As the temperature soars past the 40 degrees Celsius mark, it’s near impossible to train or play sports outdoors. Doctors and fitness experts advise lighter workouts, a modified exercise regimen and indoor sessions during the peak summer months. Top triathlete, Pragnya Mohan, who has represented India at the Commonwealth Games, travels to Europe to train during summers as training in the Indian summer comes with the high risk of dehydration, dizziness, and fainting, she says.
Outdoor exercise is dependent on weather conditions, notes Dr Ajay Aggarwal, director and head of internal medicine at Fortis Hospital, Noida. “When we exercise, we generate internal heat, which our bodies shed by sweating and shunting the warm blood away from our cores and towards the skin. When the ambient temperatures rise, this process falters. Body heat builds up. Our hearts labour to send additional blood towards the skin. We glisten with sweat, and the same exercise that felt tolerable during cooler weather now drains us,” explains Dr Aggarwal.
Since everyone cannot go to Europe, the next best thing is to jump into the water and get your exercise fix. Swimming is a full body workout, says former Olympics swimmer and coach Nisha Millet. “You can constantly challenge yourself with swimming by changing the speed, distance or stroke and that keeps it interesting. You also burn plenty of calories and can get that coveted V-shaped back,” says Millet. Swimming is a low impact sport that doesn’t load your joints and lowers the risk of injury. Studies have shown that swimming also helps reduce hypertension and improves mental and cardiovascular health.
If you’re not a swimmer, consider moving workouts indoors or changing the timing of your sessions to early in the morning or late in the evening. If you can’t do either of these, it’s a good idea to reduce the training intensity, says Gagan Arora, celebrity coach and founder of Kosmic Fitness health studio in Delhi. “One can opt for shorter cardiovascular training sessions with interval training. If you want to continue training outdoors, consider scheduling them for the early morning,” Arora adds. Runners could also make good use of the pool and take to aqua running instead of plodding through the streets in inclement weather. Aqua running is extremely low impact and the buoyancy of water also makes it easier for overweight people to run without exposing them to the risk of impact injury.
Hydration becomes even more important in the summer months, says Dr N.R. Shetty, consultant for internal medicine, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai. “Prolonged exposure to high temperatures increases water loss through sweating, leading to dehydration. When the body loses more fluids than it takes in, it can result in heat exhaustion, dizziness, muscle cramps, fatigue, and even heatstroke in severe cases,” says Shetty. So, make sure you hydrate before, during and after your sessions and have electrolytes, especially after training. Arora advises avoiding alcohol if you are training hard during the summer months as it dehydrates you further.
You also need to be vigilant about how your body reacts to training in the increased heat. If you feel nausea, headache, dizziness or cramping during a hot workout, slow down or stop and look for shade since these could be signs of incipient heat illness. “Before the body is acclimatised, we need to be cautious in doing intensive workouts during the summer months,” warns Dr Aggarwal.
SLEEPING WELL
In summer, longer days mean more exposure to light, which affects the delicate sleep hormone, melatonin. Coupled with doomscrolling, it could lead to 3am nights and waking up groggy. “That’s why we recommend no screens at least an hour before bedtime,” says Dr Rajneesh Kumar Srivastava of Max Super Speciality Hospital, Lucknow.
A good night’s sleep includes enough hydration, a light dinner atleast an hour before bedtime, limiting coffee and letting go of those late evening cold beers. Besides keeping the mind alert, alcohol and caffeine are diuretics which will only increase midnight washroom visits. Instead, Dr Srivastava, recommends light activity like a walk after dinner followed by a lukewarm shower.
Keeping the room cool helps too, and the most suitable temperature is between 24–26 degrees Celsius, closest to the body’s temperature. “Multiple studies show the lower our core body temperature, the easier it is to fall asleep. In summer, the core body temperature rises for some people and they could develop sleep disruption,” explains Ayurvedic health counsellor Deepa Kannan and author of How to Sleep Better. She explains, keeping the bedroom at frigid temperatures will have the opposite effect as the body tries to push up core body temperature could disrupt sleep, therefore the AC needs to be in the moderate range of coolness.
TURNING TO YOGA
Yoga also has seasonal variations and asanas. Mumbai-based yoga trainer Pramila Khubchandani suggests moon salutations or chandranamaskars. “Chandranamaskars are a series of stretches that can be done in the evening too. They are hip opening and ninety-nine percent of my students love them,” she says. Suryanamaskars, on the other hand, are said to generate heat and she recommends doing them slowly to avoid overheating or overexertion. She also teaches yin yoga which involves holding a posture for longer. “Yin yoga helps calm the body and brings down its temperature. Since it’s about holding a pose for longer, I will end up doing maybe just six poses in one hour,” she says.
Yoga practice is incomplete without breathwork or pranayama. Sheetali that involves rolling the tongue, breathing in from the mouth and breathing out from the nose is one of the most popular cooling pranayams. “There are some people who can’t roll their tongue, and they can practice sheetkari which is breathing in through gently clenched teeth while the tongue touches the upper palate and breathing out through the nose,” explains Sneha Singh, a Goa-based yoga teacher. For both poses, the breathing starts from the abdomen. While these asanas are suitable for summer, they have a few don’ts. Singh points out sheetali and sheetkari shouldn’t be practiced by those with asthma or people who have a tendency for mucus build-up—and it’s always better to learn from a teacher before trying yoga on your own.
The ultimate cooling and calming asana, recommended by both yoga teachers, is savasana, which relaxes and calms the body from head to toe.