Even though temperatures keep breaking 90, we are so not skipping all the outdoor fitness and yoga classes this summer. Gym Gross-Out: 5 Icky Habits   So we asked Canyon Ranch exercise physiologist Jeffrey Dolgan (based in Miami, where they know heat!) for his expert take on why some fitness buffs can’t take the heat, and what to do if you’re one of them. Here’s what he had to say on what could be slowing you down:

  1. Your body fat—and height—could be making you melt during a workout. “There are several anatomical and physiological differences in people that allow some to deal with heat better than others,” says Dolgan. The first is body surface area. The more you have, the better you’ll be able to dissipate heat through your skin. Evolution takes this into account. “Alaskan Eskimos are generally vertically-challenged and wide-framed (to conserve heat), whereas Egyptians are tall and lanky (to help dissipate heat),” he explains. So, being short will hurt you here, as will having a higher body fat percentage, or too much “insulation.”
  2. Gender (unfairly) matters. Men have more numerous and larger pores, so they’re able to sweat more, making it easier to handle heat (ugh!).
  3. Consider your cardio capability. “A person with a fitter respiratory system can breathe more effectively and has a more responsive perspiratory system, making it easier to remove heat from the body,” says Dolgan. Check out more reasons, plus, how to work out when it’s hot with Well+GoodNYC’s “Why You Can’t Work Out In The Heat As Well As Your Bikram-Obsessed BFF.”