If you quickly put on a face lotion with SPF 15 just minutes before your afternoon run and call it daily, you’re not doing enough to safeguard your skin… or your training! Athletes move out and find scorched while training under the heat of the sun, which might actually be affecting their recovery process, instead of just focusing hard on taking care of their bodies with training plans, proper nutrition, and adequate rest.

Your skin is a component of your body and your well-being, so much of being a successful athlete is recovery. If you have got a sunburn on the rear of your legs or your shoulders, your body is going to be competing for recovery resources, instead of fully recovering from the hard training you only put in. You’re also more likely to lose fluid as sunburns are dehydrating, causing blood vessels to expand and dilate, and makes it tell your body to send more blood to your skin.

And then, of course, there’s the most important reason of all to properly protect yourself: in line with skincancer.org, annually nearly 5 million people are treated for carcinoma within the U.S., and one in five Americans will develop carcinoma in their lifetime.

So pick a sunscreen of your choice (check out  for reviews of top sunscreen available), as here are some tips to assist you to stay safe during your toasty summer workouts with these risks in mind.

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To prevent sunscreen from entering into the eyes after you sweat, apply a touch of thicker sunscreen on your forehead. The heavier consistency helps it stay better when your cycling and sweating.

Wilmington Dermatology Center advises patients to use SPF 45 or higher since most research shows that folks only placed on 1 / 4 of the number that’s recommended. To compensate, use an SPF spray to re-apply after about 90 minutes or sooner if you have got been within the water (the biggest thing people don’t do!) and use a better water-resistant SPF as a base layer before going out for your workout.

Remember these commonly skipped body parts that are most liable to sun damage: ears, nose, lips, and scalp (where your hair parts).

Watch your Watch: Avoiding outdoor exercise from 11 am to three pm, will keep you out of the sun’s strongest UV rays. Always put sunscreen on quarter-hour BEFORE your outdoor workout, even when it’s cloudy outside.

In short, wear sunscreen one year a year. The sun’s UVB rays give us sunburn, but the UVA rays penetrate three hundred and sixty-five days a year and might suffer windows and clouds to break your skin.