It’s 9pm, the dishwasher’s humming and the dog sleeping as I haul myself off the sofa and, wearing pyjama shorts, an old vest, no bra and a grimace, subject myself to thigh-burning weighted lunges. I know that in this heat, if I don’t get the exercise I dread most over with now, I’ll bail on my whole routine in the morning.
If keeping fit feels especially gruelling in a heatwave, it’s because your body’s trying to fuel your muscles while keeping your temperature down, making your heart beat faster and increasing fatigue.
Add in the exhaustion of disrupted sleep – because it’s harder to cool down enough to nod off – and it’s unsurprising we’re collectively exercising less. This year, a study analysing 24 billion minutes of activity on people wearing Fitbits, published in the Journal of Public Economics, found “significant reductions in activity” in hot weather.
Another study in the journal Nature Human Behaviour found exercise levels declined in temperatures of over 28°C – a snip compared to the 35°C heat expected in swathes of England last week, our fourth heatwave of the summer. (Not to mention that from this Sunday, we can expect 30°C temperatures in parts of the country).
Mine don’t, however, because I’m an exercise addict, and if I don’t fit in my usual fitness regime, I go slightly mad. “Deconstructing” my workout by doing some of it the night before is one way I’m managing this summer, and while you might not be as regimented, it’s still wise to develop strategies to keep moving, because “even in hot weather, exercise will help you feel less sluggish,” says personal trainer Kate Rowe-Ham, author of Owning Your Menopause.
