Healthy Living: This Heat is a Hindrance.

Healthy Living: This Heat is a Hindrance.

Today's post is  from contributor - Natasha Gelder.  Natasha is a full time Literature student based in Leeds who is juggling the quests for higher education, money and rock hard abs. She believes exercising is a vital part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle and should not be seen as a chore.

As we are experiencing what is being hailed as the longest heat wave that Britain has seen in seven years, it is no surprise that people all over the country are abandoning their fitness regimes and are instead taking refuge in pub beer gardens. Hot weather is lovely when you’re on a nice relaxing beach holiday and have nothing to do but lounge around all day, but when you have to continue with your daily routine, which includes exercising, this heat just simply seems to be hindrance.

 The weather may be beautiful but it sure is playing havoc with people’s ability to exercise. I typically tend to work out in the late morning as it is the time that is most convenient for me, but over the last few weeks Britain’s temperature has resembled that of Spain by as early as nine o’clock in the morning. This means that by half past ten when I hit the gym both the inside and outside temperatures are soaring and I’m dripping with sweat from simply doing my warm up.

One solution to the problem of it being too hot to exercise is to simply change the time of your workout. Rather than going to the gym at half past ten, rearrange your day and make sure that working out is the first thing you do when you wake up, go on a jog or a bicycle ride in the morning before work whilst the temperature is warm but still bearable. As the weather has still been ridiculously hot at six o’clock in the evening, rather than going to the gym straight from work, why not go at around eight thirty, when it is still light but the temperature has dropped a little. You’d only be sat at home watching television.

If changing the time of your workout just is not an option for you, then you need to change your actual workout itself. Doing large amounts of cardiovascular activity in the current heat will only lead to you passing out, but if you cannot fathom the idea of doing no cardio whatsoever then interval training is your best option. Following short periods of high intensity cardio with short periods of low intensity cardio will enable your body to recover in the current heat. Just make sure that you only do a couple of minutes at a time otherwise you may overexert yourself. However, if just the thought of doing any cardiovascular activity in this heat is making you break out in a sweat then why not try weight training and resistance exercises? Benefits of these include increased strength and muscle tone and the incineration of a surprising amount of calories. Weight training will provide you with a good workout without leaving you covered in sweat and panting for breath.

If you find yourself really affected by the heat why not try a class that focuses mainly on stretching, such as Yoga or Pilates? These exercises are brilliant for all over toning and will relax your muscles for when you are ready to resume your usual workouts, resulting in a beautiful lean look. Despite delivering impressive results, both these classes are bearable in hot temperatures. If you simply cannot be bothered to exercise and are using the excuse of the weather to justify your lack of working out, then you are out of excuses; try a form of exercise that works as an all over body workout and will help keep you cool- go swimming!y.

Natasha Gelder, full time Literature student based in Leeds who is juggling the quests for higher education, money and rock hard abs