Should you engage in physical activities in hot weather?
You should take necessary precautions if you must engage in physical activities in hot weather.
The list of advantages seems endless. But there is also a list of disadvantages. And it can be very dangerous.
- People who want to spend time actively at higher temperatures must drink water regularly, often, but in small amounts.
- There is also a rule: your weight before training should be the same as after training.
- How do you know that you need to get out of the sun or heat as soon as possible? A doctor gives disturbing symptoms.
Training in 30-degree heat can pose a serious threat. However, a cardiologist from Municipal Hospital in Gliwice, Dr Adam Staroń, emphasised that heat does not have to eliminate physical activity. To keep them safe, you need to remember a few rules.
“People with cardiovascular diseases should keep this in mind and decide, for example, to take a walk in the morning or evening or exercise in air-conditioned rooms,” emphasised Dr Adam Staroń, Head of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Department of Municipal Hospital in Gliwice.
The doctor advises people with these diseases to remember that hot weather is not conducive to intense exercise. The body reacts secondary to the increased ambient temperature, sweats and – which is of great importance for cardiac patients – blood vessels dilate, i.e. a reflex drop in blood pressure.
“For people with heart failure or those undergoing treatment for hypertension, this means that heat can have a strong impact on well-being and lead to weakness and fainting,” stressed Dr Staroń.
“In countries where temperatures reach forty degrees, heat exhaustion or heat strokes may occur,” added the cardiologist.
People who want to spend time actively, even at higher temperatures, must remember a few important rules:
- First, replenish fluids, and drink water often, but in small amounts.
- Secondly, your weight before training should be the same as after training.
- On hot days, the minimum daily requirement is two litres of water, and optimally three.
- You should also remember to wear appropriate headgear during activity, dress appropriately and take care of sun protection of exposed parts of your body.
“If warning signals appear during summer activity: a feeling of weakness, dizziness, heart palpitations, you should stop the effort, take shelter in the shade and rest, successively replenishing fluids with small sips” – sums up the specialist.