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| Too Hot To Exercise? |
Too Hot To Exercise?
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When it's hot outside, exercise just may not seem very appealing.  However, if you are determined to get in your walk, run, bike ride or other outdoor activity, a few aids are available to help you feel a little cooler while you're exercising - for instance: cooling headbands and neckbands. 
Usually for activation, these are soaked in water for a few minutes before wearing. They may be tied on or secured with Velcro-type fasteners. Cooling caps, hats and lightweight vests are even available!
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Maybe all you're thinking about in the heat
is getting into some water to cool off! |
Swimming can provide a great exercise opportunity in the heat. A 175-pound male may expend up to 334 calories in thirty minutes of freestyle swimming at moderate intensity.
A 135-pound  female may expend up to 258 calories with the same exercise.) Regular swimming can help build endurance, muscle strength and cardio-vascular fitness. It can benefit the upper body, torso and legs together. Just moving around in the water for half an hour may help limber up your joints and leave you feeling refreshed, plus you need not worry about heavy impact on your knee and ankle joints.
Meanwhile, avoid becoming lax or over-confident about water safety. Never let your guard down when it comes to children in the water, or even when it comes to adults for that matter! |
Take a look at the following
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) statistics. |
Males: In 2004, males accounted for 78% of fatal unintentional drownings in the United States (CDC 2006).
Children: In 2004, of all children 1-4 years old who died, 26% died from drowning (CDC 2006). Although drowning rates have slowly declined (Branche 1999), fatal drowning remains the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years (CDC 2005).
Minorities: Between 2000 and 2004, the fatal unintentional drowning rate for African Americans overall was 1.3 times that of whites.
Between 2000 and 2004, the fatal unintentional drowning rate overall for American Indians and Alaskan Natives was 1.8 times that of whites.
Factors such as the physical environment (e.g., access to swimming pools) and a combination of social and cultural issues (e.g., valuing swimming skills and choosing water-related activities when making recreational choices) may contribute to the racial differences in drowning rates.
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Risk Factors |
- Lack of supervision and barriers (such as pool fencing)
- Recreation in natural water settings (such as lakes, rivers, or the ocean)
- Recreational boating
- Alcohol use
- Seizure disorders
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Prevention
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- Designate a responsible adult to watch young children while in the bath and all children swimming or playing in or around the water. Adults should not be involved in any other distracting activity (such as reading, playing cards, talking on the phone, or mowing the lawn) while supervising children in the water.
- Always swim with a buddy. Select swimming sites that have lifeguards whenever possible.
- Avoid drinking alcohol before or during swimming, boating, or water skiing. Avoid drinking alcohol while supervising children.
- Learn to swim. Be aware that the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend swimming classes as the primary means of drowning prevention for children younger than 4 years of age. Constant vigilant supervision and barriers such as pool fencing are still necessary even when children have completed classes.
- Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Because of the time it might take for paramedics to arrive, your CPR skills can make a difference in someone's life. CPR performed by bystanders has been shown to improve outcomes in drowning victims.
- With young children, do not use air-filled or foam toys, such as "water wings", "noodles", or inner-tubes, in place of life jackets (personal flotation devices). These toys are not designed to keep swimmers safe.
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- If you have a swimming pool at your home:
Install a four-sided, isolation pool fence that totally separates the house and yard from the pool area. The fence should be at least 4 feet high and should completely separate the pool from the house and play area of the yard. Use self closing and self latching gates that open outward, and have latches that are out of a child's reach. Consider additional barriers such as automatic door locks or alarms to prevent or notify you regarding access to the yard or pool.
- Toys should be removed from the pool immediately after use. Floats, balls and other toys might encourage children to enter the pool area or lean over the pool and potentially fall in.
- Know the local weather conditions and forecast before swimming or boating. Strong winds and thunderstorms with lightning strikes are dangerous.
- Use U.S. Coast Guard approved life jackets when boating, regardless of distance to be traveled, size of boat, or swimming ability of boaters.
- Heed colored beach warning flags.
- Watch for dangerous waves and signs of rip currents (e.g. water that is discolored and choppy, foamy, or filled with debris). If you are caught in a rip current, swim parallel to shore; once free of the current, swim toward shore.
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Prevention tips include (CDC 2005; Gilchrist et al. 2004; and Quan et al. 2006; CPSC):
www.homesafetycouncil.org
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Stay safe when you're in the water this summer!
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