Heat, bad air make exercising outside dangerous for many

Sweat dripped down Erik Hammarlund's face as he worked out on an elliptical trainer at Health Central Wellness and Fitness.

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Chris Thelen/Staff

Erik Hammarlund exercises at Health Central Wellness and Fitness in Augusta. He says that in Augusta's heat, he limits outdoor exercise. Bad air quality also is a good reason.

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Chris Thelen/Staff

Mike Clark and Amanda McBride swim at Health Central Wellness and Fitness in Augusta. As temperatures soar in the summer and air quality worsens, some people remain indoors for exercise.

"On days like today, when it is too hot outside, you really need to limit yourself," said Mr. Hammarlund, 39. "I wouldn't do a very long run today outside."

He hasn't really been checking Augusta's air quality, but he has a hunch about it.

"I suspect we're not exactly the best in the state," Mr. Hammarlund said.

As temperatures climb in Augusta in the summer, people who like to run or walk outside sometimes face a triple threat -- the heat, the humidity and unhealthful air. That's when they might want to take it inside, experts said.

The area's concentration of ground-level ozone has exceeded federal standards three times already this summer, including July 2, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division. The area exceeded ozone standards three times last year and exceeded standards for fine particulate pollution nine times.

The two sources of pollution present different problems for walkers and runners. Ground-level ozone tends to build up throughout the day as sunlight interacts with compounds in the air, usually peaking between 3 and 6 p.m., said Susan Zimmer-Dauphinee, the manager of the ambient monitoring program.

"When we forecast a high ozone day like we had earlier in the month, if people want to exercise, we suggest that they go out and exercise in the morning time period," she said. "Or if they want to exercise in the afternoon, and we've forecasted a high concentration, that they exercise indoors."

Fine particle pollution presents the opposite problem -- cooler air layers tend to trap the particles closer to the ground in the morning, concentrating them, and levels get diluted as the day goes on and the air warms and rises, Ms. Zimmer-Dauphinee said. That would make outdoor morning exercise problematic, she said.

The pollution is a particular problem for those who already have breathing problems, such as asthmatics, said Thomas Dillard, a pulmonologist at the Medical College of Georgia. The pollution is an irritant and can inflame their more sensitive airways, he said.

"Those kinds of pollutants might trigger a flare-up of their disease," he said. "It might trigger an asthma attack, or it might trigger an exacerbation of bronchitis."

Health Central has a three-month summer membership that has proved popular with some who can't stand to keep walking or running outside, said Claude Thompson, the operations and facility manager.

In some ways, taking it inside could be better if the goal is to burn fat and lose weight, said Michael Bergeron, an applied physiologist at MCG.

"As body temperature rises, the muscle's ability to metabolize fat is compromised a little bit," he said. "And the hotter you get, the more you shift toward being able to utilize carbohydrate over fat."

A lower intensity, longer duration exercise would actually be better. And it is cooler.

Reach Tom Corwin at (706) 823-3213 or tom.corwin@augustachronicle.com.