Here we are, slap bang in the middle of summer and one of the common problems that we hear around this time of year is people saying how it feels too hot to exercise.

Now, exercising in hot and humid weather can make a workout feel much harder than normal… and there's a few reasons why this happens. 

Have you ever done a workout in warm conditions and noticed how you sweat a lot more than usual? Well, this is because the body uses sweating to cool the body down. Which is why you'll often hear us trainers bang on about the importance of staying hydrated both before and during your workout. 

If you don't replace the fluid that the body loses through sweat, it makes it more challenging for the body to cool itself down and it can actually start to store heat which can lead to issues like heat exhaustion, fatigue, nausea and ultimately heat stroke. 

To help you avoid these issues, and in the hope of some sunshine this summer, here are our top tips that you can take to protect yourself and ensure that you remain safe and healthy while exercising this summer. 

1.     Don’t push your body too hard. 

Don't get too excited…we’re not giving you the green light to sack off your workout. But, what we will say is that exercising when it’s hot puts an extra stain on your body. So, if you’re exercising in the heat, pay attention to how you’re feeling and respect your limits. 

Look out for signs of lightheadedness or weakness and reduce your intensity or stop training if these appear. 

When it’s warm, understand that you’re not going to be setting any personal bests or performing to your usual standard or intensity. So don’t push yourself too hard and make sure you take consistent breaks to allow your body time to regulate its temperature. 

2.     Aim to exercise at a cooler part of the day.

Now you don’t need me to tell you that exercising during the hottest part of the day is a bad idea...especially if you’re sensitive to heat! So with this in mind, make the effort to wake up earlier and squeeze a workout in before the day warms up or wait until later in the night once the heat has started to cool off. 

Not only will your workout be more enjoyable, but you’ll also notice that your performance will be better. 

3.     Exercise selection 

Think about choosing exercises where you are lying or based on the floor. We all know that heat rises so staying low to the ground is going to help you to stay cooler. As well as this, body weight movements such as crawl patterns can provide a total body workout and also help us with our mobility. 

4.     Stay hydrated

Our final and most important tip for exercising in warm weather is to keep hydrated. On a daily basis, you should be aiming for around 2 litres of water, on a warm day we’d say that this is a minimum amount rather than a maximum amount. 

A good way to see if you’re drinking enough is to check the colour of your urine. If it’s darker than the colour of lemonade you need to up your intake. On top of this, if you’re exercising for over an hour it’s a good idea to take in some sort of sports drink which will help you to replace lost salts, sugars and electrolytes. 

Well, there you have it. Our top tips for exercising during the summer. All that's left to do now is hope we get some decent weather so that we can put it all into action!