WORKING UP A SWEAT YEAR 'ROUND; CHANGE YOUR EXERCISE ROUTINES WITH THE SEASON TO OBTAIN BEST RESULTS

Ab trainers are popular exercise equipment being used by Tara Blechle, front, of Jackson, Dana McDonough of St. Louis and Matt Struemph of DeSoto.

Hyunki Cho of Korea gets regular exercise while playing racquetball frequently at the Student Recreation Center.

Summer's heat and winter's cold can make even those athletes with the best intentions forget about their exercise programs and stay inside.

That isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Researchers are saying the best way to maintain an exercise program for life is to change it up every three to four months. Not only does change make exercising more interesting, it forces the body to constantly improve because it is always adjusting to new stimuli.

Making those changes around what the seasons offer is one way to make exercising less of a chore.

"The best places to exercise in the summer time are inside, there's no question about that," Bernadette Bamberger, an exercise physiologist for St. Francis Medical Center's Wellness Department, said. "If you're going to exercise in the heat of the day, you really should weigh yourself before you go exercise and weigh yourself when you get finished and replenish that amount that you've lost during that time period. Because all that is mostly water weight that you've lost."

Bamberger said strenuous exercise in temperatures above 80 degrees with high humidity levels can cause many people some serious problems. Cramps, dehydration and heat stroke are just some of the problems associated with exercising during the hottest hours of summer days.

"We sweat to cool ourselves off," she said. "The problem is when it's humid out, it decreases the evaporation of the sweat which keeps more of the heat in the body. Our core temperature will increase with exercise naturally but our skin temperature wants to stay cooler."

Sweating alone doesn't necessarily cool the body. The evaporation of that sweat is what carries the heat away. If the humidity level does not permit a consistent evaporation the sweat stays on the body as does the heat. Since the heat is still there the body works harder to find over ways to cool itself.

Even swimming outside in hot humid weather can lead to dehydration.

The relatively mild temperatures of spring and fall make for ideal conditions for outdoor cardiovascular exercise. When the temperatures begin to rise, or drop, it's usually time to head inside. This permits an athlete the opportunity to cross train through different sports and activities.

"You can build strength up in muscles you don't use while you're running that you're going to use while you're swimming. That in turn can help your running," Bamberger said.

Cross training produces better results than people get when they "just stick with their regular exercise routine," she said.

Dr. Peter Maud, chairman for Southeast Missouri State University's department of physical education, said one benefit of cross training is alleviating the boredom of a set routine.

"Variety is the spice of life," Maud said. "The big advantage to cross training, in my opinion, is it give one group of muscles a rest."

Many of the physiological changes, like weight loss and muscle growth, happen in the first few weeks of a routine as the body adjusts to the new stresses placed upon it. After a few months of the same routine, the muscles have adapted and settled into a kind of plateau. Changing the routine at this point, regardless of how fit a person is, forces the body to deal with the changes all over again.

Little-used muscles become more efficient and the metabolism rises as a consequence.

"Any form of aerobic exercise is beneficial as far as training the heart is concerned," Maud said. "Of course there's a great deal of specificity."

Cross training allows an athlete to remain fit while not subjecting themselves to some of Summer's worst exercising conditions.

"Exercising in extreme heat's not as bad as exercising in extreme humidity," Maud said. "Anytime the temperature outside is greater than body temperature you'll have a hard time dissipating heat. But if you've got a hot, humid environment, then you've got real problems."