Jump to content

Adapting to the heat


Randomguy

Recommended Posts

Some people say they don't do well exercising in the heat, my wife is among that number.  I usually say phooey to that, you can adapt and overcome, but my wife has really low blood pressure, so there is that. 

 

I don't seem to do as well in the heat as I used to, btw, but I am much older and way the hell more out of shape.  I tend to blame that instead of the heat.

 

What do you think, can EVERYONE adapt to exercise in hot weather if they had to?  I am not talking about enjoying it, just doing it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This kinda reminds me of when I'd tell people that I don't like beer. Some say, "well you adapt to the flavor" or something similar. Why in the world would i want to adapt to the flavor if I don't like it in the first place?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't do well in heat, never have.  When I was in high-school, running track, cross country, what ever sporting event.  I had a bad habit of passing out at the finish line and waking up in ambulance.  Luckily never had to be taken anywhere, they just wanted to get me into air conditioning and cooled off.  And I grew up in a house with out air conditioning and working on a farm in the heat, so not like I wasn't used to it, just couldn't push it that hard when it was hot or was going down.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been a desert rat all my life. I actually do better in the heat, but I'm used to it being dry. The humidity is what kills me. I can ride here at 120F and do fine, but give me Florida at 90F and 90% humidity and I'm done..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This kinda reminds me of when I'd tell people that I don't like beer. Some say, "well you adapt to the flavor" or something similar. Why in the world would i want to adapt to the flavor if I don't like it in the first place?

 

Hold up a second, I don't think you took your first sip of scotch and said "I would rather have that than Captain Crunch with Crunchberries".  I think you had to try it a number of times before you dug it.

 

Most people that I know drank "Beer" when they were in high school to be all buzzy, but only grew to like the taste once they got used to it and then had better beer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think that you have to understand the heat and what its doing to you.

 

When it is above 98F, you can overcook yourself if you are stupid about it.

 

Here's the deal: our bodies are not efficient. For every unit of work, you produce a unit of heat. Once your core gets to 104, you shut down, no matter who you are, how tough you are or how good a shape you are in. At a core temp of 104 you start to die.

 

So you have to dissipate heat.

 

when it is hot and humid, I don't ride fast and I don't go and climb the big steep roads. The amount of heat I can dissipate is now the limit of what I can do on a bike, not how much oxygen I can process, so I naturally am not riding as hard

 

So you can work out in the heat, but you can't expect to perform at the same levels

 

also, your body's ability to vent heat is a lot stronger when you don't live, and especially don't sleep, in AC

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, that depends.  I have MS.  MS and heat are like oil and water.  They don't mesh well.  Sometimes, I can't simply push through the heat.  If I get too hot and don't do everything perfectly in regards to hydration and glyco stores, I lose control of my body.  My legs get clumsy and my right leg may drop and drag, my speech becomes slurred.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hold up a second, I don't think you took your first sip of scotch and said "I would rather have that than Captain Crunch with Crunchberries".  I think you had to try it a number of times before you dug it.

 

Most people that I know drank "Beer" when they were in high school to be all buzzy, but only grew to like the taste once they got used to it and then had better beer.

There must be some aspect of it you like enough to continue to try it again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, so it seems there is variation in ability to operate in the unbearable hotness of being.   So how can those who don't do well in the heat do better in the heat?

I used to just modify my schedule to bike (or whatever it is) at a better time. I started doing stuff early in the morning, but that wasn't as good because as the dew was burning off it was very muggy (Florida) and it got hotter as you went. After a while, I found that doing things in the evening was better. You start off fairly hot, but not as muggy as morning (because dew has long since burned off) and it gets cooler as you go rather than hotter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, so it seems there is variation in ability to operate in the unbearable hotness of being.   So how can those who don't do well in the heat do better in the heat?

 

Do some pre-cooling before a hot ride.  Wet the head down in extreme heat.  Go early or ride at night.  Eat hydrated chia seeds before a ride.  

 

These are my tactics when the heat gets stupid.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do some pre-cooling before a hot ride.  Wet the head down in extreme heat.  Go early or ride at night.  Eat hydrated chia seeds before a ride.  

 

These are my tactics when the heat gets stupid.

 

Do the chia seeds really work?  I like that hippie drink with the seeds, that stuff is good!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do some pre-cooling before a hot ride.  Wet the head down in extreme heat.  Go early or ride at night.  Eat hydrated chia seeds before a ride.  

 

These are my tactics when the heat gets stupid.

Everyone reacts to the heat differently, DH.  you do what you have to do. I have friends who moved to Colorado after they retired to escape the summer temps

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess the idea is to eat a food that is full of moisture.  If you a not hydrated well, then the heat will hurt you worse.  

 

Hmm, this makes sense.  It also makes sense that digestion draws water to the bits doing the digestion, so I don't know what to think.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just keep myself out of Zone 5, and limit my Zone 4. Been on a few pretty hot/humid rides of late, and you can adapt to it, but it's just never fun when the humidity is so bad. I've typically taken a little bit of a break from riding during the hotter months, only riding in the mornings or late evening around sunset, and limiting my miles. It's a good break anyway from the higher mileage and pace of the spring.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am not into heat and humidity...that being said..I can opt out of a local ride if it is beastly hot....When  I did my first MS-TRAM our temps were basically in the 90's every day...and probably at least the 80's when we did CANDISC.  On a multi day trip I actually avoid the AC.  I remember popping into a store at one of our overnights on the TRAM and they had the AC on it was lovely...but 10 minutes in there...the heat just felt worse when you went back outside.

 

Drink lots of water take advantage of the shade and the local swimming pool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can cope with heat or cold a lot better than I can cope with high humidity. I've enjoyed some rides in temperatures approaching 40C or 104F and I've had a lot of great rides in the upper teens (or the low 60s on the Fahrenheit scale.) I've even had some good rides in the snow. Muggy or clammy weather isn't a lot of fun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My body has trouble adapting to heat.  It doesn't take a lot for me to sweat buckets.  So if it's hot, I can lose pounds of sweat.

 

During the couple of hot RAGBRAIs I was on, I probably went through between two and three gallons of fluids in a day, and my face was coated in salt some days when I was done.  I'm a mess after mowing the lawn.  Two jobs ago, I had access to a treadmill, but without A/C.  In the summer, I had to go before work, or I'd be carrying the perspiration on my running clothes.

 

I honestly don't think my body would adapt very well without a long-term environment change, and it wouldn't be pleasant.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually do well in the heat.  We had a couple days of climbing last week in the heat and high humidity.  The bike computers were giving readings of 100 degrees, it think it was 93 degrees on the weather channel.  The day we had 3,600 feet of climbing I drank 14 bottles of water.  The humidity was so high my sweat never evaporated, it just soaked my jersey and shorts and socks and dripped off of everything.  I did ok but I decided I don't like riding all day in sweat soaked bike shorts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A couple of years ago, we got our hot weather quite suddenly at the beginning of July. On the second day of a bike tour in southern British Columbia, I stopped for a cold drink and a rest at Rock Creek. When I got back on my bike maybe half an hour later, the temperature on my bike computer showed 56C. That's 131F. It wasn't quite that hot — possibly 42 or 43 — but still rather warm. The last bit of cycling that day was slow going and when I reached the campground for the night, all I wanted was the shadiest spot I could find.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've done a ton of research about heat.  No joker here waiting for AC.   :rolleyes:

 

If you weren't such a couch potato, I would believe you.    :whistle:

 

I had organic pork chops with organic fresh apricot sauce (homemade) on top, beets, carrots, and broccoli last night for dinner.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the only one here who actually said they don't ride as hard in the high heat is Olas

 

Nobody even mentioned not wearing gloves or going without a helmet

 

You city slickers are just weak

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you weren't such a couch potato, I would believe you.    :whistle:

 

I had organic pork chops with organic fresh apricot sauce (homemade) on top, beets, carrots, and broccoli last night for dinner.

 

WHAT?   :angry:

 

and don't try and butter me up with food talk, after an insult.   I am not falling for that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

so do any of you jokers actually understand how the heat effects your riding and how to adapt to it?

or do you just bitch about the heat until you can get back in the AC?

I go out and ride in it, and spend most of the other 21 hours in 78degree A/C. The heat usually doesn't bother me until it's over 115degrees.

July and August can be tough when we get the Monsoonal flow bringing humidity to the desert. 115 degrees and 50% humidity is brutal. I'll still ride in it, but stopping in it makes you very sweaty.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

the only one here who actually said they don't ride as hard in the high heat is Olas

Nobody even mentioned not wearing gloves or going without a helmet

You city slickers are just weak

you northerners are weak.

I always wear gloves, a helmet, and a base layer. Sometimes I'll even go with a long sleeve white base layer to keep the sun off my arms.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I go out and ride in it, and spend most of the other 21 hours in 78degree A/C. The heat usually doesn't bother me until it's over 115degrees.

July and August can be tough when we get the Monsoonal flow bringing humidity to the desert. 115 degrees and 50% humidity is brutal. I'll still ride in it, but stopping in it makes you very sweaty.

 

 

I wasn't referring to our Arizona contingent. You guys have the right to say anything about riding in the heat that you want

 

personally, I like to ride in the heat of the day. On a hot day the most comfortable place I know is in the saddle cruising at around 15 mph

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wasn't referring to our Arizona contingent. You guys have the right to say anything about riding in the heat that you want

personally, I like to ride in the heat of the day. On a hot day the most comfortable place I know is in the saddle cruising at around 15 mph

what Olas said about riding easier in very hot weather isn't really accurate. In very high temps my performance might suffer slightly, but my effort level will be the same. If it's a zone 4 ride that day, I'll still ride in zone 4 but it will likely be a bit slower than a day with cooler temps.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wasn't referring to our Arizona contingent. You guys have the right to say anything about riding in the heat that you want

 

personally, I like to ride in the heat of the day. On a hot day the most comfortable place I know is in the saddle cruising at around 15 mph

Unless it's in the triple digits.....then it's a 15mph blow dryer to the face. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yea, that's how it works. for every unit of work, we make a unit of heat. How well you can dissipate heat is the limiting factor

 

if your circulatory system is working to cool your core, then you don't have as much left for turning pedals, so for the same HR zone, your actual speed is lower

 

since I'm not training anymore, I just ride easier. these days I ride like I'm doing base miles in the high heat and humidity,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unless it's in the triple digits.....then it's a 15mph blow dryer to the face.

stopping is when the heat gets really bad. Fixing a flat tire after riding 2 hours in 110 degree heat is brutal. You will have sweat running out of you body like a faucet. Once you get going again you might even catch a chill for a moment.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...