This morning I went outside to go for my daily run. I have done my fair share of complaining about running in the heat, but in high school I had my coach to keep me from whining and a training program to stick to. Now that I run for no one but myself, I find it hard to keep myself motivated to run when it is hot and humid outside. For instance, today I almost turned back due to the humidity in the air, but when I saw my dog’s puppy eyes staring at me and begging me for a run, I decided to go ahead and do a short loop.

Once I got back, I was sweating buckets and I decided that I should probably start cross training a little more if I was going to back out of runs every once in a while. What are some other things to do during the summer months when it is too hot to run?

If you can get yourself to a lake, there are a bunch of options. Unfortunately, not all of us have that option. However, if you can, try to get on a boat and pick up water skiing!  Not only is it a ton of fun to hang out on the lake’s water, but you can burn a lot of calories (around 300 calories in just thirty minutes!). It is also a great way to build your upper and lower body strength.

Of course, an obvious choice for the summer months is to find a place to swim. Swimming is a great form of exercise and there are many different ways to incorporate it into a workout. There are so many strokes to choose from and different types of workouts to research that you will never get bored. Of course, if you are like my sister and you have to pool run, that may get a little boring, but hey, she enjoyed her time.

If you live near a park or fields, definitely stop by every once in a while; you’re almost guaranteed to come across a Frisbee, soccer, or flag football match.  There are plenty of summer activities out there to keep you in shape!