So it is officially summer here in the southern hemisphere. Melbourne has done its typical boiling hot for a few days then needing to turn the heater on the next; well, they do say variety is the spice of life!
Summer is when mother nature makes the temperature soar, and if you are like me, you sweat buckets. It doesn’t matter if you love the warm weather or HATE it (I LOVE summer I can’t handle the humidity). Here are my top 5 Summer Training Survival Tips. Cause let’s face it, sometimes getting your sessions done in the heat plain sucks balls!
Top Tip 1:
Go early or go late
Yep, it’s an obvious one, but if you train in the middle of the day or when the sun is up, you are likely to get burnt to a crisp, get super dehydrated and possibly even suffer sunstroke. If you go early, like beat the sunrise early, you will beat the heat and all the other heat-related issues that come with it (think sunstroke, sunburn, overheating, dehydration).
Top Tip 2:
Stay hydrated
Warm weather, exercise and our bodies natural mechanism to try and keep us cool means one thing. Sweat and LOTS of it! As you sweat, you can lose a lot of your natural salts. For several reasons, this can lead you to many strange internal chemistry impacts. Trust me, this isn’t something you want to experience first hand – and yep, I am talking from experience! Too much hydration can also cause its own issues. On balance, electrolytes and fluids are your friends! The more you sweat, the more you will need to replace, but everyone has their limits! If you are thirsty, drink. Mix up your plain water with electrolytes to keep the water boredom at bay.
Top Tip 3:
Wear protection
This is important in multiple ways! No one likes the feeling of chafe, especially that sting in the shower after you finish! So lube up! Protect all your bits from chafing, rubbing, hot spots, blisters and saddle soreness. Sweat makes your skin more prone to issues, and this means that you might find in summer you need a little extra protection. Also, if you are like me and through winter you have increased your size a little bit, you might find that things that never used to rub together currently are, or are rubbing together a little more than they used to (thigh rub anyone??). This one doesn’t stop here, though! Protect yourself from the sun as well. You know the drill here – Slip, Slop, Slap! Wear suitable clothing, put on a hat and sunnies and slather on that sunscreen. Sunburn is NOT your friend, and in years to come, no one wants to deal with skin cancer.
Top Tip 4:
Be kind to yourself
Seriously. Be kind in your thoughts, treatment and actions. You might not perform as you normally would if you haven’t slept because it was a gazillion degree’s overnight, or you have super hay fever or asthma. Do one thing. Make a promise to yourself to be kind. One session isn’t going to impact your overall performance. Being an athlete is a mental game. Acknowledge that the session sucked. Work out why. Then MOVE ON! Yep. Really. Learn from it and move on. You can’t control the weather. In fact, there is so much you can’t control. Focus on what you can, that inner voice; make it be kind to yourself!
Top Tip 5:
Find a way to keep cool
Or at the very least, know how to cool yourself down when you need to quickly. This one could very much save your life one day. If you are training in doors, I find a wet cold towel or an ice towel, or even a Buff filled with ice wrapped around my neck works super well. As a female stuffing ice cube’s down my bra works super well too.
Bonus Tip:
Enjoy the ice cream
Seriously! Life is short, blink and you miss it short. Eat the darn ice cream, enjoy it and smile!
What are your top tips for summer training? I would LOVE to know!! Shoot us a message or drop a comment below to let me know yours.
Sa
