Does Weather Matter When Exercising?

The most likely problem people will experience in regards to the weather and aerobic exercise is problems with heat.

If it’s hot outside and has been for a few days, if your car or apartment doesn’t have air conditioning, if your gym isn’t cooled to a manageable temperature, there’s a good chance that you’re starting out dehydrated and overheated.

Add thirty to sixty minutes of leaping with faunlike abandon to an already stressed thermostat, and you may end up with heat exhaustion or even heat stroke.

In heat exhaustion, you may feel dizzy and nauseous. You may have a headache, you will be flushed and sweaty, and you will feel exhausted (hence the name). If you start to feel ill or weak, stop exercising immediately, get a drink of cool water and lie down or sit down until you feel well enough to go home (or to the doctor). Cool off with a damp towel on your neck, head or wrists. Do not try to resume exercising! Ignoring heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke, which can kill you.

If you have heat stroke, most likely you won’t need to know the symptoms; the paramedics will tell you about them when you regain consciousness. Heat stroke is just that: you are stricken. People with heat stroke lose consciousness; the flushed, perspiring skin of heat exhaustion gives way to pale, cool and dry skin. Heat stroke is nothing to fool around with: it can and too often does, lead to death