Fit in late summer: how the heat can work to your advantage

Since the pandemic, many people's exercise habits have changed. Many have found their way from the box to the outdoor gym. Calisthenics has gained in popularity, as has unwelcome conditioning through running. After all, you can save yourself the air bike in the class. But training outside also has a few pitfalls that you should be aware of. The workout in blazing sunlight, at 30 degrees Celsius and with seventy percent humidity is sometimes not as relaxed as a shallow strength unit under the influence of an air conditioner. That's why we're giving you a few tips along the way. If you heed them, your circulation will remain in balance and you will be able to perform accordingly. But we’ll give you one tip right away: take care of yourself and your body. At the latest when you start to get dizzy or even black out, it's time for a break. No unit in the world, no barbell, no matter how heavily loaded, is worth weeks of rehab.

Work with the high temperatures

It is important that you see the heat as an advantage for you. To a certain extent, warmth and high humidity are helpful for you as a martial artist or lover of functional fitness. Breathing goes faster, you need more oxygen. Your cardiovascular system needs to work hard, whether it's carrying groceries or doing simple yard work. Your workout with dumbbells, kettlebells, ropes and the like shouldn't necessarily demand personal bests. Especially if you train outdoors, you have to be careful. But while we're on the subject of cardio, you might as well sink your teeth into it. A longer, well-paced EMOM or air bike session at a fixed meter per minute can help improve your core endurance.

Sporting benefits

This is how you help yourself in several ways: Heat serves as an almost natural fat burner due to the accelerated pulse during sport. In addition, the constant heat drives you indirectly. A stable stamina helps you to maintain a certain pace in the long term, i.e. a certain load level, even under load. So use the heat as a test of how far your fitness has come lately: do a simple benchmark workout that includes core movements. Complete it with the timer in the heat and watch how you perform.

Now put your score into perspective. If you've already improved compared to the last round of the WOD, you're even better than on paper. After all, your body heats up more than in an air-conditioned box. Be proud of yourself!

Check pulse and breathing:

An essential task of Strength and Conditioning, i.e. working on strength and endurance at the same time, is medium and long-term work under load. You don't work with maximum weight, but with moderate weights. To do this, increase the number of repetitions. You can now turn this into an advantage for you. We want to make you a suggestion for hot days: Take a short, crisp workout as your daily goal. For example, 200 burpees for time or 21-15-9 kettlebell thrusters are ideal for this. Now you take sentences and set yourself a heart rate target. If you exceed it, pause and take a short breath. So you can test your resilience without tearing off a boring half marathon on the ergometer. Do we have a deal?

Circuit Cooldown:

Hot yoga has been a trend sport for decades. It is based on the same poses in the form of strenuous stretching. This puts your body under slight stress, improves its mobility and at the same time makes you sweat a lot. Hot yoga can also be done on the terrace, on the balcony or on the side of the road, as long as the sun allows it. This gives a pigeon stretch or a Hindu pushup a certain twist and maybe finally makes you want to do annoying exercises to improve your mobility.

Not every day is a maximum attempt

The fact is that a certain, decreasing power requirement after the workout is essential in order not to overwhelm you. Even a few minutes of yoga or bodyweight exercises can help calm you down and relax your muscles. Otherwise there may be a risk of heat stroke, which you definitely want and should avoid.

The right training plan:

We have always emphasized that you should listen to your body. This is exactly what happens within your training itself. With outside temperatures of up to 35 degrees Celsius and humidity like in a small jungle, you should be prepared: Eternal AMRAPS should not overwhelm you with overly complex processes. EMOMS should provide a few seconds of rest per minute. PR's shouldn't be as important as they are in a climatically controlled environment.

Ultimately, it comes down to your personal feelings. We only have one request for you: Not every day has to be the same. Respect yourself and your ups and downs!