8 Best Things About Summer Workouts

I don’t hate working out or running outside in the winter. By the time the weather starts warming up, though, I am already thinking of the advantages of hot weather workouts. With summer’s official start this week, I thought now would be a good time to go over the best things about summer workouts, so when we’re all complaining in the middle of August that it’s too damn hot to run outside, we can refer back to this post! 😉

(And a sneak preview that our Run It monthly series coming up next Wednesday will have a ton of tips on how runners can beat the heat!)

8 Best Things About Summer Workouts

1. Forget the layers! Winter workouts outdoors can take forever because of the extra time you spend layering up and peeling off so many layers of clothing before and after. I love that summer workouts are just throwing on a tank and shorts and DONE.
2. Warm ups and cool downs aren’t miserable. They’re easy because your muscles get warmed up more quickly when it’s actually warm out, and you can take your time with your cool down, not worrying about whether your sweat is going to chill you to the bone. (Find some great dynamic warm up ideas here!)
3. You’ll have more company. Even though I tend to be a solo runner, I do love seeing other people out running or working out when I’m out in the park or on the trails. It gives me a sense of community.
4. Nature! There’s nothing like a canopy of leaves, the sounds of the birds, and the sunshine dappling through trees, to give you an extra hit of endorphins when you’re taking your workout outside in the summer.
5. For those who head indoors when it gets hot out, summer workouts mean realizing how profoundly grateful you are for whoever invented air-conditioning!
6. If you’re one of those people who is a hot sweaty mess after they work out (and I’m right there with you in the sweaty, red-face club), you needn’t have a second thought about it during summer, because everyone looks like a hot sweaty mess to some degree when it’s hot out…whether they worked out or not.
7. Working out in the heat can improve your performance – this study on cyclists in Oregon found that when working out in a hot environment, compared to the control group in a cooler environment, (100 degrees versus 55 degrees), the heat increased Vo2 max, expanded blood plasma volume, and reduced blood lactate.
8. The long summer days mean you have more time to head outside for your run or workout in the evening, when it’s cool out. This is great news for those of us who may struggle with early morning workouts.

Do you prefer the heat or the cold weather for your workouts?

What’s your favorite part of working out in the summer?