Be smart but make the most of the summer heat

By DAVID TEPERA | Posted: Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Back in the 1990s, I was an assistant football coach for La Marque High School. During one of those years, another coach rented a room out of my house. Throughout the whole summer, he refused to go outside during the day. He spent most of his “off-time” on the couch, watching TV, and basically being lazy.

All summer, I kept telling him to exercise outside and get acclimatized to the heat. He would laugh at me as he chugged down another liter of soda.

Well, the first day of practice started in August, and after about three hours in the sun, two football players had to carry him off the field from heat exhaustion. I just shook my head as I watched him vomiting with wet towels wrapped around his head and neck.

Of course, there’s a lesson here, but I’m not going into detail about Texas summer heat common sense. We all have heard numerous times to wear hats and sunblock, stay hydrated, and only exercise outside early or later in the day. Hopefully, you’ve figured that out by now. 

But, I am telling you to go outside, feel the heat, and make your body sweat. We are human beings and should be a part of nature.

How did our grandparents survive the heat? They were in it every day in order to make a living. My dad was a football coach, and starting in June or July, would jog in the heat to prepare for two-a-days. 

What has happened is we are too caught up with all the indoor lazy activities and entertainment. Our children don’t play outside like we did. Growing up, all the kids in my neighborhood were riding bikes and playing sandlot football. I didn’t want to go home, mainly because my dad would just give me a bunch of chores.

Create outside projects because I’m sure there’s something that needs fixing or painting, do your own lawn work and gardening, chase your spouse or kids with a garden hose, help a neighbor, ride a bike. The list is endless to each individual’s situation.

Enjoy the beautiful sun radiating on your skin and let the sweat cleanse the impurities built up from the winter. Be ecstatic and happy with the ability to flow along nature’s path