It’s the midele of July and we’re experiencing a heatwave like no other. We’re all for sweating off the excess fat, but sweating because you’re sweltering, that’s a whole other situation.
Just because it’s too hot for just about anything outside, doesn’t mean that you have to skip your workouts. Here are 4 ways to get your workout in, stay cool at the same time, and only sweat off the excess fat not essential electrolytes.
- Workout at O’Dark Thirty
You have to get up anyway, why not set your clock or a wake-up call between 5:30am and 6:00am. Not only will you be able to check your workout as “DONE!” on your To-Do list. You’ll be ahead of everyone by revving up your metabolism first thing in the morning. This sets you up to burn extra calories throughout the day as well as keep you alert and energized. Working out this early almost guarantees you’ll be met with the cool morning breeze, plus give you the opportunity to enjoy the sunrise and the stillness of a new day.
- Stay Hydrated
Whether you’re outside or in, it’s extremely important to stay hydrated. Hydration means getting the right amount of water to your cells before, during, and after exercising to regulate your body temperature and keep your joints lubricated. If you drop the ball on proper hydration, you could suffer bouts of dizziness, feel very tired suddenly and even experience severe muscle cramps.
Sports Drinks
The calories, potassium, and electrolytes in these sports drinks can help you perform better for a longer period of time. However, be careful to check your selection. Sports drinks are notorious for adding sugar, caffeine, and sodium, which may cause a diuretic affect that causes you to urinate more often.
Water
Here’s the recommendations from the American Council on Exercise regarding the basic guidelines for drinking water before, during, and after exercising.
- Drink 17 to 20 ounces of water 2 to 3 hours before you start exercising.
- Drink 8 ounces of water 20 to 30 minutes before you start exercising or during your warm-up.
- Drink 7 to 10 ounces of water every 10 to 20 minutes during exercise.
- Drink 8 ounces of water no more than 30 minutes after you exercise.
- Go Online
Just because its too hot outside, there’s still plenty of ways to work out inside so you stay cool, but pumped.
If you were one of the people that purchased videos, a while ago, we’re sure you know how boring they can get after a while. But thanks to technology, you’re only a click away from an awesome workout.
YouTube is your friend, not only are most of the workouts free, you can access them on any device that connects to the internet.
If you’d rather have guaranteed workouts where you don’t have to search for just the right one, try one of these dedicated sites: The Daily Burn, FitnessBlender, or the Worlds Toughest Trainer, Gillian Michaels.
- Jump in the Pool
There’s nothing better than diving into (or walking into) a scrumptious pool on a hot day. Not only will you cool off immediately, you can also get a great workout, with or without equipment.
Here’s a great body-sculpting workout.
Perform all the exercises, one after another in a circuit-type fashion. Perform 10-15 repetitions of each exercise before moving to the next one. Once you perform all the exercises in a row, that is one complete circuit. Complete 1-3 circuits for best results.
- Jog in place. Keep knees high.
- Tick-tock hop. Quickly jump from side to side, keeping feet together.
- Knee twist. Cross right elbow toward left knee at waist.
- Squat jump. Squat down with arms extended at shoulder height; jump as high as possible while raising arms overhead.
- Jog in place.
- Flutter kick.
- Pendulum swing. Swing one leg across the other and back out to the side.
Physical activity is one of the key ingredients towards living a healthy life. Sometimes it can be hard to fit physical activity in each day.
The WOW physical activity plan helps you arrange your weekly activity around your schedule. You’ll be able to plan your physical activity and mix it up with your everyday activity in order to burn extra calories, boost energy levels and get some sunshine as well. The combination of healthy eating and physical activity will help you live the healthy lifestyle you’ve always wanted and we’ll be there to help you every step of the way.
