Fitness experts say embrace the heat to acclimatize
Source: Agencies |
July 9, 2013, Tuesday
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CAN'T take the heat?
Fitness experts say one way for outdoor exercisers who dread the long, hot summer days of steamy runs and breathless aerobics during a heat wave is to embrace it.
"It takes most healthy people 10 to 14 days to fully acclimate to exercising in the heat," said Dr Cedric X. Bryant, chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise. "In order to achieve that you need to be exercising in heat."
The heat-acclimated individual will sweat sooner and that sweat will be more dilute, Bryant said. There will be a lower risk for dehydration and a reduction in the heat gained through exercise that will help maintain a lower core temperature and heart rate response.
He said as much as 25 percent of the healthy population is estimated to be heat intolerant in an unacclimated state. Once they get acclimated that drops to 2 percent.
A 2011 report from the US Centers for Disease Control showed that about 6,000 people a year seek emergency treatment for heat illnesses suffered while playing sports or participating in other recreational activities outdoors.
While acclimating to the physiological demands of the heat, Bryant said, be sure to tone down your workout.
"Strictly adhere to the talk test (the ability to talk as a gauge of correct exercise intensity)," he said. "It's not a time to do intervals or high-intensity exercises. Afterwards, when you're fully acclimated, you can ramp up intensity."
Connecticut-based fitness instructor Ellen Barrett said a daily dose of hot yoga primed her for the heat wave that slammed the US East Coast in June.
"I did the Bikram yoga challenge every day for a month, so when that heat wave hit I didn't even notice it," said Barrett, author of the upcoming book, "The 28 Days Lighter Diet."
She said Swiss tennis ace Roger Federer trains in Dubai.
"He plays all day in the hot sun so when he's at the US Open at the end of summer in New York City, he looks fresh as a daisy," she said.
Bryant said that even the fully heat-acclimated exerciser reverts rapidly when the training stops.
"Unfortunately the benefits of heat acclimation are lost quite quickly," he said. "For every two days an individual abstains from heat exposure, one day of acclimation is lost."
Fitness experts say one way for outdoor exercisers who dread the long, hot summer days of steamy runs and breathless aerobics during a heat wave is to embrace it.
"It takes most healthy people 10 to 14 days to fully acclimate to exercising in the heat," said Dr Cedric X. Bryant, chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise. "In order to achieve that you need to be exercising in heat."
The heat-acclimated individual will sweat sooner and that sweat will be more dilute, Bryant said. There will be a lower risk for dehydration and a reduction in the heat gained through exercise that will help maintain a lower core temperature and heart rate response.
He said as much as 25 percent of the healthy population is estimated to be heat intolerant in an unacclimated state. Once they get acclimated that drops to 2 percent.
A 2011 report from the US Centers for Disease Control showed that about 6,000 people a year seek emergency treatment for heat illnesses suffered while playing sports or participating in other recreational activities outdoors.
While acclimating to the physiological demands of the heat, Bryant said, be sure to tone down your workout.
"Strictly adhere to the talk test (the ability to talk as a gauge of correct exercise intensity)," he said. "It's not a time to do intervals or high-intensity exercises. Afterwards, when you're fully acclimated, you can ramp up intensity."
Connecticut-based fitness instructor Ellen Barrett said a daily dose of hot yoga primed her for the heat wave that slammed the US East Coast in June.
"I did the Bikram yoga challenge every day for a month, so when that heat wave hit I didn't even notice it," said Barrett, author of the upcoming book, "The 28 Days Lighter Diet."
She said Swiss tennis ace Roger Federer trains in Dubai.
"He plays all day in the hot sun so when he's at the US Open at the end of summer in New York City, he looks fresh as a daisy," she said.
Bryant said that even the fully heat-acclimated exerciser reverts rapidly when the training stops.
"Unfortunately the benefits of heat acclimation are lost quite quickly," he said. "For every two days an individual abstains from heat exposure, one day of acclimation is lost."
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