Your frighteningly scarlet skin may not look the prettiest, but it's no cause for alarm. It's actually just a sign that you're
working hard and building up heat. When your body temperature begins to climb, you perspire to keep cool, but it also dilates the blood vessels in your skin to reduce your overall body temp. Your face turns red because warm, oxygenated blood rushes to the surface of your skin, which helps heat radiate off of it and prevents you from overheating. Go ahead and continue exercising as long as you feel good and have no other symptoms. If you find that your flushed face is accompanied by fatigue, dizziness, sweating more than usual, or nausea, then it could be a sign of heat exhaustion, which is more likely to happen outside on hot and humid days. Working out in the Summer heat is definitely a risk, so if you experience these symptoms, stop exercising immediately, get inside where it's cooler, loosen up tight clothing (or remove it altogether), and drink plenty of cool water. To prevent heat exhaustion, make sure to drink plenty of fluids before and during your workout. If you love outdoor workouts, try to exercise during a time of day when temperatures are the lowest, like in the early morning. It also helps to run on shady woods trails or on a breezy path near a lake or beach. Here are more
tips on how to stay cool when working out in the Summer heat and how to
recover after a hot and humid workout.