Thomas LaRocco works out at Chattanooga CrossFit on West Main Street. Experts say sweating, the body’s built-in mechanism for keeping cool, is good when exercising, but profuse perspiration can be a sign you’re overheating.In the record-breaking heat Chattanooga has experienced this summer, even walking to the mailbox can feel like an endurance sport. With proper preparation, however, physicians and researchers say there is no reason to avoid exercising, even on the hottest days.
To answer our questions, we checked in with:
Brendan McDermott, a professor in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga health and human performance department who specializes in the study of how heat and hydration issues affect the body.
Dr. Tiku Bhutwala, an internal medicine physician with Parkridge Medical Group-Battlefield.
Bhutwala fielded our first questions about the hazards of hot-weather exercise.