Workout temperature

[Braille]

The weather has been getting a bit warmer where I live and I get really hot during my workouts. So, It's still pretty cool in the mornings though. It's definitely not air conditioner season here yet. We actually had a bit of snow a week ago. I work out in my living room and when I started going through "the change", I began opening windows, using fans, or even turning the air conditioner on for my workouts. Then, I would return everything back to normal and let the house get back to its normal temperature while I put my workout equipment away. I'm not having hot flashes. I have those under control. It's just the normal getting hot when one exerts that much energy, but I don't have a tolerance for getting that hot anymore. My husband used to be at work while I did my workouts, but now he's home. He doesn't need to cool the house down when he exercises, because getting hot doesn't bother him, so he does not understand why I'm doing this. He thinks I'm nuts, and I'm making the house uncomfortably cool for him. We don't exercise together, because we have different goals. I'm turning the temperature down to 67 for cardio and strength workouts. Is this normal? I tend to be cold most of the time, but I just don't thing 67 and is that unreasonable. I still sweat, but the temperature is tolerable enough for my workout. What temperature do the rest of you prefer for exercise? Do you cool your house (or your workout room if you're one of the lucky ones? I think I'm almost done with menopause. For those of you that are done with the transition, do you still tend to overheat or will that go away when my body is done being temperamental? What happens when I get my heartrate up and sweat is that I feel like I'm burning up from the inside out. I used to just get hot. Now, when I feel like I get too hot, making me feel almost claustrophobic. I'm dressing appropriately - well, I wouldn't go out in public at my age in my workout clothes, but my outfits are breathable materials. For cardio days, I'm actually wearing a top that looks an awful lot like a bra. I didn't dress so scantily in my younger days, but now I find it necessary. So, I feel like the only other thing I can do to help my body not overheat is to turn down the temperature. I know, I'm rambling. I guess I just need to know if I'm normal. lol

 

[Debinmi]

Hi Braille, I think you're "normal" for you. I think a "comfortable" temperature is relative to the person. We keep our winter temp at ~64°F. Our workout area is in the basement. This is mostly perfect for our workouts. I sometimes will still use fans if I feel I'm over-heating. In the summer the room can get to ~70-74° & that's a bit warm for me if the humidityis up ... I have the fans on & the dehumidifier & keep my cardio shorter ... I don't have problems with overheating with weight work with the fans on. Seems people who are used to higher winter temps (low 70's) think our house is too cold & have asked why we "suffer" - but we have adapted & are quite comfortable. If we're entertaining we put the thermostat up, but we're a bit too warm then. We "suffer" when temps rise quickly like they did a couple weeks ago (into the 80's) & we haven't adapted yet.

I also think cooler & hotter temperatures matter more to the very young and the aged. Adapting then is harder.

 

[Hazlady]

I also get hot doing workouts, even weight workouts, and especially in summer. Where I am in Auckland, New Zealand we have daytime summer temperatures around 25-28°C (77-82°F) with the odd day up to 30°C (~86°F). Winter daytime temperatures tend to be around 15-17°C (59-62°F). But we have high humidity which is hard when you're trying to exercise as it can really drain your energy. Also, we are seeing some not so normal weather patterns. For instance, last winter we had days where the temperature was 20°C, and we also had 20°C days during summer. For me, 18-20°C (64-68°F) is a good temperature range to workout. I use my air conditioner to bring the temperature down. I don't use heating in winter when I'm working out as I warm up fairly quickly. I can go a bit harder on cardio when it is cooler. At the moment the daily temperature here is around 19-20°C so I don't need to use any cooling.

 

[vivbc]

My room is usually 68, during winter, warmer in summer. I like 68, I don't like warmer. Anything above 70 is too much.
Perhaps your husband could wear a cardigan while you are working out.
If the two of you enjoy the same temperatures most of the time, you're ahead of a lot of couples, with or without hormonal changes. It's an issue for many couples.

 

[nickisteen]

I am in South Carolina where it's hot and humid. I have a fan turned on during my workouts. Can't afford to turn temp down in the 60's although i wish i could! My workout room is above the garage which and not as insulated as it could be.

 

[Braille]

Thanks everybody. It sounds like I'm working out in a normal temperature range, so I'm going to keep doing it. I turn the heat down in the winter and the air up in the summer for workouts, so I figure the savings in the winter makes up for the extra air conditioning in the warmer months. My son and I tend to be cold most of the time, so we have house jackets, which I obviously don't wear while working out. My son wears his, though, and doesn't seem to mind my workout temperatures. I'm going to suggest that my husband wear an extra layer or that he start taking the dogs for a walk that time of day. Just wanted to make sure that adjusting the temperature for workouts was normal and acceptable. Sounds like it is.

 

[firemedic]

Living in SW FL, I put a window air conditioner unit in my workout room so when I want to workout, I just turn that on and my room is nice and cool. I too have noticed as I've gotten older that I like it colder when working out ( I actually like it colder all the time) so my husband suggested this and it's been working great for me for about 3 yrs now.

 

[cam64]

I would say workout in the basement, but I know in Florida there aren't any. Glad you figured it out. I like my workout space cooler. My energy is better and my workout is more effective. When it's hot I do shorter workouts and walk.

 

[Lady Vol Fan]

Echoing using a fan! Wearing lighter, cooler clothing. We keep temp in winter at 66° and summer 69°. We don't vary it within the day because it taxes the unit and tends to waste electricity when you're changing the temps constantly.

I also try to adjust my workout times as early, or as late as possible, to take advantage of when the house is naturally cooler.

 

[snowlover]

Everybody's body and tolerance is different. I usually run hotter than most and much above 64 degrees is pretty awful for me to work out in. For years now I do less cardio in the warmer months and more weightlifting so I can stand in front of a fan and on hotter days the a/c and fan. I did a relatively easy step workout yesterday and it was low humidity and 62 degrees in my home but I still sweated quite a bit. I always wear a tank top and shorts when I work out inside. I've marveled before how Cathe, her crew, and others in Cathe Live can wear so much clothing--I'd overheat! I've always kept my home colder anyway to save on energy bills and I'm alone so I don't have to fight over the thermostat.
So stay cool Braille and tell anyone in your house that they'd rather see you moving and not down with heat stroke!

 

[ashaw]

I've always used a fan in my workout room. I used to also use my ceiling fan, but the chain broke off and its impossible to fix it, so I've had to go without it for quite a number of years. But last year, I went to Home Depot and got a larger box type fan that puts out pretty decent air flow without being too loud. I get up and workout first thing in the morning, and most times my husband isn't even up yet. During the unpredictable "winter" in Houston, TX (as I write this, its actually cooler outside today and we're using our gas fire place!), I always turn the heat down while I'm working out because I feel like I'm being suffocated in a wall of heat while its running. I always tell my husband that I'll turn the heat back up as soon as I'm finished. It gets hot here during the summer, last year was really hot, but because I workout early in the morning, the house is still cooler because we turn our a/c down to 71 degrees at bedtime and try to get by at 76 or 77 during the day as to not use a lot of electricity because everything is just so much more expensive now.

 

[Braille]

I don't mind sweating. I figure that's what showers are for. The problem I have is getting overheated to the point that I feel like I'm burning up from the inside out - like the heat can't escape. When my body does this, I stop sweating. I make sure I'm drinking plenty, but I have to have the temp turned down to keep my body temperature regulated so that I get hot and sweat rather than get hot and feel like I'm burning up. I've tried working out easier or for shorter periods of time, but I'm at that age where I notice the loss in strength pretty quickly. I also tend to be "high strung" if I don't work out fairly hard. I use workouts to burn off stress, worries, excess energy, etc. My body needs a good amount of physical exertion for my mind to settle down and work properly. It took me forever to get the hand of active recovery days. lol When summer comes and the humidity goes up, I will be turning the air down to 65 (at least that's what worked last year). I used to work out earlier in the day, but now that my husband's home, my exercise schedule got bumped to later in the day. It seems I now spend my mornings answering questions about where my husband's keys and glasses are and other such nonsense. I don't know where the time goes, but having him home sure does slow me down.

 

[Lady Vol Fan]

Well, I don't know about anyone else but It's not the sweating....excuse me ...glistening exercise sheen

It's the weird "Aack- no -air -flow-I'm-overheating-so- now- I- have- a- throbbing- meno- headache"
that I'm avoiding, lol.

I can exercise in the heat outside but warm with a lack of air flow works a doozy on me.

 

[Debinmi]

Well, I don't know about anyone else but It's not the sweating....excuse me ...glistening exercise sheen

It's the weird "Aack- no -air -flow-I'm-overheating-so- now- I- have- a- throbbing- meno- headache"
that I'm avoiding, lol.

I can exercise in the heat outside but warm with a lack of air flow works a doozy on me.

I know the feeling .... almost like "I'm getting ready to pass out I'm so hot!" feeling!

 

[firemedic]

I don't mind sweating either, after all, I have to do yard work in the summer down here. For me, I found that I was getting to over heated because when I would do floor work after my cardio, I found myself a little on the dizzy side. Ever since I have the window a/c unit, I haven't had that issue at all. Now I do have some smaller fans so when I don't have to run the a/c unit, I can just turn on the little fans and they work great. I took out my ceiling fan because I had a hard time doing some of Cathe's over the head moves with the ball and such. I don't have high ceilings in my workout room so removing the fan made it better for me to do the moves with Cathe.

 

[Linda1]

For me to do cardio, I need it to be 63 - 64 degrees in the room. ( This was never a problem when I was younger.) And, no that has not gotten better as I have gotten older.
I am very fortunate to have a separate HVAC in our workout room than the rest of the house, so I just turn it down for an hour twice a week.

I think you should go buy your husband a nice warm Columbia Fleece jacket to wear in the house while he is sitting around. He may be very happy !

Two other comments... maybe his thyroid should be checked ?? ( We never set the heat above 66 degrees in our house all winter, so I think the fact that 67 feels too cold for him says it would not hurt to get his thyroid checked ...) And, if having him work from home has affected your schedule... just wait until he retires !!! HA HA

 

[nickisteen]

I don't mind sweating. I figure that's what showers are for. The problem I have is getting overheated to the point that I feel like I'm burning up from the inside out - like the heat can't escape. When my body does this, I stop sweating. I make sure I'm drinking plenty, but I have to have the temp turned down to keep my body temperature regulated so that I get hot and sweat rather than get hot and feel like I'm burning up. I've tried working out easier or for shorter periods of time, but I'm at that age where I notice the loss in strength pretty quickly. I also tend to be "high strung" if I don't work out fairly hard. I use workouts to burn off stress, worries, excess energy, etc. My body needs a good amount of physical exertion for my mind to settle down and work properly. It took me forever to get the hand of active recovery days. lol When summer comes and the humidity goes up, I will be turning the air down to 65 (at least that's what worked last year). I used to work out earlier in the day, but now that my husband's home, my exercise schedule got bumped to later in the day. It seems I now spend my mornings answering questions about where my husband's keys and glasses are and other such nonsense. I don't know where the time goes, but having him home sure does slow me down.

Be careful when you stop sweating. I don't think that is a good thing! Be safe!

 

[firemedic]

For me to do cardio, I need it to be 63 - 64 degrees in the room. ( This was never a problem when I was younger.) And, no that has not gotten better as I have gotten older.
I am very fortunate to have a separate HVAC in our workout room than the rest of the house, so I just turn it down for an hour twice a week.

I think you should go buy your husband a nice warm Columbia Fleece jacket to wear in the house while he is sitting around. He may be very happy !

Two other comments... maybe his thyroid should be checked ?? ( We never set the heat above 66 degrees in our house all winter, so I think the fact that 67 feels too cold for him says it would not hurt to get his thyroid checked ...) And, if having him work from home has affected your schedule... just wait until he retires !!! HA HA

Don't even get me started on husbands retiring. Mine retired about 8 yrs ago and everything I did was turned upside down. I don't workout as much as I use to, my entire daily routines no longer exists. If he didn't golf, I would have been locked up in a mental hospital a long time ago!!!

 

[ashaw]

Don't even get me started on husbands retiring. Mine retired about 8 yrs ago and everything I did was turned upside down. I don't workout as much as I use to, my entire daily routines no longer exists. If he didn't golf, I would have been locked up in a mental hospital a long time ago!!!

My husband and I have too much togetherness because he works from home and after Covid, I began to assist him in his real estate business with stuff like scanning documents, typing stuff he writes, drawing up contracts and letters of intent, invoicing clients, keeping track of his calendar, so we’re both home together. A lot. I get up at 5:30 am and workout early, most times before he’s even out of bed. He played golf today for the first time in a while and I get so much more done when he’s not home.

 

[Traildoggie]

I don't sweat much ever, I just get hot and hotter. our workout room is about 60 degrees. its in a daylight basement but its comfortable temp to work out in. a little cool to start but comfortable in 10 minutes. it is sometimes a little colder in winter. we keep our house set at 62 most of the time. we are used to outdoor exercising with biking and hiking much of the year. I have trouble when it get too warm in summer and have to sit it out.
its mostly what you get used to. have your DH put on a second layer and he should be fine. or get a room space heater for whatever room he's in where its too cool.