Sun exposure and skin protection

These notes combine advice from 13 reviewed passages across 9 workouts.

Overview

Coach’s advice

Sun exposure provides useful daylight, and direct sun on the skin is what to limit. You can get what you need from the sun by going outside around noon even in cloudy weather, so daylight on a gray day still counts as getting sunlight. A hat and an umbrella are the main tools for keeping direct sun off the body.

Coach’s advice

The midday sun is the most direct, so moving into the shade around noon is the main precaution. A shaded training area keeps direct sun off the body during workouts.

Getting daylight in cloudy weather

Coach’s advice

Go outside around noon even when the sky is cloudy. Daylight at that time counts as getting sunlight, and direct sun on the skin is not required.

Coach’s advice

Cloudy weather still provides sunlight, with less direct intensity on the skin. A cloudy day does not mean you are deprived of sunlight.

Protecting skin from direct sun

Coach’s advice

Wear a hat to keep direct sun off your head. An umbrella also works, and a wide-brimmed hat is another option for staying out of direct sun.

Coach’s advice

Treat the midday sun as the most direct and be careful around noon. Move into the shade when the sun is overhead. A shaded training area keeps direct sun off the body during workouts.

Sunburn and skin damage

Coach’s advice

Skin normally should not burn during a day in the sun, and the body can get used to the sun through repeated exposure. Water in a pool acts like a lens, and shoulders can burn more while in the water.

Coach’s advice

Sun exposure damages DNA apart from its tanning effect. Heavy sunbathing is associated with wrinkled skin.

Coach’s experience

In his own routine, he rented an umbrella at the beach; he dislikes standing in direct sun. During that visit he turned quite red after about fifteen minutes of sun exposure.

For short beach stays he goes without sunscreen. For a three-hour stay he would apply it. At the pool he uses SPF 30 and finds it helps somewhat. He will probably tan at the pool, since tanning does not come easily to him.

He avoids sunbathing, stays under an umbrella, and goes out mainly to swim. He was the whitest person on his team and finds heavy sunbathing pointless.