Tag Archives: Extreme Heat

June 29, 2018 · 10:58 am

How to Beat the Heat

I wanted to reblog this item from last year on dealing with the heat as we seem to be entering another hot spell.The Weather Channel reported that 90 million of us will be under heat warnings this weekend. Please check this post out for suggestions on staying healthy and alive without maybe risking your life during extreme heat. Discretion is the better part of valor.

Tony

Wellness Secrets of a SuperAger

I personally prefer extreme cold to extreme heat, because you can always add layers and go out, but with heat, no matter how much you take off, you are still uncomfortable once you are outside.

I cruised the web and wanted to share some of the suggestions of others in the same situation.

Our friends overseas at the Daily Mail offered some very down to earth ones, including: “Eat small meals and eat more often. The larger the meal, the more metabolic heat your body creates breaking down the food. Avoid foods that are high in protein, which increase metabolic heat.”

A similar concept came up in my blog item The Brain is an Oxygen Burner explaining why we often feel sluggish after eating a big meal because digestion requires a lot of oxygen that would be going to the brain, but is diverted to the gut.

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Filed under Exercise, extreme heat, hot weather, outdoor exercise

Tagged as Exercise, Extreme Heat, hot weather, how to beat the heat, outdoor exercise

July 3, 2016 · 11:48 am

Minimizing Summer Skin Problems with Ayurveda

Having suffered three skin cancers, I feel strongly about anything that might help. Here are some wise words that go far beyond SPF 30 or higher broad spectrum sunblock.

To read further on summer heat and sun problems check out my two Pages:

What to do about extreme heat

Skin cancer facts in general and my three skin cancer surgeries in particular

Tony

STAYING HEALTHY WITH AYURVEDA

By this point, everyone knows that the sun can cause severe damage to the skin. Our skin is the largest organ in our body, one of the main organs of purification. It acts as an insulator, regulates body temperature, and protects us from the harmful radiations of the sun. During the long days of summer, when exposure to the sun is at its peak, the risk of damage to our skin increases multifold.

Over-exposure to sun can allow extreme ultraviolet (UV) rays to penetrate through the layers of our skin, harming the DNA of our cells. From the perspective of Ayurveda, the intensity of the sun’s heat during the summer also aggravates Pitta dosha.

According to Ayurveda, most skin problems are associated with an imbalance of Pitta dosha, which governs metabolism, heat and digestion. Pitta has five subdivisions or “subdoshas”, and one of them, Bhranjaka Pitta, resides in the skin. Its…

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Tagged as Ayurvedic medicine, Extreme Heat, skin cancer, skin cancer surgery, sunblock

June 4, 2016 · 8:52 am

How Dangerous is it to Exercise Outdoors in a Heat Wave?

As we sit here on the brink of summer with record heat on the West Coast as well as the Southeastern U.S., I thought it useful to reblog this item I wrote during a heat wave a while back.

Parents, please keep in mind that you must not leave little children in hot cars. The Weather Channel reported that there have already been NINE deaths of young children this year.

Tony

Wellness Secrets of a SuperAger

O’Hare airport recorded a 94-degree high Saturday –the 9th 90-degree day so far this month and 14th of the season

Yesterday I delineated the danger signs of exercising in hot weather, but didn’t explain exactly how heat impacted the body itself.

Also I mentioned in an earlier post that my doctor told me not to go biking when there are 90 plus degree heat advisories. My daily biking has brought my resting heart rate down below 50 and I have less than 17 percent body fat on me. I am in great shape and prior to my doctor warning me about it, I had ridden regularly in heat waves. She said that despite my conditioning it was not safe for me. She said that she also told her 40 year old patients not to go out either.

I have to confess that I was skeptical about this. I do believe…

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Tagged as Exercise, Extreme Heat, heat stroke

February 23, 2014 · 8:54 pm

Are There Health Risks in Hot Yoga?

I got into yoga some years ago when I dated a woman who taught it. We went out for about two years and did yoga at least once a day. After we split up I still did yoga daily for several years.This was all before the current yoga craze. My experience of yoga was totally positive. I achieved excellent physical balance and learned through breath control to deal with stress. I can’t give you a good reason for stopping outside of mental and physical inertia.

I did not do hot yoga, nor even hear of it in that time. If you aren’t aware of it, hot yoga is done in a temperature of 105 Fahrenheit with humidity around 40 percent.

Those are hot conditions to do anything.

Consumer Reports recently reported on woman who complained that it left her light-headed, fatigued and weak. “I was completely exhausted, just depleted,” Julianne Pepe said of her reactions after practicing hot yoga.

These sound suspiciously like the symptoms of heat exhaustion or heat stoke.

As a cyclist in all four seasons, I am very aware of these symptoms. Please check out my page – What to Do About Extreme Heat for more on the dangers of extreme heat.

I haven’t heard a lot of reports like this from folks doing hot yoga. I know there are good aspects of the heat, too. Studio owner, Rich Pike, told Consumer Reports, “Heat allows you to bend safely and be more flexible. What the sweating does is it eliminates toxins through your sweat.”

It is true that sweating releases toxins from the body. But, keep in mind sweat contains other chemicals including salt and potassium which are vital electrolytes. Doing an extended hot yoga session and getting dehydrated can be dangerous to your health.

As in all situations, you need to listen to what your body is telling you. If you are benefitting from the practice, you won’t be getting mixed signals like confusion, light-headedness, etc.

Tony

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Tagged as Consumer Reports, dehydration, eletrolytes, Exercise, Extreme Heat, heat, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, hot yoga, hydration, Julianne Pepe, potassium, sodium, yoga

July 24, 2013 · 9:07 am

240713 Lessons learned when exercising in the heat

Keeping up with your exercise schedule can sometimes be a challenge, especially when it is hot. Having lived in this environment for many years, I have naturally adapted to the conditions and made changes in how I exercise during this period.

Tony

Explosivelyfit Strength Training, LLC

Lessons learned when exercising in the heat

Right now, in my neck of the woods, it is not uncommon for the temperatures to be in the high 80s and low 90s (Fahrenheit). Although the humidity is relatively low here compared to other parts of our great country, it is still hot.

Keeping up with your exercise schedule can sometimes be a challenge, especially when it is hot. Having lived in this environment for many years, I have naturally adapted to the conditions and made changes in how I exercise during this period.

Lifting in the heat – lift early

The expected temperatures today are going to be hovering around 97° but right now, at 0430, it is a very pleasant 59°. This makes it ideal to head out to the gym get the majority the work out completed before the temperatures get too hot. And since I am an early…

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Tagged as Exercise, Extreme Heat, weight-bearing exercise

August 17, 2012 · 5:19 pm

Myths and Facts about Sunburn and Sunscreen

At the risk of sounding like a reformed whore, now that I have succumbed to skin cancer, I am being extremely careful about protecting myself from the sun’s rays as well as everyone I meet who has a ‘nice tan.’ I may have become obnoxious in my zeal. I was especially interested in the talk on skin cancer at Northwestern Memorial Hospital Healthy Transitions Program® this week. Here are some tips I picked up there.

There is no such thing as waterproof sunscreen. So says Dr. Neda Ashourian of the Northwestern Skin Cancer Institute, Ltd. Speaking before the hospital’s Healthy Transitions group, Dr. Ashourian said that the best you can get is water-resistant sunscreen. So reapply when you come out of the water.

On that subject she said that when buying sunscreen to get SPF 30 or greater. It is critical to look for the terms Broad Spectrum on the container. If those words aren’t present, the sunscreen, no matter how high the SPF rating, may not protect you from the damaging Ultraviolet A (UVA) rays of the sun.

Some other dangers from sun included – windows. The UVA rays can penetrate windows, but not the Ultraviolet B (UVB).

You can get sunburn on a cloudy day because 80 percent of the sun’s rays penetrate clouds and fog.

At the beach sand reflects ultraviolet rays so you have to be doubly careful there and be certain that you have fresh sunscreen on. You need to reapply sunscreen after two hours because it wears off.

Finally, the end of summer is not the end of danger from ultraviolet light. Snow reflects UV light so you need to protect your face when skiing or engaging in other outdoor activities.

I have written about sunburn several times in the past couple of weeks and I want to reiterate probably the most important concept I have learned, namely there is no such thing as a healthy tan. I am disturbed to realize that as I have always prided myself on the nice tan that I got out riding in the sun. But, a “nice tan” is the siren song of skin cancer. Pay her no heed.

On a related subject, please check out my Page – How to Deal With Extreme Heat.

Tony

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Tagged as Extreme Heat, skin cancer, sun screen, sunburn

July 9, 2012 · 9:52 pm

You Need to Moderate Your Exercise in Extreme Heat

Extreme heat is really the ultimate test for someone committed to a healthy lifestyle that includes some kind of daily exercise. The recent heat wave in Chicago proved very difficult for me. I wanted to recount my actions on the final day of it because I made some mistakes that you might be able to avoid by reading this.

On Sunday the weather forecast was for another plus 100 degree day, extending our recent heat wave. We had already had at least a half dozen deaths from the heat, the youngest of which was 53 years old. Being considerably older than that, I was a bit nervous about riding.

In the past I have been able to finesse extreme heat by rising at the crack of dawn and getting my bike ride in ahead of the sun’s full blast later. On Sunday, I was out on the bike just after 6:00 a.m. So far so good, however, the temperature had already crossed the 80 degree mark with high humidity. I realized it was hot, but thought it was still 20 degrees under the 100 forecast for later.

Besides rising early, I also tried to accommodate the heat in other ways. I soaked a bandanna in cold water and wrapped it around my head. I wore another cold-water soaked bandanna around my neck. To the extent possible, I rode in the shade as opposed to direct sun. Because I ride on the lakefront there are water fountains at regular intervals. When I felt troubled by the heat I would stop at a fountain and fill my dog’s bowl with water and pour it on each of my arms to lower my body temperature. Also, sometimes I poured it over my head. You can see that I felt I was meeting the heat head on. I thought I was holding my own.

So, with all that good stuff going on, how did I goof up?

Here’s how.
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Tagged as aging, biking, Exercise, Extreme Heat, hot weather, weight

June 8, 2011 · 4:48 pm

How to Beat the Heat

I personally prefer extreme cold to extreme heat, because you can always add layers and go out, but with heat, no matter how much you take off, you are still uncomfortable once you are outside.

I cruised the web and wanted to share some of the suggestions of others in the same situation.