Fitness
Working out in the heat can help you get fitter
Hot, humid days are already uncomfortable—now imagine that discomfort multiplied as you go all-out during an evening pickleball game or lunchtime run. For some, that heat can be enough to make you not want to exercise outside at all.
But, now is the time to use that workout inspiration we’re all getting from the summer Olympics—because, according to experts, working out in the heat can help us get fitter, if we do it correctly.
Why is exercising in the heat so hard?
Higher temperatures and stifling humidity make the body work harder.
“I always think that exercise and heat is a big cardiovascular challenge,” says Chris Byrne, registered physiotherapist and senior lecturer at the University of Exeter.
That’s because our cardiovascular system has to juggle two substantial jobs: circulating blood, oxygen, and metabolic fuel to our muscles, and cooling our bodies down.
“There’s competing demands. Some of…the cardiac output from the heart needs to be channeled into losing heat,” Byrne says. “That can start causing problems.”
That’s when what Byrne calls “heart rate drift” can happen. In cooler conditions, your heart rate will remain steady while maintaining the same effort during exercise. In the heat, despite running at the same speed, for example, heart rate starts to drift up. “And that is a sign of the cardiovascular system putting more focus on heat loss,” Byrne says.
What is heat adaptation?
“Our physical fitness in the hot environment can certainly be improved through things like heat training,” says Chris J. Tyler, who researches the impact of environmental extremes on the human body at the University of Roehampton in Britain.
With properly paced and progressive training, our bodies can not only adjust to heat, but we’ll also be able to work out harder at hotter temperatures, Tyler says.
That’s where three vital physical adaptations come in:
- lower core body temperature
- higher blood volume, which leads to higher stroke volume—the amount of blood ejected by heart beats
- lower resting heart rate.
Those adaptations interact to make your cardiovascular system function more efficiently, with a higher volume of blood leaving the heart per minute, Byrne explains.
Heat adaptation leads to a lower resting core body temperature in order to improve our ability to lose heat, Byrne says. Our body temperature can lower from the standard 98.6 F to as low as 97.7 F—giving us a lower starting temperature as we begin exercising, meaning we’ll start sweating earlier, cooling down earlier, and we won’t get as hot as quickly.
Byrne says we also start to sweat earlier at our newly lowered body temperature. That means our bodies have adapted to trigger heat loss mechanisms more quickly, which helps us cool down.
With these adaptations, you can reach much higher cardiac outputs—or much harder efforts—during exercise, Byrne says.
“These adaptations allow the heart to function more efficiently to meet those dual tasks of supplying fuel to working muscles and losing heat from working muscles,” Byrne says.
Here’s how safely heat train
Heat adaptations can occur quite quickly, says Tyler, if you do it right.
“The adaptation isn’t getting hot—it’s getting hot and staying hot,” Tyler says. “It’s not how long you exercise for, it’s how long you’re hot.”
Byrne advises to work out for at least 30 minutes every day, or 60 minutes every other day, if you’re running or cycling—at whatexperts would call “submaximal effort.”
Even if your heart is pounding in the heat, your core temperature may not be high enough to reap heat adaptation benefits. It’s most ideal to get that core temperature high and keep it high for at least 30 minutes, Byrne says, since it takes a longer time for body temperature to rise and fall than it does heart rate.
You can start to see those benefits as soon as five to seven days into daily training, Tyler says. If you’re exercising more like every other day, then he says you can expect to see those adaptations in about two weeks, maybe sooner.
When it comes to other types of exercise—like pickleball, tennis, or football—which include high intensity intervals, Byrne says heat adaptation is possible, even with brief rest periods between sets or games, since body temperature takes a while to fall.
“With something like tennis, you’ll probably see a rise in body temp, and if there’s a break in between sets you’ll probably see a subtle fall, but quickly it’ll be back up again,” Byrne says.
Even with adaptations, training in hot conditions is hard, especially when you first start out. Tyler says the key is to start slow, gradually increasing the difficulty.
“Just like you wouldn’t go to the gym and instantly try and lift 400 pounds, you might start light and get heavier as you progress,” Tyler says. If you go too quickly, he warns, you could get injured or suffer from heat-related illnesses. On the other hand, if you don’t increase the difficulty at all, you likely won’t see your fitness progress much.
Starting slowly can look like going for a 30-minute jog with walk breaks, Byrne says, and then building up gradually from there.
The average athlete should pay attention to heart rate and rate of perceived effort, or RPE, Tyler says. Once you see your heart rate lower during the same workouts and feel that they become easier than when you first started heat training, that’s when you feel those adaptations happening in real time.
How to stay safe in the heat
Safety should be your number one priority. Heat illnesses are real—and can be deadly in the most extreme cases.
Byrne advises to only exercise in what you can handle—if you feel you’re overheating, slow down or stop immediately and cool down. Humidity can be a dangerous factor as well, he says, as the moisture in the air prevents you from sweating—one of the most vital things our body does to cool down.
Here’s advice from experts and the CDC on how to stay safe while going after summer goals:
- Stay hydrated. Byrne advises to keep fluids and electrolytes on hand, especially for if you’re working out longer than 60 minutes.
- Don’t over hydrate: drinking too much plain water can be dangerous.
- Take it slow. Byrne advises beginners to start with something like a 30-minute jog with one-minute walking intervals dispersed throughout.
- Take some time off if you’re sick or have been sick recently.
- Slow down or stop if you feel overheated.
- Drink more water than usual, and don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink more.
- Wear loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing.
- Look for signs of heat illnesses. Seek shade and hydrate immediately if you feel symptoms like dizziness, delirium, nauseousness, headaches, or muscle cramps.
- People over 65—who aren’t marathon runners or highly trained—and children should avoid strenuous outdoor activity in the summer heat.
More on working out:
It’s important to have goals in mind as you set out on your fitness journey, whether you’re trying to lose weight, gain muscle or train for a race.skynesher/Supplied
January is notoriously the busiest time of year at the gym. A survey from Ipsos reported that a third of Canadians made exercise-based resolutions for the new year, with many folks working out for the first time or returning to fitness after some time away. If you’re new to exercise, the gym can feel like an intimidating place. But it doesn’t need to be. Below we’ve put together a few suggestions to help you get started.
Have a plan going in
For success at the gym, it’s crucial to have a plan. Before you start, it’s important to identify your goals. Are you looking to get stronger? Training for a race or competition? Do you want to improve body composition? While almost any consistent exercise is going to improve your overall health, specific results require specific training.
Following a workout program can help you stay committed – here’s how to write your own
Those completely new to working out may want to invest in a few sessions with a personal trainer. A reputable trainer will be able to put together a plan based on your preferences and skill level, while walking you through the proper form for each exercise. If cost is an issue, many gyms offer a free intro training session as a sign-up perk. There are also hundreds of different workout programs you can find online and video tutorials outlining proper form.
If you’re intimidated to exercise on your own, a fitness class allows you to follow along with an instructor while getting some quick pointers on how to properly perform the workout. Many gyms offer discounted or free classes to first-time visitors.
Trying to do too much, too fast will burn you out, leave you injured or both
When you’re motivated by a new year’s resolution, it’s tempting to pencil in long gym sessions multiple times a week. But that kind of regime is rarely sustainable. If you’d like to make exercising a habit beyond January – and you’ll need to for any kind of lasting results – it’s best to think about what you can do in the long term.
“You can either do an hour of weightlifting a few days a week, and actually do it, or you have these imaginary 10-hour training sessions you’ll never actually have time for,” said Dan John, strength coach and author. “I try to focus on [programs that are] doable, repeatable and reasonable.”
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Similarly, trying to immediately push beyond your physical limitations is a great way to get injured. For weightlifting, it’s important to consider proper warm-ups, active mobility exercises and learning the right techniques before trying to lift anything too heavy. For cardio, Canada Running Series offers a Couch to 5K plan that eases newcomers into jogging by starting small and gradually increasing the length/difficulty of each run.
Follow basic gym etiquette
The gym is a shared public space. Everyone there is trying to get in a good workout. That’s harder to do when people are having phone conversations, listening to videos without using headphones and refusing to wipe down their equipment after use.
In March, fitness trainer Paul Landini wrote an article explaining some unofficial rules to follow when going to the gym, including being mindful of other people’s space and making sure you’re not monopolizing equipment during busy hours.
Try to find what you like about the gym
Changes in body composition, strength and overall health take time. They also need upkeep over the long term. Building a consistent fitness habit is something that will help with all those goals. One of the best ways to do that is finding something at the gym you genuinely enjoy doing. That can be working out with a friend to add a social aspect to exercise and accountability to show up. It can entail learning a new fitness-adjacent skill such as boxing or training for a competition like Hyrox. It can be rooted in the sense of accomplishment that comes with getting stronger. Whatever the reason, finding the joy in exercise is going to be key if you want to move beyond short-term motivation.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Finding time to work out as a mom with young kids can be a challenge in itself, especially when you’re new to an area and don’t know where to start. However, a new fitness option strolled into Sioux Falls today. iStroll offers moms the chance to work out and meet other moms all while their kids can play or even join alongside them.
iStroll is a national organization that has more than 35 locations in the country but this is the first time one opened in South Dakota. It’s a full body workout that incorporates dumbbells, body weight, and jogging strollers when the weather’s nice.
“I found iStroll in Oklahoma and fell in love,” said Kelsi Supek who started the affiliate in Sioux Falls. “We made friends. It became our entire social network. The kids loved it and then we moved to Arizona during COVID. And all the moms were stuck at home. They were inside with our kids and lonely, honestly. And we were like, why can’t we start an iStroll and be out at the parks with the kids every day? And it took off.”
When Supek moved to Sioux Falls, she was encouraged by her family to start an affiliate and own it herself.
“Gym daycares did not work out for my children,” said Supek. “I would get 10 minutes into a class and then I’d have that person trying to knock outside the yoga studio going, Can I have Kelsey and her kids screaming in daycare? And it just didn’t work for us. So at iStroll they could be with me or I could be breastfeeding the baby as I was teaching in class.”
Classes are planned to continue each Wednesday and Friday at We Rock the Spectrum and First Presbyterian Church. For a full schedule for January and February, you can look at their Facebook. The first class is also free and memberships are for the whole family.
“Letting the kids see you work out is, it’s similar to homeschooling where like, you know, how are they going to love working out if they don’t see you working out,” said Kelly Jardeleza, a stay-at-home mom of three kids. “Whereas at other gyms they put them in a room and they don’t get to watch you. And how are you going to inspire them if they’re not watching you do it?”
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
There’s no bad time to take a more active interest in your health, but the new year, for lots of us, feels like a fresh start. Maybe you’re planning to sign up for a 10k or finally have a go at bouldering, eat a bit better or learn to swing a kettlebell. Maybe you want to keep up with your grandkids — or just be a little bit more physically prepared for whatever life throws at you.
To help things along, Guardian Live invites you to a special event with public health expert Devi Sridhar, journalist and author Mariella Frostrup, and health and fitness columnist Joel Snape. They’ll be joining the Guardian’s Today in Focus presenter Annie Kelly to discuss simple, actionable ways to stay fit and healthy as you move through the second half of life: whether that means staying strong and mobile or stressing less and sleeping better.
To make the whole event as helpful as possible, we’d love to hear from you about what you find most challenging — or confusing — when it comes to health and exercise. What should you actually be eating, and how are you going to find the time to make it? What sort of exercise is best, and how often should you be doing it? Is Pilates worth the effort — and should we really all be drinking mugfuls of piping hot creatine?
Whether your question is about exercise, eating, or general wellness, post it below and we’ll put a selection to our panel on the night.
Share your experience
You can post your question to the panel using this form.
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