Exercising is essential to maintaining a healthy life. But, doing it when the temperatures are very high can be dangerous for our health. We explain how to practice sports safely on these hot days.

Dehydration, exhaustion, dizziness, heat stroke… these are some of the problems that we could face if we take to the streets without any precautions. Here are the tips for doing sports in summer that you should keep in mind:

Have breakfast before you go out. Always maintain good energy levels and eat easily digestible food before engaging in physical activity

Be careful with heatstroke. Forget about going out to do sports in the hottest hours, this is from 12 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. This way you will avoid heat stroke

Protect yourself from the sun. Even if you do not go out in the central hours of the day, the sun’s rays continue to affect our skin and can cause premature aging, spots, burns and skin cancer. Whenever you go to do any outdoor activity, wear a high sun protection factor and protect yourself with a hat and sunglasses.

Choose lightweight sportswear. At this time of year it is very important to choose the clothes with which we will do sports well. They should be light, comfortable and breathable garments. Avoid dark colors and always wear appropriate footwear for the activity you are going to do.

Don’t forget to stretch. Since our muscles are not stiff from the cold in summer, we tend to skip stretching. Despite the high temperatures, it is still necessary to stretch the body before and after exercising to reduce soreness and avoid any type of injury.

Adjust the intensity. The summer heat makes us feel more tired, so any effort becomes heavy. For this reason, we cannot demand the same from our body in summer as in winter and it is best to opt for medium or low intensity sports such as Pilates.

Take the opportunity to try new sports. The summer heat also has good things, since it makes it possible to practice a multitude of water sports such as surfing, windsurfing or canoeing. Take advantage of this season to try these activities and exercise while you cool off.

Keep hydrated. If you add the summer heat to physical activity, the result is that sweating increases and also dehydration. Therefore, always carry a bottle of water with you and drink between a liter and a half and two liters of water a day.