How important are heat indexes to outdoor exercise?

[writergal]

How do you avoid heat fatigue or heat exhaustion when you exercise outside during really humid weather? Other than the obvious answer of staying hydrated, are there extra steps to take?

 

I ask because my tennis group has scheduled games during the hottest times of day during the week and in the afternoon on weekends. I'd rather play in the morning or late evening but I've been with this same group of tennis players for two years.

 

Myself and a few others have discussed branching off to create our own group who play in the late evenings or early mornings but that hasn't happened yet.

[denise_xo]

The few times I've lived in such climates I've made a point of exercising early or late, like you suggest. Perhaps locals are more acclimatised...

[writergal]

I wonder if one has to be in great shape to exercise in high humidity. I'm in average shape and unfortunately experience heat exhaustion rather easily. But frankly, I don't like playing tennis when it's 92 degrees outside. Yuck.

[USMCHokie]

How do you avoid heat fatigue or heat exhaustion when you exercise outside during really humid weather? Other than the obvious answer of staying hydrated, are there extra steps to take?

 

YES!!! SALT!!! Either in the form of Gatorade, or those electrolyte tablets (e.g., Camelbak Elixir) which maintains the electrolyte balance when you drink a ton of water. Having too much water with not enough salt is pretty bad for you...

 

And eat food.

[Emilia]

YES!!! SALT!!! Either in the form of Gatorade, or those electrolyte tablets (e.g., Camelbak Elixir) which maintains the electrolyte balance when you drink a ton of water. Having too much water with not enough salt is pretty bad for you...

 

And eat food.

 

Great advice, thanks!

[tman666]

YES!!! SALT!!! Either in the form of Gatorade, or those electrolyte tablets (e.g., Camelbak Elixir) which maintains the electrolyte balance when you drink a ton of water. Having too much water with not enough salt is pretty bad for you...

 

And eat food.

 

Not only is it bad for you, but it can kill you. Excessive electrolyte imbalances (generally combined with water intoxication) have been responsible for a number of deaths.

 

It's important to stay hydrated, but in a high heat index environment, it's important to keep salt intake high and not over consume plain water. If you've ever experienced electrolyte imbalance, even in mild form, you know how much it affects your ability to function and perform.

 

Gatorade is full of salt, but also full of sugar. You can usually find reduced sugar or sugar free varieties though. Bananas are great too. I'm a big fan of the dissolving electrolyte tabs that Hokie mentioned. For you backpackers out there, they are light weight, and can be added to (sterilized) water for an easy source of electrolytes. They also have the added benefit of helping to make your water not taste as much like the pond it might have been extracted from.

[writergal]

Wait...so too much water before, during and after a tennis game on a humid day could actually kill me? Yikes. Also, going with what you and Hokie said about getting enough salt and electrolytes and eating food...that seems like an awful lot to do just to play tennis for an hour. So how do I eat during the tennis game? I can bring Gatorade instead of water with me next time, but what do I eat before a game, during, and then after? Peanuts? Candy bar? Sorry to bombard you with questions.

[Engadget]

Of course it's important, it's over 100 degrees where I am right now and I've tried running in the past in heats over 90, I almost passed out.

[tman666]

Wait...so too much water before, during and after a tennis game on a humid day could actually kill me? Yikes. Also, going with what you and Hokie said about getting enough salt and electrolytes and eating food...that seems like an awful lot to do just to play tennis for an hour. So how do I eat during the tennis game? I can bring Gatorade instead of water with me next time, but what do I eat before a game, during, and then after? Peanuts? Candy bar? Sorry to bombard you with questions.

 

An hour of tennis can be surprisingly tough, especially if you're highly competitive with it. This goes for any sport. When you're focused on the game, you don't feel yourself getting as tired as fast.

 

I would say that you do not need to eat during your game. Have a banana and some protein (eggs or greek yogurt would be good choices) thirty minutes before your game and then have both water AND gatorade available to you during the game. Afterwards, eat as you normally would. If you're extremely shaky and tired after the game, it could help you to include some carbs afterwards (in addition to protein).

 

Keep in mind that one has to drink a LOT of water in order to hurt themselves. Being dehydrated is just as dangerous, so make sure that you bring plenty of water with you as well.

 

We're probably over complicating this by a lot...

[USMCHokie]

Yea, when you're on a 15 mile hike with 75 lbs of sh*t on your back over the course of 5 hours in heat and humidity, that's when food and electrolytes matter...cramps suck...

[writergal]

An hour of tennis can be surprisingly tough, especially if you're highly competitive with it. This goes for any sport. When you're focused on the game, you don't feel yourself getting as tired as fast.

 

I would say that you do not need to eat during your game. Have a banana and some protein (eggs or greek yogurt would be good choices) thirty minutes before your game and then have both water AND gatorade available to you during the game. Afterwards, eat as you normally would. If you're extremely shaky and tired after the game, it could help you to include some carbs afterwards (in addition to protein).

 

Keep in mind that one has to drink a LOT of water in order to hurt themselves. Being dehydrated is just as dangerous, so make sure that you bring plenty of water with you as well.

 

We're probably over complicating this by a lot...

 

No, you're not over complicating it for me as I never really paid attention before until recently when I had a scary experience after an hour tennis game where I fainted in my apartment and woke up a little bit later. I'd eaten an hour before the game and only brought a liter of water with me. So I probably didn't eat or drink properly which is why I got dehydrated now that I think about it. I've never fainted before and certainly not after a tennis game. So that's why I started this thread.

 

I appreciate the advice because now i just have to figure out what to eat after (would nuts and M&Ms be good or do I have to eat a sandwhich for example).

[writergal]

Yea, when you're on a 15 mile hike with 75 lbs of sh*t on your back over the course of 5 hours in heat and humidity, that's when food and electrolytes matter...cramps suck...

 

Yikes. Did that happen to you? Was it for your military training or something?