How to Exercise in the Summer Without Heat Exhaustion

Prepare for the heat if you are going to exert yourself so you can avoid the dangers of heat stroke

Exercising too much, too hard can lead not only to burnout but sometimes to a serious condition that can harm the kidneys.Maridav/shutterstock

With less than a mile to go, triathlete Sarah True was pulled from the 2019 Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt, Germany, due to heat exhaustion. She was in the lead by seven minutes after having swum, biked, and run nearly 225 kilometers (about 140 miles). The temperature was 100 degrees.

With summer comes longer days and sunnier skies. It’s an opportunity to shed our winter clothes and get outside to go for a run, get on a bike, or play pick-up sports with friends. Indeed, summer is when we are most active.

The other thing that comes with summer is heat and humidity. As Europe and North America grapple with recurring summer heatwaves, we all need to take care when being active in the summer heat.

The Work of Sweat and Blood

When we exercise, our body’s core temperature increases. To combat this, we have a number of built-in cooling methods. The main way our body cools itself is through the evaporation of sweat on our skin. For sweat to evaporate, it needs to absorb heat. That absorption of heat cools us down.