Conquer the summer heat

Your body is going to perform differently when it's 60 degrees outside than when it is 90 degrees. Although exercising in hot weather requires extra planning and caution to avoid health risks, it is possible to improve performance, enjoy your training sessions and not feel completely drained when training in the heat.

There's a good chance that you are not making good decisions when training in the heat and as a result, your performance and health is being compromised.

Running without a hydration belt, not planning stops accordingly on the bike, showing up to workouts dehydrated, not fueling properly (or eating enough) and not rehydrating properly after workouts will negatively impact your body's thermoregulatory process.

The human body is remarkable when it comes to exericising heat, so long as you take the necessary steps to acclimate gradually, pace yourself and look for opportunities to minimize dehydration and cool the skin.

What you need to know: heat acclimatization

Remember when you were complaining about the cold weather?
Hello summer heat!

The body has many mechanisms to help adapt to a range of environmental conditions. Heat acclimatization plays a major role in the body’s physical responses and overall ability to perform the heat.

What is heat acclimatization? 
Heat acclimatization (or acclimation) involves biological adaptations that reduce physiological strain (ex. heart rate and body temperature), improve comfort, improve exercise capacity and reduce the risks of serious heat illness during exposure to heat stress. Heat acclimatization can occur in a hot and dry environment as well as a hot and humid environment. Acclimatization varies person to person and also depends on the volume of exercise, the intensity of exercise, hydration status and fitness level.

Trained athletes and those with less body surface area will generally (but not always) have more physical advantages to tolerating the heat compared to the untrained or those with more body surface area.

Humidity 
On humid days, when the air is already saturated with water, sweat evaporates more slowly. This explains why it feels so much hotter (and harder) to train in high humidity. When relative humidity reaches a high enough level, the body's natural cooling system simply can't work. Sweat evaporates very slowly, if at all, and the body heats up. No matter how much you drink or try to cool yourself, if your body is overheated and you can no longer cool yourself, your body will no longer be able to safely train in the heat.

Physiological strain
There is a great cardiovascular strain when exercising in the heat. Cardiac output (volume of blood pumped by the heart per minute, a function of heart rate and stroke volume) becomes inadequate to fuel the dual demand for skin and muscle blood flow. Even though heart rate increases during thermal stress, the amount of blood that the heart can pump per beat is reduced because of overall low blood volume. This is called cardiac drift. The heart is trying to compensate for the reduced blood volume by beating faster. This makes it extremely difficult to cool the body and support the working muscles. Ultimately, the skin will win and your muscles will not be able to properly contract.

When training in the heat, the body will struggle to maintain core temperature, keep up with muscle contractions and maintain optimal gastric emptying. This is why so many athletes experience GI distress when training in the heat. And when you get dehydration, this makes training in the heat even worse.

Importance of sport nutrition
Restoring fluids and meeting hydration needs during workouts is a must as this is the only way to maintain muscle contractions and reduce the risk of heat stress. However, don't expect your gut to tolerate taking in sport nutrition on a hot summer day if you haven't been consistent with your fueling/hydration over the past few months (in cooler temps). It can take up to 6-8 weeks to train the gut to tolerate digesting and absorbing nutrition while exercising. If fluid replenishment is not adequate (ex. rationing your fluids, not planning your refill stops appropriately, not drinking on a schedule, etc.), blood volume will decrease which also boosts heart rate to compensate for the reduced blood volume.

Dehydration reduces blood volume and as the body compensates by retaining more sodium in the blood, there is increased pressure in major blood vessels as blood becomes more concentrated, thicker and more difficult to circulate. Dehydration also increases glycogen utilization (depleting carbohydrate stores quicker). The breakdown of glycogen during training leads to an increase in intracellular acids (ex. lactic acid) which decreases pH thus causing skeletal muscle fatigue. When athletes experience heat stress and dehydration, they typically complain that a normal easy or stustainable given effort feels much more difficult. Ultimately, performance declines and as exercise continues, health can be negatively compromised.

How to adapt
When preparing for heat acclimatization, it's important to first have a solid base level of fitness. In other words, avoid starting a training plan (or new exercise routine) when the weather turns warm or hot. For the competitive athlete or those preparing for a summer or fall endurance event, this stresses the importance of maintaining a good level of fitness all year long.

Because heat acclimatization is a complex series of physiological adaptations that occur when exposed to the heat, you need to train in the heat in order to acclimate to the heat. While you can attempt to acclimate passively with the use of a sauna protocol, the best strategy is to acclimate actively by completing a few of your workout sessions in the heat, over the course of about 3 weeks. While it may feel uncomfortable and difficult at first, you are teaching the body to better tolerate exercising in the heat. Overtime, your physiology will change to reduce the cardio, thermal and metabolic strain on the body due to the heat. Prolonged exercise in the heat forces the cardiovascular system to provide blood flow to the working skeletal muscles to meet metabolic demands and to provide blood flow to the skin to dissipate the heat released by the working muscles. Additionally, although you will continue to sweat to cool your body, you will lose less sodium in your sweat.

Most athletes will find that performance is not significantly compromised when training in the heat for short distances and that blood can support the muscle demand and skin demand. However, when exercise is prolonged or intensified, the body may fail to maintain thermal homeostasis and will move into positive heat storage. Because of this, you must take training in the heat seriously. You must adjust your effort/intensity and volume. And you must check your ego at the door and be willing to acclimate slowly and patiently.

Are you struggling to train in the heat?

Acclimatization
Complete heat acclimatization requires up to 14 days but the systems of the body adapt at varying rates. Be mindful that every time you train in the heat, you gain more tolerance to the heat. In other words, you do not need to make an effort to train in the hottest time of the day acclimate to the heat. Continue to build fitness in a temperature controlled environment, alongside training in the heat (you don't need to be outside in the heat for every workout). There's no point suffering in the heat if you are unable to complete a workout and stay consistent with your training. Sometimes you just need to stay indoors.

Change in physiology
It is very important to lower the intensity during the first 1-2 weeks of training in the heat (ex. early summer) as your body is trying to improve control of cardio functioning. Be mindful that acclimatization will require you to reduce your effort/intensity so be OK with seeing slower paces/watts in the first few weeks of acclimating. This is for your health and safety - which trumps trying to gain fitness in the first few weeks of training in the heat. During the early adaptations of heat acclimatization (ex. early summer or first warm days of the year), you will likely notice an increase in cardio strain due to the added stress of exercising in the heat. Your perceived exertion will increase (especially at higher intensities and prolonged durations) and you will feel more tired, fatigued and exhausted than normal. Cardio changes occur in the first 5-10 days whereas changes in sweating mechanisms can take 10-14+ days. Because of this, you may need to make some modifications to your training. 

Training modifications 

Consider splitting up your workout (half outside, half indoors). Find shady areas to train. Opt to train indoors when it's just too hot outside. Or try to workout when it's not as hot (early morning or early evening). If you try to push your normal efforts in the heat, your body cannot adjust to the heat. Do not try to chase paces/efforts that you could easily hold in cooler conditions. You'll only push back the time that your body could be acclimating (plus, this is a sure fire way for a good workout to quickly go bad).

Sport Nutrition 
Proper fueling and hydration during workouts helps maximize training adaptions. Falling short on fluid, carbohydrate and electrolyte needs may increase the risk for immunosuppression or injury. Plus, the symptoms of underfueling and dehydration are not pleasant.
A sport drink provides a practical and easy way to obtain fluids, electrolytes and carbohydrates - in the precise formulation - to optimize digestion and absorption.
Gels, bars and chews are portable, convenient sources of carbohydrates to consume during a workout but they lack the fluid and sodium found in a sport drink, and without this precise formulation they are more difficult to digest and absorb - increasing the risk for GI issues.
Although your daily diet helps to keep you nourished and fueled, the diverse nature of hot and humid weather, long distance workouts, intervals, brick workouts, two-a-day sessions and strength training validates the importance of consuming well-formulated sport nutrition drinks during specific workouts.

Fueling and hydration
When it comes to fueling/hydrating, do not view two back-to-back workouts as two separate workouts. If you are “only” running 20 minutes off a 3 hour bike, you need to see this as a 3:20 hr workout NOT a 3 hour bike + 20 minute run. Same goes for bike or run after a swim workout. And when you are running, you are using much more full-body muscle than when you are cycling - which requires more fluids for thermal control. Plus there is less breeze when running vs. cycling. Do not compromise your ability to have one long quality workout and recover quickly by not bringing adequate sport nutrition/hydration for both workouts.
Although pouring cold water on the body can help you feel cooler in hot temperatures, you still need to ingest fluids. To help prevent a sloshy stomach and to assit with optimal rehydration during your workout, you need to consume a sport drink regularly during your workout. Make sure you always have a sport drink with you when you train (not just water) and be mindful of the negative health issues that you may experience by overdrinking water in the heat OR under-consuming sport nutrition without adequate calories and electrolytes. Plan stops to refill your sport drink bottles before you run out of fluids. Overconsuming salt/electrolytes and fluids before and during workouts will not help you acclimate to the heat but staying adequately hydrated and well fueled will help you better perform and respond to the heat.

Female athletes
Female athletes who menstruate regularly each month may notice an increase in thermal strain during the luteal phase (high hormone phase) before and during menstruation. The increase in progesterone causes body temperature to increase in preparation for the fertilization of an egg. When fertilization does not occur, estrogen and progesterone decrease before the follicular phase. The high concentration of progesterone during the luteal phase affects fluid balance, causing female athletes to feel bloated from fluid retention. Additionally, whereas female athletes are more likely to feel cold during the estrogen-dominant follicular phase, progesterone acts on the hypothalamus (temp control center) which increases body temperature. Female athletes may feel warmer than normal, which makes it more difficult to dissipate heat (although a helpful physiological response for racing in cooler weather events). Female athletes should be mindful of how the body responds to training in the heat, specifically in the 7-10 days before menstruation and adjust efforts accordingly.

Minimize heat stress
There are several ways to minimize heat stress. Your training gear should be breathable, light, wicking and should help you stay cool and minimize exposure to the sun. Your clothing should protect the areas of your body that are most exposed to the sun (ex. back, neck, shoulder, face). Always wear broad spectrum sunscreen when you train outdoors and reapply. Wear a cooling towel around your neck and regularly re-wet throughout your run. Use water to cool your body on the bike and run. Search for shaddy sections to run and select "cooler" times in the day to workout.

Know the warning signs 
Identify the warning signs of heat cramps (muscle cramps), heat exhaustion (thirst, profuse sweating, fatigue, pale and cool skin, weakness, headache, nausea, chills/goose bumps, cessation of sweating, faintness, dizziness) and heat stroke (strong and rapid pulse, hot and dry skin, confusion). If you suddenly feel like you are experiencing a heat related illness, stop exercising, get into a cool environment and drink electrolyte-based liquids. An extreme loss of appetite, excessive sleepiness, headache, chills or abnormal fatigue during or post workout can all be signs that you are not properly hydrating (or fueling) during your workout. 

Here's a video helping you understand how to best fuel and hydrate during warm weather training:

Training in the heat - nutrition tips

Triathletes and endurance athletes are very susceptible to dehydration and even more so, a heat-related injury at this time of the year. Whereas in the cold/cooler months of the year, athletes can get away with haphazard fueling and hydration strategies and poor pacing, now is the time in the year when a poorly planned fueling/hydration regime and pushing too-hard or too-far will negatively affect workouts, adaptations and health.

Let it be known that training in the heat is incredibly stressful for the body. Seeing that training (in any environment) already creates difficulty for the body to adequately digest and absorb nutrients and fluids, you can imagine why so many athletes experience harmful health issues, GI struggles, extreme fatigue, heat stress, dehydration and so many more issues during the summer months when training for an event.

As an example, exercise increases body temperature. The harder and longer you train, the higher your resting temperature. Your body compensates by moving the extra heat to the skin via the blood - it then dissipates into the air through sweat (so long as humidity levels allow for evaporation). But when you exercise, your blood serves another important role - it carries oxygen and nutrients to the muscles. Blood is shared between the muscles and the skin. The higher your core temperature, the more blood is used for cooling and less for the working muscles. In other words, your body will always sacrifice muscle function for temperature control. This is why an athlete's body will begin to "shut down" when overheating as this state is life threatening.

Every athlete has his/her own threshold for when the body begins to experience a decline in health and performance as a result of heat stress, dehydration and glycogen depletion.

To keep your body functioning well (in training and on a daily basis), it's extremely important to care for your body with proper fueling and hydration strategies before/during/after workouts and to respect the conditions by pacing appropriately.

Don't be the athlete who......

• Does not stay well-hydrated on a daily basis (before/after workouts and during the day)
• Does not bring along fluids/nutrition when running (especially when running off the bike)
• Is not comfortable drinking while running/riding
• Rations fluids to avoid stopping (or does not have enough places to refill bottles)
• Does not have enough hydration bottle cages on the bike (or if they are on, they are not easily accessible)
• Does not use sport nutrition products properly (not enough or too much carbohydrates, fluids and electrolytes)
• Does not use sport nutrition products or does not plan ahead and relyies only on water (or nothing at all)
• Feels it's only a  "short" workout - so you don't need to fuel/drink

There are dozens of excuses and reasons why fluid/electrolyte/calorie needs are not being met during training and racing and not only is it holding you back from training consistently and executing well during workouts, it is also extremely damaging to the body - placing you at risk for injury, sickness, burnout and other serious health complications. Remember - you are not just fueling/hydrating for one workout but for the next series of workouts. If you struggle during one workout, it will affect your future workouts.

Common side-effects of dehydration and heat stress:

• headache
• dizziness
• blurred vision
• loss of focus
• chills
• high heart rate that won't drop even when you reduce the effort or stop
• no appetite post workout
• excessive sleepiness
• extreme weakness
• low blood pressure
• stop sweating
• dry mouth
• dark urine
• dry skin
• no/little urination
• extreme cramping
• bloating/puffiness
• excessive thirst/lost of thirst
• rapid, elevated pulse (despite effort slowing down)
• muscle spasms (during and post workout)

Are you currently experiencing any of the above?
If yes, your current fueling/hydration and pacing strategy is NOT working for you.


Every human body is different so you must pay very close attention to your body signs/symptoms/signals when it comes to training and racing in endurance events. If you do not make the effort to keep yourself in good with proper fueling and hydration (and pacing), you will be forced to spend a lot of time getting your body healthy again before you start even thinking about training again.

To help you out, here are a few very simple tips to help you adapt during hot-weather workouts

• Sip frequently in small amounts, don't gulp fluids. Gulping (especially from a straw) causes you to swallow air, which can cause bloating and belching. This also may disturb the function of the stomach and slows down absorption.
  
• Be sure to have a sport drink with you for all workouts lasting more than one-hour - this should contain a mixture of electrolytes, carbohydrates and fluids in an appropriate concentration to digest well and to be efficiently absorbed. I suggest a hypo or isotonic solution with ~20-25g carbohydrates per every ~12-16 ounces and at least 250mg of sodium to optimize gastric emptying.
  
• Aim for 24-32 ounces of fluid on the bike per hour and at least 10-12 ounce fluid for every 30 minutes while running (this should be in a sport drink - not plain water in the heat!).
  
• Aim to sip your bottle on the bike every 10-15 minutes (you need at least 3-4 gulps to ensure that you are getting in around 3-4 ounces of fluid) and 1-2 sips every 5-8 minutes while running. Frequent drinking on a schedule will not only help to delay fatigue and prevent dehydration but will prevent overdrinking on fluids (particularly ice cold water), which often causes a sloshy stomach.
  
• While keeping your insides hydrated is critical, consider ways to keep your body cool on the outside. Suggestions include exercising early morning or in the evening and avoiding workouts in the heat of the day (10-5pm). Choosing indoor workouts over outdoor when health may be compromised (extreme heat). Using water/ice to cool yourself while exercising. Wear a cooling towel/cooling sleeves. Use a visor over a hat. Choose shady areas over direct sunlight. Wear sunscreen to prevent burning. Wear protective clothing.
  
• Always plan ahead with your bottle refill stops. Be sure to STOP before you really need to stop so you are never rationing your fluids or going without.
  
• Be sure you are setting yourself up for good hydration actions. Cages/hydration systems on the bike should be accessible and easy to use in ALL conditions (ex. bumpy roads, rain, technical courses, rain, etc.). Your run courses in training should allow you to refill bottles that you bring with you OR set up bottles on your course. Everything you do in training should be practice for race day.
  
• Wear a hydration belt/pack so you can drink what you drink, when you want to drink it. There are many types on the market - find one that works for you and never run outside without it.
  
• Do not wait for thirst to kick in during endurance workouts/racing to start drinking. Start drinking/fueling early. An athlete who waits to drink until he/she is thirsty is already behind on fluid requirements and many times, this will cause an athlete to drink an excessive amount of water. This may cause hyponatremia (very serious health condition) or may cause a sloshy stomach/bloating/stomach cramping. When you fall behind on your fluids, you will likely drink too much at once to play catch up (often a hypertonic/concentrated amount from guzzling a lot of drinks at aid stations or stops at gas stations in training).
  
• Make your fueling/hydration strategy during workouts as simple as possible. You should not be using several different methods of consuming electrolytes, calories/carbohydrates/sugars and fluids. But ok to use 2-3 different products/flavors to help with taste bud fatigue. Also, DO NOT overconcentrate your flasks/bottles.
  
• Pace yourself and be OK with slower paces that will elicit a higher RPE. Even mild dehydration can negatively affect performance and can cause drowsiness, irritability, loss of concentration and headaches - none of which are performance enhancing or healthy. When dehydration worsen, serious issues occur which affect the heart, brain, muscles and organs (ex. kidneys).
  
• If you overwork your body, it is not possible to overfuel/hydrate the body to meet your training/racing demands.
  
• Be respectful of your body in the heat. If you are feeling any changes with your body that concern you, first slow down. Don't be a hero and push through - stop! Remind yourself that when your body starts to shut down or gives you signals/signs that something is wrong (ex. headache, chills, vision changes, etc.), your body is no longer adapting to training stress but it's trying to protect you. Never get upset at your body for a bad workout or race if it is simply trying to protect you from a serious heat or other-related injury.

There are far too many athletes failing with workouts and experiencing negative health issues due to poor fueling/hydration strategies before/during/after training and improper pacing. Sport nutrition is a complicated area with many misguided tips and suggestions that are not always practical or healthy. If you know someone who can benefit from this blog, please share.

Pear-berry oatmeal, IM-prep swim set, Trimarni "summer" checklist

Pear-berry oatmeal

1/2 cup oats (dry)
1/2 small pear (chopped)
1/2 cup blueberries
1 tbsp ground flax or chia seeds
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tbsp (about) red currants (or raisins)
~10g protein powder (optional: whey, vegan, soy -to help slow down digestion and to promote satisfaction for a few hours)
Water or milk to meet consistency needs

1. Mix ingredients together in large tall bowl (Recommend a tall bowl as oppose to a wide bowl which will help prevent spilling over, although watch for rising oatmeal).
2. Add water/milk (liquid) to almost cover the dry ingredients (leave about an inch or so not covered. if not using protein powder, cover 3/4ths dry ingredients)
3.Stir well with a spoon (especially if adding protein powder)

4. Microwave (uncovered) for 1 minute, then stir.
5. Continue to microwave in 45 second intervals until oatmeal meets your consistency needs (it may get more thick the longer you microwave. I like my creamy so I typically microwave around 2:15). 

This morning swim set was the perfect way to start my day before working at the hospital. I followed swim with hip strength which I do 3x's a week (Mon, Wed and Fri) as well as hip work daily (ex. clams, bridges, hip hikes, McKenzie moves). 

This set was exactly what I needed for mind and body to finish another GREAT week of training (can't wait for the weekend!).

 I always feel a boost in swim confidence when I do repeating 100's on a cycle and I have always incorporated them into my IM training for the last 8 weeks or so of my peak training (typically on a Friday either as a short "intense" set or within a longer distance set.
Doing repeating 100's is a great way to increase your anaerobic threshold without compromising form so long as you take advantage of recovery. Depending on your comfort in the water, you may need to lessen the number of 100's that you do. For example, rather than doing 4 x 100's on a cycle like I did, try 2 x 100's trying to keep the same cycle. Then work your way up to 3 and then 4. The key is to make sure you are only resting "just enough" so that you compromise your respiratory system just a bit to raise that threshold. You don't want to fatigue too early in the set so be sure you pace yourself. With this set, you are able to be more consistent as the workout goes on without letting fatigue destroy your form or exhaust you from finishing the set if you were to just swim "fast" for a 2000 or to swim steady and not make progress to getting faster in the water.  In an Ironman you do not have to be "fast", you have to be efficient so if you are new to swimming or uncomfortable in the water, keep on working on your form and endurance and limit the speed work to once a week and within a "short" workout. 

5100 yard IM-prep workout
4 x 500's warm-up (odd swim, even pull w/ paddles - try to be steady on these)
100 backstroke recovery
Main set: 20 x 100's
Perform the main set like this: 4 x 100's with 10 seconds rest (keep the same cycle - for ex. I did these on 1:30 and was holding ~1:18-1:19 per 100), then do 1 x 100 EZ backstroke recovery (take a total of 3 minutes rest OR double your interval for the fast).
Repeat this cycle of 4 x 100's fast, 1 x 100 EZ for four times for a total of 20 x 100's. 

Optional: 500 pull  w/ paddles - work on stretching out the stroke
Optional: 400 choice
100 cool down

Training, exercising or racing this weekend? 

Don't forget your Trimarni checklist for outdoor activities in the heat: 

-Water

-Electrolytes

-Sport drinks w/ carbohydrates (for workouts/exercising over an hour)

-Sunscreen (SPF 30+, broad sp...ectrum)

-Sunglasses

-Wicking clothing 

-Visor/hat

-Recovery drink/food

-Towel

-A smart game plan (adjust intensity as needed)

-Recovery compression/ice