No, I'm not talking about the Miami Heat . . . though I expect most of my readership probably only vaguely recalls them as an NBA team, not to mention the fact that they won the championship this year. I'm actually talking about the heat and humidity that most of the North East and probably most of the country is currently dealing with. It is dangerously hot out if you plan on exercising during the day and even well into the evening. The heat can sap all of your energy, making for a rather unpleasant workout.

Sadly, there isn't really any good way to get around it. You can help offset it by drinking lots of fluids (but don't severely overcompensate!!), and using cool-wash clothes and that sort of thing, but really the only real way is to reduce the intensity or to postpone the workout to a cooler time. According to RunnersWorld, for every five degrees over 60°F, your pace should slow by 20–30 seconds. This gets to be a bit silly when it is 90° out, though.

I encourage everyone to explore other options when it gets to be too much. Now that summer has started, find a pool to do some laps, or go for an evening bike ride (takes a bit less energy and at least there is some wind created to cool you off). I went for a run last night, and even at 11:00 pm it was still pretty brutal out. I cut my run off at two miles to avoid any unintended consequences. Though it sucks to see your anti-fat points and distances decrease from what you normally can accomplish, it isn't a bad thing to be a bit cautious. I think I'd rather live to run another day than waste myself through a horribly hot workout. I guess I just want to stress good judgement to all you new (and even you veteran) fitness enthusiasts; if it seems too hot, don't beat yourself up over missing a workout.

Stay cool this weekend, and try to figure out ways to beat the heat!