What is the maximum temperature at which you can exercise?

In the middle of summer and having already experienced some heat waves, we wonder what is the maximum temperature acceptable to go out and exercise, and at what temperature it is more than advisable not to do so.

Maximum temperature for exercising in the heat

First of all, when we refer to a heat wave, it is important to remember that this concept refers to a specific temperature for each country and continent, so it is not very indicative and quite relative. Exercising in the heat can be 32?C in the UK and 40?C in Spain. So this value is not useful.

In the face of such temperatures, health organizations always warn: take care of at-risk populations. So that is the first advice, if you are elderly or very young, have any circulatory problems, or if the heat affects your blood pressure a lot, exercising in the heat is riskier. In any other case, it is not completely discouraged and, in fact, the absence of rain encourages many athletes to go out and exercise in the heat.

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But there are some facts you should know if you decide to exercise in the heat: first of all, fluid loss increases significantly. It is estimated that exercising in the heat causes you to lose between 2 and 4 liters more of fluid through sweating: so the first advice if you decide to go out in the sun is to hydrate well and constantly, more than usual, and even not wait to be thirsty to ingest some liquid. Also, choose your foods wisely.

The second advice is to adapt your body to this new context of high temperatures. How? Well, the body also reads the context, but the most risky thing for your body are sudden changes of any kind, so go out with the bike even if the thermometer exceeds 30?C or 35?C but at least for the first few days, the first week, reduce the pace and time, and make a sequential and progressive increase in your exercise, to acclimatize the body. In fact, exercising in the heat can be quite similar to those acclimatizations that elite athletes carry out as a preparatory phase for some tests.

Exercising in the heat is possible, with precautions

Therefore, the maximum temperature at which it is not recommended to exercise in the heat is around 38ºC. At more or less that temperature, it is advisable to look for another time of day with lower temperature, train indoors, or suspend a workout.

In any case, if you decide to exercise in heat above that temperature, consider dehydration, possible muscle cramps, and even discomfort or headache. The vasodilation that heat causes in your body worsens circulation, so these problems can appear more easily.

In summary, at more than 35ºC, exercising in the heat is possible if you are not at risk and if you take precautions to do it gradually and hydrate regularly.