KEEP YOUR COOL AND STAY HEALTHY
Ways to work out safely in the summer heat — and what you should and shouldn’t eat
“Summer bodies are made in winter” goes the saying of personal trainers. But according to a new fitness trend, it should be: “Summer bodies are made in winter weather.”
In the past few years, studies have increasingly found exercising in cold temperatures gets better results. And gyms have been quick to capitalize on the trend by introducing cold workouts, where gymgoers exercise in chilly rooms. One such place is Brrrn in New York, a so-called “cold gym,” which opened in May and is chilled to 45 F (7 C) by four huge refrigeration units.
“The theory goes that you burn more calories in the cold,” says London-based personal trainer Matt Roberts, whose clients have included former British prime minister David Cameron and his wife, Samantha, along with U.S. fashion designer Tom Ford. “Research has shown that working out in colder temperature works your body harder because not only is it exercising, but it’s also working to raise its core temperature. You’re overloading your system, in a good way, and the tissue inside your lungs is working harder, so you’re burning more calories and working your muscles harder. “A similar theory about exercising in hot temperatures has been around for a while, and now the evidence is that working out in the cold has a similar effect. Basically, if your body has to work hard to stay warm or cold during exercise, you’re going to get better results. It’s making temperature extremes work for you. Cryotherapy is also an extension of the keeping cold for health theory.” Cryotherapy involves getting into a special tank, which has temperatures of -300 F (-184 C) for two or three minutes at a time, and has fans including Jennifer Aniston and David Beckham. You can find these cold chambers in gyms, spas and retreats, and the benefits are said to include increased blood flow, reduced inflammation, weight loss and skin toning. Chilled gyms and cryotherapy aside, following are other ways to keep cool in the summer heat.
WHAT TO CONSUME
Heat waves can be fairly hard to navigate food-wise. Many are plagued by a loss of appetite, which can leave you feeling unwell during the hotter temperatures. Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: make sure to drink lots of water to make up for fluids lost through extra sweating and to ward off dehydration, and also because fluids carry nutrients to your cells. If you don’t like it plain, try sparkling, or add a slice of lemon or lime to give it some flavour.
Watermelon: Watermelon contains a nutrient called lycopene that can protect your skin from sun exposure. Lycopene is the pigment that makes red-coloured fruit and vegetables a vibrant red. Other sources include tomatoes (particularly cooked ones), papaya, pink grapefruit and guava.
Salad: Vegetables such as lettuce, cucumber, celery and radishes are all made up of more than 95 per cent water. Eating them on a warm day will help you reach your recommended daily eight glasses of water, keeping you hydrated and cool. Strawberries and zucchinis are also nature’s own waterbombs.
Tea: A lukewarm drink will actually help regulate your body temperature. Tea is a mild diuretic, but sweating — and, more importantly, the evaporation of this sweat — is key for maintaining heat balance. Due to the increased heat load from drinking a warm drink, there is a compensatory increase in overall sweat output, which outweighs the internal heat gain from the warm drink.
WHAT NOT TO CONSUME
Alcohol: Disappointing when you really fancy a cold beer or chilled glass of wine, yes. But too much alcohol can rapidly dehydrate you. It also acts as a powerful diuretic, causing you to urinate more, meaning you become even more dehydrated.
Mangoes: Like alcohol, mangoes act as a diuretic so should be avoided when the weather is warm. For the same reason, it’s best to stay away from fennel, artichokes and asparagus.
Meat: For many of us, when the sun comes out, our first instinct is to warm up the barbecue, but during a heat wave go easy on meat. Digesting the protein in meat requires a lot of energy, creating a process called thermogenesis. That’s meat sweats to you.
Ice lollipops, slushies and ice cream: Digesting cold foods actually causes core temperature to increase, as your body overcompensates for the rapid cooling initiated by cold foods.
HOW TO WORK OUT
Exposure to extremely high outdoor temperatures and humidity poses serious risks to one’s health. And those who exercise outdoors should heed this warning more than most. “Regardless of how fit you are, exercising outside for longer than 45 minutes to an hour is going to pose a significant threat to your body,” says Roberts. “Drinking enough water is probably the most fundamental part of exercising in a heat wave. And as well as starting off hydrated, within the first half an hour you need to drink about half a litre of water and keep topping yourself up.
“If you’re cycling, take a large bottle of water with you and plan a route where you can top up on the way. Likewise, if you’re running, don’t run in remote areas where you can’t get a refill.” Roberts says exercising first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening is also a good idea. “If you’re training for an upcoming event, now isn’t the time to stick rigidly to a training schedule or aim for a personal best,” says Sanjay Sharma, medical director of the London Marathon. “But, rather, apply sunscreen, douse your head and back of neck with cold water regularly, and overall, listen to your body.”