The Impact of Heat on Athletic Performance

Study: Heat Acclimation Improves Exercise Performance

Heat adversely affects the body’s ability to produce work, but strategic utilization of heat in a training regimen can bring about power performance increases. Learn what Dr. Chris Minson, one of the leading experts and researchers on this topic, learned as he was executing his study of how Heat Acclimation Improves Exercise Performance in Episode 1 of the Science of Getting Faster Podcast!

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TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00:32 - Dr. Minson’s athletic and academic background

00:03:04 - Why does heat affect performance?

00:05:15 - How does your body manage excess heat?

00:06:52 - Why airflow is needed to cool your body

00:07:42 - How relative humidity affects athletic performance

00:09:16 - What is the optimal temperature for aerobic exercise

00:11:02 - Specific temperature instructions for indoor cycling

00:12:05 - Why excessive sweating doesn’t mean your body is cooling itself well

00:13:16 - What Dr. Minson wanted to discover with his study, Heat Acclimation Improves Exercise Performance

00:14:41 - How Dr. Minson designed his study to find if heat acclimation makes you faster

00:15:03 - How to time heat acclimation with high intensity workouts

00:21:14 - What did Dr. Minson measure to gauge the effect of heat training?

00:27:30 - How did they control diet and other variables in the study?

00:28:29 - Results: Does heat acclimation make you faster?

00:29:17 - Heat training’s effect on VO2 Max

00:31:22 - How can heat acclimation hurt performance?

00:32:05 - What sort of training did the subjects do in hot conditions?

00:33:58 - Effect of maximal cardiac output on performance

00:35:49 - Stroke volume vs. muscle wall thickness: how do they affect cardiac output?

00:41:22 - How plasma volume affects performance

00:43:35 - How does plasma volume affect lactate?

00:43:04- How does heat acclimation affect glycogen sparing?

00:44:00 - How long do the effects of heat training last?

00:48:39 - How to extend the positive effects of elevation training with heat training

00:50:19 - Can you get the benefit of heat training with a sauna instead of training in the heat?

00:51:23 - How to heat train without a sauna

00:52:14 - Does the method of heat application matter?

00:54:04 - Should you train in your bathroom to achieve heat adaptation?

00:54:48 - Why humid conditions adversely affect sweat gland function 

00:56:39 - How hot should your room be during heat training?

00:59:04 - Should you use a fan during heat training?

01:00:59 - How long should each sauna session be during heat training?

01:01:45 - How many heat training sessions is needed to achieve heat adaptation?

01:03:54 - The mental benefit of heat training

01:11:47 - What does Dr. Minson want to research about heat training in the future?

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