by 
Waah, it’s hot. So goes summer’s top running gripe. These counterintuitive tricks will help you adapt to the rising mercury, making your sessions feel less taxing, which will improve your performance. Practice any for at least 20 minutes, every other day, for five to 10 days before training or competing in high temps. P.S. Stay hydrated! (Running indoors? Take the dread out of the mill with these on-demand Treadmill Workouts for Runners.)
1. Take a really steamy bath.
A recent study found that sitting in a 105 degree bathtub (imagine: just below scalding) after a treadmill workout six days in a row helped athletes slice time off a 5K. The superhot water trains your body to deal with heat in real time.
RELATED: Can Hot Baths Make You Faster?
2. Overdress yourself
Wearing layers during your gym workouts (or when it’s mild outside—say, low 70s) also teaches your body to embrace a higher core temp, which you’ll face outdoors. Pile on enough so that you’re sweaty within five to 10 minutes of your workout, then call it quits after 30. (Stop if you feel dizzy or your heart is racing.)
RELATED: This Is How to Change Your Cardio Routine If You Want to Lose 10 Pounds
3. Hang out in the steam room.
The moisture helps adjust your body to humidity. (The H word can doubly kill your energy because it causes you to lose more water via sweat.) Training in a dry climate? Hit the sauna for dry heat.
Source: Christopher Minson, Ph.D., professor of human physiology, University of Oregon, and codirector, Exercise & Environmental Physiology Lab
Runner’s World Gear Editor Jeff Dengate shows you how to keep your water bottle cool for those hot summer long runs.
The article These Super-Easy Tweaks Will Make Exercising In The Heat Less Miserable originally appeared on Women’s Health.
