If you are a runner, perhaps the summer months, when temperatures rise higher, take a break : As we said earlier, summer can be an ideal time to work on strength and prepare legs for winter races, instead of following Adding kilometers.
Or maybe you’re one of those runners who are able to keep running even when the thermometers are over the top. If you are of this second type, look at the following errors, very frequent among the runners in summer that can get you to bill.
Shelter more than you should
It is summer, it is hot and you have taken the not very thoughtful decision to go running with long tights. Beyond fashion, dressing up is putting your health in danger, especially if we are 35 degrees in the shade.
Not wearing proper clothes
Do not wear the right clothes (short sleeve and, if possible, technical fabric) you are making it difficult to sweat: a mechanism of our body that acts to cool us when its temperature is too high. You’re helping to raise your body temperature by a couple of degrees, plus you’ll probably find yourself uncomfortable.
Remember that it is always better to have some cold before starting to run (which will probably not be the case during the summer) than to play a dehydration in the middle of your training or in a race.
To go from warm up
“If I’m going to run half an hour, why should I warm up?” Well, if you come from spending more than eight hours sitting in front of your computer in the office maybe it is a good idea to begin slowly to move and wake up your muscles and mobilizing your joints.
It is not to finish as soon as possible to return home and stop passing heat, but to do quality training that also involves preventing the occurrence of possible injuries. Minimum few minutes of quick walk are necessary to put the body on notice that you are going to demand a remarkable effort.
Forget the sunscreen
Specific sunscreens for athletes better resist perspiration. Not protecting our skin properly, especially in summer, can take a toll and good. Choosing a sunscreen according to our needs, broad spectrum and with a high sun protection factor is paramount to protect us from the sun. Also the use of a cap to protect our head and sunglasses to keep our eyes safe is interesting in summer.
Remember that there are sun protection products specific for athletes, which keep the protection intact despite the sweat, easy to apply and do not become a paste when we break into sweat. Extend the sunscreen over areas of your body that are exposed and insists on places where the skin is more sensitive, such as the neck, shoulders, neckline and upper ear.
You may also like to read: What Is More Effective? Treadmill Or Running Outdoors
Do not modify workouts to train with heat
On previous occasions we talked about the different adaptations that our body undergoes when it comes to training with heat : the pulsations rise more than we are accustomed, the breathing is more choppy, the fatigue appears more easily and the recovery times after a Training (or within this, in case we practice series, for example) are longer.
That is why it is important that we adapt our workouts for high temperatures : including more strength sessions in the gym, where the temperature is more appropriate, reduce the intensity or times of our outings or modify our running time are small changes that Will make training more enjoyable and less dangerous for us.
Neglect hydration before, during and after training
Hydration is a very important part of running training throughout the year, but much more so in summer, when high temperatures facilitate dehydration and heat stroke in runners. Keeping well hydrated throughout the day is basic to our performance and, above all, to preserve our health.
Drink small sips of water before going to train and choose routes where you know you are going to find fountains along the way, or carry a hydration pack with a pair of cans full of fresh water. When you finish your workout, rehydrate yourself with water (still the reference drink) and, if this has been very intense, maybe with a drink with mineral salts.
Failure to perform a correct pre-workout intake
In summer, due to high temperatures, we tend to eat less than we do the rest of the year: the consumption of fruits, vegetables and vegetables, more appetizing at this time. This is very beneficial but we must be aware that their caloric intake is reduced and that we must continue to maintain a calorie intake adequate to our needs, especially if we are athletes.
Many people, in addition, facing the summer, often fall into very restrictive diets that do not provide a correct amount of nutrients to your body. If your goal is to lose a few pounds for the holidays, the solution is not to stop eating systematically or to carry diets of 800 kilo calories that are dangerous to health, especially when we are athletes. Focus on consuming quality foods instead of ultra-processed products and providing the nutrients needed to perform well in your workouts.
Over training to compensate for poor meals
Although, as we have said, in the summer we eat more fruits, vegetables and vegetables, we also often abuse other less healthy things like the canes, the accompanying tops or the ice cream. That, added to the fact that we feel the need to prepare our body to see us well in a bikini or bathing suit, can lead to the theory of “well, since today I have eaten two ice cream, instead of running for an hour, burn it”. And so easily we can fall into over training.
Exercising to make up for a bad meal is not a good idea, especially for the fact that we tend to underestimate what we eat and overestimate what we burn (we spend less energy than we believe and consume more). Also because we can enter a dynamic of “I do not care what I eat because then I will burn it” being the perfect excuse to cram us with junk food and neglect our food.
Carrying more exercise daily in the moment we have more free time, such as holidays, is a very good idea; But to do so thinking that through exercise we can compensate for a bad diet is to deceive ourselves.