How to Work Out in the Heat Without It Wrecking Yourself

 

Hey hey beautiful human!

Summer workouts can humble you fast. You go to do the same workout you have been doing for months, and suddenly your heart rate is higher, you are sweating within five minutes, everything feels harder, and you start wondering if you somehow lost your fitness overnight.

You did not lose your fitness. Your body is just working in a much more demanding environment. When it is hot, your body has to keep your muscles working and cool you down at the same time, which means your heart, hydration, energy, and recovery are all under more stress than usual.

In this episode of Embrace Your Real, I’m breaking down how to keep working out in the heat without burning yourself out. You’ll learn what is actually happening in your body, how to adjust your workouts, what hydration really needs to look like, when electrolytes matter, and how to know the difference between normal summer discomfort and signs that your body needs you to stop.

What’s Discussed:

  • Why working out in the heat feels so much harder, even when your fitness has not changed

  • What happens when your body has to fuel your muscles and cool you down at the same time

  • How heat affects your heart rate, sweat, energy, and workout intensity

  • Why adjusting your workout time and intensity can help you stay consistent without overdoing it

  • How to hydrate throughout the day instead of trying to catch up right before your workout

  • When electrolytes can help and when plain water is probably enough

  • How to tell the difference between normal summer workout discomfort and warning signs like dizziness, nausea, confusion, or a heart rate that will not come down

The heat does not have to be the reason you stop showing up this summer. Your workouts may need to look a little different, but different does not mean less effective. With the right timing, hydration, intensity, and awareness, you can keep building strength without wrecking yourself in the process.

Ready to make your summer workouts simpler? The Movement With Julie app gives you structured workouts you can do at home, in the air conditioning, on your schedule, with 30-minute and 60-minute options ready for you. Head to movementwithjulie.com and get started.

If you loved this episode, you’ll also love Episode 637: How to Make a 30-Minute Workout Actually Count. It’s the perfect follow-up if the heat, your schedule, or summer plans are making your workouts feel harder to fit in, because it will help you make a shorter session feel focused, effective, and worth showing up for. 

If you want more from me, be sure to check out…

Transcript

(0:00) Hey, hey, beautiful human. Can I steal five minutes of your time? I have something super (0:05) important to share with you, but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly (0:09) bonus episode of Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Labrador.

I'm about to give you a quick tip for (0:14) building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. (0:19) Stay tuned if you're ready to embrace your real. Let's get in.

Let's go. (0:33) Hello, and welcome back to another bonus episode on the Embrace Your Real podcast. (0:37) Every year when summer rolls around, it can feel absolutely brutal to fit a workout in, (0:41) especially if you're working out in like a garage or a porch.

You're already exhausted (0:45) from the heat, and then you go and do the same exercises you've been doing for months, right? (0:49) Your body's used to it, and suddenly everything is just harder. Like, your heart is pounding (0:52) faster. You're dripping sweat within the first five minutes.

You feel like you're working twice (0:56) as hard for half the result. And somewhere in the back of your mind, you just start to wonder, (1:00) like, did I lose all my fitness or I'm actually going backwards? I want to answer that question (1:04) immediately. No, you did not lose your fitness.

Your body is just responding to a completely (1:09) different, more intense environment. And once you understand what's actually going on, (1:13) this season gets a whole lot easier to navigate. So in today's episode, I'm going to be breaking (1:17) down what's actually happening when your body is working out in the heat, how to adjust so that (1:22) you can keep showing up without burning out, what actually helps with hydration versus what is just (1:27) noise, and then how to know the difference between normal summer discomfort and a sign that you (1:31) need to stop.

We're just going to dive right into it. Number one, a lot of things are happening in (1:37) your body when it's hot, and you need to learn kind of what's happening internally. So the simple (1:41) version is when temperature goes up, your body has two big jobs happening at the same time.

It (1:47) needs to keep your muscles fueled and working, and it also needs to cool you down. And both of those (1:52) things require blood flow. So your cardiovascular system is suddenly under a lot more demand than (1:57) usual.

Like your heart is working harder, your heart rate spikes faster, and effort required to (2:02) do the same workout you've done for months or just exercises you've done for months goes up (2:07) significantly. Basically, your body is out here trying to run two programs at once. Just like your (2:12) laptop with too many tabs open, it's going to start to slow down a little bit.

And on top of (2:16) that, you're sweating more, which means that your body is burning through its energy. It stores (2:21) faster and losing fluids at a higher rate. So what would normally feel like a solid, challenging (2:25) workout can suddenly feel like you're working twice as hard just to get through it.

The important (2:30) thing to know is that this is a completely normal physiological response to heat. It's not a fitness (2:35) regression. It's not that you've lost your strength or your endurance.

Your body is just working (2:40) harder behind the scenes to keep you going in a more challenging environment. So I want you to (2:45) give yourself grace for that. Number two, adjusting your workout for the heat is more simple than you (2:50) might think.

You don't need to overhaul your entire routine or take the summer off. A couple of small (2:55) tweaks to what you're already doing is genuinely all it takes to keep showing up consistently (3:00) without running yourself into the ground. The most practical thing that you can do is be smart about (3:04) timing.

So the hottest part of the day is genuinely between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. So if you're working out (3:09) outside or in a space without air conditioning, moving your workout to earlier in the morning (3:14) or later in the evening is going to make a real difference. The second adjustment is intensity. So (3:19) when it's really hot, your body is already under more stress than usual.

So matching that exact (3:24) same intensity you would hit on a cool day is not realistic. And honestly, it's not necessary. So (3:30) pulling back a little bit, maybe focusing on getting through the workout at a pace that just (3:34) feels challenging but controlled rather than pushing for a personal best.

That's going to be (3:39) the smarter move here. You're still showing up. You're still building strength.

You're just being (3:43) intelligent about it. And this is honestly one of the reasons why I personally love home workouts (3:47) in the summer, because inside the movement with Julia app, you can do your workout in the air (3:52) conditioning on your own schedule without commuting anywhere in the heat. You pick up where you left (3:58) off.

Your workout is already planned for you. You're not losing momentum just because the (4:01) summer got hot. And if this sounds like something that you're interested in, I'll link it in the show (4:05) notes below.

But literally all you need is a few pair of dumbbells in a small space and you can do (4:10) it any time of the day. Right. It's not set on a specific schedule that you have to show up on.

(4:14) You can literally do it in the first thing in the morning. You can do it after your breakfast. You (4:19) can do it after the kids go to bed when it's a little bit cooler outside.

Totally up to you. (4:24) Number three, proper hydration is key during the summer. So water is the foundation here.

And not (4:30) only do most people need more of it in the summer than they think, but they also need to be drinking (4:35) it more consistently throughout the day rather than just chugging it right before a workout. (4:39) I want you to think about it like this. If you're waking up, going about your morning routine and (4:42) suddenly downing a big glass of water 10 minutes before you work out, your body has not had nearly (4:47) enough time to actually absorb and use it.

Hydration does not work like that. Right. It is something (4:53) that your body needs to be building up all day long, not something that you can just catch up on (4:58) right before you move.

So the shift that I want you to make is simple. I want you to start your (5:03) morning with water. As soon as you wake up, drink a full glass.

Or for me, I personally, before I (5:08) even have like my protein coffee drink, I try to get my 40 ounces. And I know that sounds crazy, (5:13) but I am consistently drinking 120 ounces a day. And the only way for me to do that is to (5:18) break it up into three segments of the day.

So before I have my coffee protein drink, I have my (5:23) 40 ounces of water and then I have my protein coffee drink. And then right after that, I just (5:29) start sipping on water for the next couple hours, get through another 40 ounces. And then I try to (5:34) have all my water intake done before 730.

So I'm not up peeing all night. But that is that's what I (5:41) found personally has worked best for me. And it's so, so important to do that.

And I will tell (5:47) you, I just feel so much better when I keep a bottle near me. And I'm just constantly being able (5:53) to take sips throughout the day. Because by the time that you feel thirsty, you're likely already (5:59) slightly behind with your hydration.

So don't wait for that signal. Just make it a habit, especially (6:03) in the summer when your body is losing more fluid than usual without you even realizing it. Number (6:08) four, you probably do not need as many electrolytes as the internet wants you to think.

(6:12) You've probably seen electrolytes everywhere and wondered like whether you actually need them. (6:17) The honest answer is it depends. For a regular dumbbell workout at home in the air conditioning, (6:21) plain water is almost always enough.

But if you're working out outside in serious heat, (6:26) you're sweating heavily, or your workout is longer and more intense than yes, replenishing (6:30) electrolytes, especially specifically sodium and potassium can genuinely help with energy, (6:36) muscle function and just preventing cramps. A simple option could be coconut water, a low sugar (6:41) or no sugar electrolyte drink. You do not need anything fancy.

You just need to replace what (6:46) you lost. So I don't want you to overthink this, like just drink your water, eat regular meals. (6:50) If you're sweating a lot, maybe add some electrolytes.

This is really just the whole (6:54) strategy. Just remember the influencers that are telling you electrolytes, you need electrolytes (6:59) here and electrolytes here. They're most likely also giving you a code, which means that they're (7:03) making money off of it.

So just always keep that in the back of your head. And last but not least, (7:07) number five, feeling uncomfortable is normal. Feeling unwell is not.

One of the most important (7:13) parts to this is knowing when to actually stop because there's a difference between summer (7:17) workouts feeling harder than usual, which is normal, and your body telling you something (7:21) is genuinely wrong. Normal summer discomfort looks like working harder than usual, sweating (7:26) more, feeling warmer, a little bit more fatigued at the end of a workout. That's just heat.

Keep (7:30) going. Take rest as needed. Make sure you rehydrate after.

Signs that you need to stop and cool down (7:35) immediately, though, those are different. Dizziness, nausea, confusion, stopping sweating (7:40) when you should be sweating, or a heart rate that will just not come down. If any of those things (7:45) happen, I want you to stop your workout, get somewhere cool, drink some water.

And if symptoms (7:49) do not improve, please seek medical attention. Heat exhaustion is real, and it's not something (7:54) to push through. The good news is, though, that for most people doing regular workouts in the summer, (7:58) those warning signs are not something that you'll run into if you're being smart about timing, (8:03) adjusting intensity and just staying hydrated overall.

So the quick recap to make the most (8:08) out of your summer workouts in the heat is number one, working out in the heat is harder because (8:12) your body is doing more work than usual to keep you cool. That's not a fitness regression. It's (8:17) just physiology.

Number two, adjust your timing and really dial back intensity when it's really, (8:22) really hot, especially if you're working out directly outside in the sun. Number three, (8:26) drink water consistently and add electrolytes if you're sweating heavily, but you don't need as (8:31) many electrolytes as a lot of these influencers are telling you that you do. Number four, (8:35) know the difference between normal summer discomfort and a sign to stop.

You can absolutely (8:39) keep building momentum in your strength this summer. You just have to be a little smarter (8:43) with how you do it, especially if your workouts are directly in the sun. If you loved today's (8:47) episode, I know you will also love episode 547.

This one mindset shift helped me stop skipping (8:53) my workouts. I will link that in the show notes below. And if you found this episode helpful, (8:57) it would mean the world to me if you took a second to leave a review on Apple podcasts (9:00) that genuinely helps more women find the podcast.

And this is really why I ultimately do this. (9:06) All right, that is all that I have for today's episode. Do not let the heat be the reason that (9:10) you stop showing up.

I love you so dang much. I mean it. And I'll talk to you in the next one.

(9:24) All right, sister, that's all I got for you today. But I have two things that I need you to do. (9:30) First thing, if you're not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so.

Julie a (9:35) lot better. Yes, it's with an A in the middle for that daily post-workout real talk, healthy tips (9:41) and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing, (9:46) be sure to subscribe to Apple podcast to never miss an episode.

Thank you so much for joining (9:52) me. It means the absolute world. And I'm going to leave you with one last thought.

(9:56) The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident (10:02) and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than (10:08) the surface. So go out there and embrace a real because you're worth it.

 
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