Beat The Heat: Hydration Tips For Your Summer Workout

Summer is not an easy season for fitness enthusiasts to keep up their fitness goals. The difficult weather is not the only obstacle to maintaining your fitness routine. Generally, your body produces excessive sweat during summer and that's why staying hydrated becomes a challenge. And it's not just about summertime, whenever you are vigorously burning calories through exercise or hard physical activities, keeping your body well-hydrated becomes essential. However, in summer, the issue of hydration naturally gets fuelled and to cope up with the hot weather you must keep the water intake frequent and adequate. 

Why Staying Hydrated Is A Must During Workout? 

Do you know that in the hot season, you should be sipping on water or any liquid every 15 minutes during a workout session? During exercise, your inner body temperature rises significantly causing you to sweat excessively. As a response to the increasing temperature, your body tries to cool itself by producing sweat and evaporating it off your skin. This continuous sweat production leads to severe dehydration. While you cannot help sweating during workouts, what you can do is keep your body cool with proper hydration. Here are some tips to stay hydrated before, during, and after a workout in summer. 

• Drink Water Frequently 

Take drink breaks frequently. Plenty of water intake is the key to hydration. So, make it a habit and try sipping on water or a fluid that mostly contains water throughout the day. You can also make smoothies or juices, and carry these to your gym floor, as ensuring a good enough water intake is a must. You may also consider taking multiple small drink breaks between summer workout sessions, and don't forget to give yourself a treat with a refreshing drink post-workout. 

• Replace Complex Meals With Fruity Salad 

Summer is a great time to munch on seasonal fruits. To keep your hydration levels on point, incorporate juicy fruits like watermelon, litchi, lemons, mango, papaya and berries into your meals or snacks. Some of these fruits contain plenty of water which can significantly contribute to balancing your hydration. Another great way to add these seasonal fruits to your daily diet is by switching  one of your meals to fruit salads. In this way, you can benefit from the rich nutrients while staying hydrated and away from complex and spicy food.  

• Carry Your Water Bottle 

While carrying a water bottle may seem too much, trust us, it's important, especially during summer. Your gym may have a great water facility, but carrying your bottle will at least make the water consumption safe. Besides that, you would not want to sip on any water without knowing how pure that is. Thus, it is highly suggested to make a habit of carrying your water bottle always, especially while heading towards the gym.  You will be thirsty frequently during workouts, so you may also try preparing some refreshing drinks or juice to drink during your gym session. Just don't make it too sweet or avoid adding ingredients that contain too much sugar, because that would boost your thirst even more. 

• Say ‘No’ To Packaged Drinks 

In summer, it may be hard to resist cold drinks and other packaged drinks, but avoiding them is good for your health. These packages contain enough sugar that may significantly contribute to your weight. Rather, you may prepare various types of sorbet at home, smoothy, or even mocktails to offer your tastebuds a delicious treat while keeping your body well hydrated.