Are you a fair weather athlete? Do you only exercise when the weather is a perfect 70 degrees, the sun is out and there is no wind or clouds in the sky. Do you only exercise on a full 8 hours sleep when the workout fits perfectly in your day and the birds align to show you the way to the gym? Do you only exercise when the time of day is perfect and you feel as rested as a child waking up from a midday nap?

Fair weather athletes are at their best when the stars align but fall apart whenever there is diversity or an obstacle in the way. And let’s be honest how often is your day perfect? I would say in my experience rarely if ever, but we can learn a lot from ourselves and make gains on those days that are not perfect.

Let’s just take heat for example- yeah working out in the heat is no fun, it hurts, you sweat a ton, you can’t do the same amount of work you typically do, you feel deflated, but there are benefits to working out in the heat.
--Your heart rate increases by 30% without having to actually do more work which is great if you struggle with injuries or speed.
--Heat can help damper your physical hunger which is often a positive when you are trying to lose weight.
--You learn about what your body needs nutrition wise and how to fine tune that
--You slowly start to adapt to the heat making each time you work out a little easier.
--Your mental muscle and GRIT gets a good workout in the heat, you mentally become a little tougher.
--Your ability to handle adverse training environments increases both mentally and physically
--When temps cool, because of your heat adaption you actually have an advantage energy wise.

**As always be smart with heat if you have any underlying medical conditions talk with your Dr about working out in the heat, know your physical limits and keep hydration as a focus (Listed below are some tips on exercising in the heat)

Don’t shy away from adversity when it comes to exercise and training but embrace it for what it can give you both mentally and physically.

Don’t be a fair weather athlete just be an all around Badass!