are some cooling neck wraps that you can buy that have a special gel in that stays cool for a long time. You put them in the freezer for a while, then wrap them around your neck. I think they cool down the blood that is going through the carotid arteries on the sides of the neck. I've seen them in Walgreen's, I think, and they also sell them on QVC.
 
I too put a small swiveling fan on a chair near the workout area, have central AC, and wear a cotton tank top that I intermittently use to wipe my face. I'd rather absorb it than have it drip everywhere. Sometimes I bring down a dry T-shirt to wear during any floor or ab work at the end, and/or lie on a towel on the carpet to protect it.
 
I have central air which helps. I still end up sweatin' buckets! I also like getting up early before it's too hot out. I drink a lot of water before during and after which also helps! Stay strong-Susan
 
Hey Lisa:

I have no a/c (ghastly reality) and in 90 + degrees F it has to become a question of mind over matter to keep going on dog days. I try to schedule different workouts according to the weather forecast, i.e. if we have several cooler days coming up, I'll do long cardios and Interval training then, if it's going to be stinking hot and humid, I may just weight train and nothing else because I am no good in heat and hate to be drenched in sweat by the time I've finished setting up my workout space.

Also I use 2 fans placed either side of me on a diagonal, I drink water all the way through, 3 or 4 8 oz glasses, mop down with a towel every time I drink, close the shades to keep the blasted sun off me, and keep in touch with how I feel. If I start to get heavy legs and/or light headed, I know to stop or back off, but this has happened to me only a few times and mainly when power walking outside in intense sunshine. Keep hydrated, stop for quick breathers when you need to, remember that your body is working much harder than when it does these routines in December and be kind to it. I go easier on myself in Summer, I usually do shorter CTX type cardio and switch my focus to strength training to see if I can conquer a new goal there, whatever works for you that keeps you active and happy but not totally exhausted after every workout.

Rememebr that the heat exhaustion feelings sometimes only come on after the workout is over: this has happened to me too, sometimes I may get a crashing headache or feel nauseous after having my shower when sitting eating dinner. Once I got so hot I couldn't stop sweating for the rest of the day and my skin felt really rough, bumpy and icky, my body was over-heated and could not cool down and all I'd done is Powermax.

Bottom line, go easy until a cooler day comes along. Avoid the emergecy room.

Take care,

Clare
 
Where are you guys? I am in the lovely Southwestern desert where we have recently reached 107 degrees! But get this, we have not turned on our AC yet. It works likes this. Since it is so desperately dry, we have evaporative coolers, or swamp coolers which pump water onto pads and cool the house by blowing that hydrated air in. Soon, the summer monsoon or rainy season will come. Then we kick on the AC. We haven't gotten a great rainy season in years but when the rains come and the air is laden with moisture, our AC bills can reach $250. to $300. per month! That means rising at 5:00 or 5:30 to run or whatever! I am still recovering from foot surgery so I haven't really worried about heat this season but early morning is the way to go! A couple of summers ago, I visited my mom in Michigan when the heat was hot and the humidity high. It was unbearable. So when we say, "it's a dry heat, we mean it. The low humidity make the temps much more bearable and while I would never run in the heat of a 100 degree day, running in the early morning of a 100 degree day is infinitley more tolerable than a high temp high humidity day such as is seen in the eastern parts of this country!
Chicks's Rule! http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif Bobbi
 
My mom lives in Tucson and she always talks of the dry heat. She doesn't miss this humid Wisconsin heat at all! She'll take her 107 degrees any day! Susan
 
}( Today in New York state it is going to be 96 degrees and very humid arghh!x( All week it has been in the 90's. Heat wave for us!
 
but that's it exactly, I'm in Michigan, and you said it! The humid heat is unbearable and we never get anything else....

Clare
 
I keep a spray bottle filled with room temperature water to spray on my face when working out. I find the reason why I give up exercising in hot weather is because my face heats up so fast. As long as my face is cool, the rest of my body can take the heat.

I did a very stupid thing last summer trying to stay cool while working out. As soon as my face got very hot, I'd run up to the air conditioner and put my face up against it for a few minutes to cool off. Well, a day or so later, I had a hard time breathing. Each time I took a deep breath or made a sudden move, a sharp pain would spread in my chest. It got so bad that I would be constantly gasping all day (all night, couldn't sleep!) for breath. So I went to the doctor and he told me that the lining of my lungs was inflamed. I told him about putting me face up against the a/c when hot from exercising. He just looked at me like, "That would do it". He gave me a prescription for anti-inflammatory drugs that I had to take for 10 days. I didn't take it for the whole ten days because I was getting bad diarrhea (which is a side effect of the drug). So don't stand in front of the a/c no matter how tempting it may be!!
 
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