How do you condition your body to be more resilient in hot and humid conditions?

Exercising in general causes an increase in body emperature as the chemical processes within the body go to work and utilise the fuel that powers the exercise. When exercising in hot environments, there is an additional increase in body temperature due to the environment, with high humidity making conditions feel even hotter. Therefore, it is important to acknowledge that high temperatures and humidity are actual stressors on the body, just like exercise, and potentially, your training may need to be modified to suit. In preparation for exercising in summer, one of the best strategies is to tackle the warmer weather head on and adapt or acclimatise as the temperatures start to rise. As temperatures gradually increase, your body will begin to adapt however we can also help this via a few simple strategies. Hydration is the main player in assisting your body to tolerate the combined stressors of exercise and heat. By keeping hydrated, your body can effectively move heat (via blood flow) from the deepest tissues to the surface of the skin - which is why we appear red when exercising. Another key strategy is to wear appropriate clothing. In areas of high humidity, sweat needs to actually evaporate off the skin to take heat with it. This means that when sweat rolls off the body, or gets absorbed by clothing, it does not carry as much heat with it. A key ingredient to help sweat evaporate off the body is to increase airflow, particularly over bare skin. Tricks include exercising outdoors or in well ventilated areas and wearing loose fitting clothing. Finally, with sun protection a key consideration, exercising late afternoon is the most optimal due to lower humidity and UV levels, even if it is a little hotter.