Beat the Heat

There is one more excuse that people offer to avoid doing their workouts that I completely forgot about last week in the article "No More Excuses". I guess you will have to excuse my forgetfullness:) (although I think "I forgot" could be another excuse). Anyway, I'm getting carried away with excuses again.

The excuse that I am going to talk about is the weather. Right now, it is summer and the temperatures where I live are in the mid 90s and, if you factor in the humidex, it is close to 100 degrees. Many people use extreme heat as an excuse not to exercise and I do not blame them. I know when it gets hot outside, I feel like my energy is being drained from my body. The last thing I want to do in 90 degree temperatures is to go for a run or play a match of tennis. You also have to keep in mind the fact that in our current environment, high temperatures generally go hand in hand with the ever so wonderful smog alerts if you live in a big city. The air quality is probably not conducive to outside workouts unless you are going to swim in a pool or at the beach.

So what can we do when it gets hot? Should we sit around and give in to the heat? I don't think that we need to totally abandon our workout sessions because it is too hot. There is a lot to be said about working out indoors in nice air conditioned buildings on days like this. This is one of those days that you can dig out your favorite workout DVD and plug it into the DVD player. If you are not one to cherish exercise videos, there might be at least one that is close to the type of workout you enjoy.

Another option is to keep doing your favorite workout but perhaps you can change the time of day that you do it. During the summer, exercising at noon under the hot sun is pretty risky. You risk dehydration, heat exhaustion or heat stroke and sun burn from too much exposure to the sun. It would be a much safer situation to either exercise very early in the morning or in the evening when the sun is lower and the temperature and air quality is better. You should still remember to wear a hat, sunglasses, sun screen and bring plenty of water with you because the temperature could still be fairly hot. Another thing to remember, is that cotton clothing does not take the moisture from your body as well as some of the new synthetic fabrics. The newer fabrics absorb the sweat and evaporate it very quickly to help keep your body much cooler.

Sometimes, it is best just to change the workout that you do on hot days altogether. If you had planned to do a run, you may opt to walk instead. Instead of doing an intense strength training workout, it may be a better option to do yoga or pilates so that you can keep your body temperature down.

No matter what time of day, or what type of workout you chose, it is important to stay hydrated. Always have a water bottle close by (with water in it of course). If your workout is outdoors, make sure you have the right SPF sunscreen for your skin type. It does not make sense to risk getting skin cancer when you are doing this for your health. If you are exercising and you are becoming dizzy or appear to have stopped sweating, it is best to stop and get yourself somewhere cool and get some fluids.

Another hazard that can be experienced in the very hot weather, is severe weather. In hot humid weather, severe thunderstorms seem to pop up out of nowhere. When I walked regularly, the minute I saw signs of storm, I headed back towards the direction of my house. People have been killed by lightening while playing golf and trying to get that last hole in before a storm. If you see dark clouds and winds approaching fast, now is the time to step up that walk or run and see how fast you can get yourself home. You can always catch up on your steps the next day.

The hot weather does not need to prevent you from doing a workout but make sure that you exercise sensibly when the weather conditions are not quite the way they should be. Don't risk your health and safety for the sake of being healthy. That just would not make sense!

No More Excuses!

An excuse is an explanation or reason that is offered in order to explain why a certain obligation has not been fullfilled. Many excuses are due to things that cannot be avoided and are therefore legitimate but often excuses are explanations that people use to justify why they have not done something that should have been done.

I have an employee who is late for work at least once a week. She always has an excuse. She crosses the same international border that I do every day. There are days when the border experiences traffic difficulties so there are some days when I arrive at work very close to my start time but I do get there on time. So many times when she offers me the excuse of the border being backed up I think about how I overcame that barrier and I offer her the solution that I use. She seems to want to justify her tardiness by using the border as an excuse. I know that there are paths she can take to avoid this problem but she just does not want to take them.

The same is true with our own health and fitness. People offer many excuses for not trying maintain their own health. Maybe there should be more sympathy offered to these people since they are obviously asking for it. Just like the other day when this same employee came into my office in tears because she was 45 minutes late. I told her not to cry about it. I do not think it is appropriate for people to cry and feel sorry for themselves because they are "unable" to maintain their own health.

Maybe we should examine some of the excuses that are offered for people who do not exercise or try to stay to healthy.

1. I don't have enough time. This is probably the most common excuse for people who do not exercise. I don't have time enough to exercise either (at least not when I look at my schedule) however, exercise is something that you can fit it when you are doing something else. While you are watching So You Think You Can Dance, why not try to dance with them. OR, when those commercials come on every 10 minutes, probably have time to do a couple of sets of weights. I have sat on the couch with my resistance band doing bicep curls with the band anchored by my foot, while I watched my favorite show. Sometimes you just have to be determined that you need to take 30 to 60 minutes from your schedule to do something for yourself. If you have to take your kids to that baseball game, you can walk around the park while they are sitting on the bench waiting to get up to bat. OR, you could walk to the park with them to get a some cardio in for the day. So I do understand that time can be an issue but there are ways to get around it.
   
2. I don't have enough money. I guess maybe people think that they have to go to a gym to workout. Gyms are nice and all the equipment is there, however, they are not essential to an exercise program. Outdoor walking and running is absolutely free except for the cost of good walking or running shoes. Resistance training can be done with your own body weight doing pushups for upper body, lunges and squats for lower body and crunches for abs. Resistance bands and dumbbells are fairly inexpensive pieces of equipment and if you already own a TV and DVD/VCR, videos and DVDs are relatively inexpensive. So, money does not have to be an issue.
3. I don't have a babysitter. This could be a problem but it does not have to be. Exercise can be worked in if you are a busy parent. If your child is an infant, they would probably appreciate walks in the stroller. Mom or dad can get some cardio as well as some resistance training pushing the stroller. You can bring the kids for a walk to the park, when they are older, and play on the equipment with them. Pushing them on the swings offers mild resistance and running around playing hide and seek or tag offers cardio. If you are a gym member, most gyms offer child care services for their members so that should help.
4. I have an illness. This can present a problem depending on the illness. In many cases, exercise is a prescription for several illnesses. Many doctors put their patients on light exercise plans to treat conditions such as arthritis and fibromyalgia. I have had lower back problems for years and I find if I do not exercise for a time period, that I experience lower back pain. When I am active, I do not have pain. Some illnesses can present obvious reasons for not working out such as bad colds or flu, but in most instances exercise is beneficial. I have friend who just underwent chemotherapy. Obviously on the days that she had her treatment and for a few days afterwards, she did not exercise, but on the other days she maintained her yoga and light cardio activities. Walking is usually a rehabilitation for heart patients. Cardiovascular activity is what keeps the heart and the lungs healthy.
5. Genetics. Their are certain genetic predispositions to many illnesses. Certain cancers are found to be genetic. Heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and thousands of other conditions can have huge genetic predispositions. My mother always maintained that since her own mother died at the age of 42 of a stroke, that this was probably hereditary and that she would die young also. This was her excuse for not exercising and for continuing her smoking habit. My mother died at the age of 62, 20 years older than my grandmother but her quality of life would have much better had she taken the advice of her doctor and stopped smoking. She developed emphysema and later Hodgkins Disease. She spent her last 3 years on oxygen therapy because of smoking and lung destruction from pneumonia due to lowered resistance from her chemotherapy. My husband has the same genetic dispositions as his siblings who suffer from obesity, diabetes and heart disease, but his quality of life is much better because he exercises and has a healthier diet. So, it is true that genes can be a huge factor in health, however, lifestyle can also be a huge factor in life quality.
6. Obesity. Many people use obesity as a reason not to exercise. It is definately more difficult for an obese person to walk a mile than for someone who is not obese. A lot of overweight and obese people feel self conscious going to a gym. An obese or overweight person, is someone who really does need to exercise and should not use their weight as an excuse. I can understand the self consciousness so it may be a good idea to avoid public places to exercise if this is going to hinder their progress. There are many support groups for obese individuals and often there are programs offered specifically for this type of individual. It could be motivating to exercise with a group of peers in the same situation. The individuals of the group can help one another. Exercise can be done in the home in private with, or without the help of a personal trainer. Someone who is obese will need to start out slowly but eventually, as they begin to lose the weight, they can progress at a faster rate.
7. I don't want to. This is probably the excuse of excuses and is most likely the biggest reason underlying all of the excuses that I just listed. So if you want to use some of your own personal reasons for not staying healthy, that is your own choice. You can offer me an excuse for not exercising but I can always find a reason for you that you should however, if you just don't want to then there is nothing that anyone else can do to help. I know this sounds a bit harsh but just don't complain or cry about your health afterwards. Afterall, it was your choice.