Summer is the best season of the year. It’s bright, warm, features long days and fresh, warm nights, and so on. It combines the best of the year’s features with an extra dose of freedom. So, when does summer start? Sooner than you think! It officially started on June 19th, so it’s the right time to learn about this summer’s priorities. These include how to eat right, including making time for allergy and intolerance testing, staying hydrated, and exercising and fitness. All of this will help you get an accurate idea of what’s going on in your body, and it’ll make it the best summer ever.
Make fitness your summer goal
We all want a wonderful goal for our summer seasons to make the worthwhile. If you want a goal that will offer you the best long-term benefits, why not focus on your fitness? You can do that by focusing on a few aspects of your life: your eating habits, hydration goals, and fitness routines.
Before you jump into each of these, though, there are a few things to remember.
Firstly, eating right can be challenging when you don’t know what your body likes or dislikes. Try to factor in things like tastes and preferences, but also take a look at allergy and intolerance testing so that you can know how your body responds to the changes you will make in your diet.
Next, you’ll want to ensure that you’re hydrating correctly. While water is great, sometimes you need something a bit more. Consider sports drinks that focus on replenishing electrolytes and sodium.
Working out in the summer will be different than working out during other times of the year. We’ll discuss heat and proper protection below, but for now, think about your motivation. If you are working out just to work off that extra ice cream cone you enjoyed yesterday, be aware that guilt is a weak motivator for fitness. Try to make fitness changes based on how you want your health to be in the future!
Summer eating tips
Eating during the summer months can be challenging when the real heat hits. Light, nutritionally balanced meals are best for your body’s energy stores and comfort. Regarding food sources, aim for fish, eggs, chicken, lean beef, and turkey. These are all great lunch and evening meals that will digest well and give your body the fuel it needs.
Explore different types of salads and cool/room temperature foods to always have something nutritious even when it’s “too hot to cook.” Watermelon, in particular, is a great choice. It is refreshing, filling, and rich in fibre.
For the best results when eating this summer, make time for allergy and intolerance testing so that you know what your body can handle and tolerate. It may open your eyes to the food choices that you make!
Summer drinking reminders
We talked already about hydrating using sports drinks, but there’s another component to safely hydrating in the summer heat. As counterintuitive as it may seem, choose to drink room temperature/warm drinks rather than cold ones. The cold drinks will lead your body to try to “warm itself up,” which can put your body through more work/effort, be it your heart rate, your blood pressure, or just sweating a lot.
Warm drinks, in contrast, will both keep you from overheating and over-exerting yourself. The warm fluid will dilate your blood vessels, making this possible and improving your body’s fluid absorption. This means you will hydrate better by drinking room temperature or warm drinks!
Summer workout tips
Working out in the summer doesn’t have to be dangerous or difficult, but you will want to maintain proper fitness. The more mobile you stay, even on hot days, the better your fitness endurance will be.
When it comes to beating the heat, here are a few tips to help you keep up with your fitness without putting yourself at risk of injury or illness from overheating.
Take a cold shower before exercising
Before jogging or hitting the gym, take a lukewarm or cold shower. This will decrease your body’s temperature and help you preventatively stay cool once you start to work out. You’ll also want to keep your hair wet, as this can help keep you cool!
Workout early in the day
Instead of waiting until the evening when you feel sluggish from the day, work out first thing in the morning. Before 10 am is best if you want to beat the heat. Also, working out in the morning can help keep your energy up for the entire day and even help you sleep better at night.
Don’t skip rainy days
When light summer rainstorms hit, take advantage of them! Running on a rainy day can be refreshing and even help you stay cool! Even if it seems strange, consider giving it a go to beat the heat — you’ll most likely find it very invigorating and unique.
Embrace protein drinks
To maintain your energy, mineral, and protein levels, embrace protein drinks and other fortified products after you finish working out. This is an easy way to re-energise without eating much bulk. Just remember that if you are going with all-natural products, make time for allergy and intolerance testing since the natural ingredients could be stronger in their raw form and potentially leave you with an adverse reaction!
The summer season is just about here, so start planning to meet your summer fitness goal. With the right tips, you can keep your fitness in mind without putting yourself at risk of heat stroke or other common summer health conditions. Do you want this to be the best summer ever? Do that by prioritising your health!
