Ever been playing sports out on a hot day and looked around and everybody else is sweating and you are dry as a bone, your muscles are cramping, and you feel lightheaded? Chances are good you were suffering from the heat.

Getting too hot can really mess with your body and make you perform at a lower level. Hot weather can cause dehydration, muscle cramps, heat exhaustion (low blood pressure and weakness caused by excessive skin and muscle blood flow) and heatstroke (failure of the temperature regulatory center in the brain). But as long as you know how to handle it, you can still perform at a high level.

Check it out: Dehydration can handicap you faster than a round in the octagon with “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell. Simply not drinking enough can decrease sweat rate, plasma volume, cardiac output, oxygen uptake, work capacity, muscle strength and liver glycogen. Even though you may not be thirsty, have regular fluid breaks to ensure hydration.

Muscle cramps reflect muscle fatigue, and the best treatment is gentle, static stretching, fluid and electrolyte replacement and rest.

Avoid heat exhaustion like a bad acid trip. Characterized by a rapid, weak pulse, low blood pressure, faintness, profuse sweating, and a whacked out mind, heat exhaustion should be treated by lying down in a cool area and drinking fluids. Anyone with heat exhaustion should skip any further activity for the rest of the day, and should be drink fluids like crazy for the next 24 hours.

Heatstroke is seriously bad shit. Heatstroke is the failure of the temperature regulation center in the brain and is a major medical emergency. Symptoms include high core temperature (greater than 105.8°F), hot, dry skin (some still sweat) and extreme confusion or unconsciousness. Heatstroke victims should be packed in ice like fresh fish and transported to the hospital immediately. You can prevent heat injury by, exercising during cooler times of the day, taking regular water breaks and pounding cold drinks (46 to 55°F) that are low in sugar (less than 8 grams per 100 milliliters) and contain a small amount of electrolytes. (American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand, 2007)