☀️ It’s summertime! The heat and humidity have been in full force lately!
?Everyone always talks about drinking more to stay hydrated when it’s hot, but something that doesn’t get as much attention, but should is core temperature.
☄️ Your core temperature is your internal body temperature and if you’re an endurance athlete, it’s just as important as hydration for performance.
⬇️ A 2-3% decrease in body weight from sweat loss can cause athletic performance to decline. For every percent of body mass lost, temperature increases 0.5 degrees. So hydration is a key to managing your body temperature.
⬆️ As your body temperature rises, you use more energy for temperature control, which means less energy for your muscles. So muscles have less ability to contract and your endurance also fails.
? This was seen distinctly at the Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt, Germany. American Sarah True had a 7-minute lead on the women’s field coming in to the finish, but collapsed from the heat with less than 1km to go and was carried off the course.
? Lots of ice socks were also seen at the US Pro National Cycling Championships here in Knoxville for cooling athletes in the heat here.
?? Ladies, if you’re an athlete over 40 and you’re going through hormonal changes leading to menopause, temperature control is even more challenging to regulate. To optimize performance, having a strategy to keep hydrated and cool enough is crucial.
❄️ Ice socks on the back of the neck, in the front of a jersey or sports bra near the chest, an ice vest while on the trainer for warm-up before a race, cooling towels, ice sponges and pouring cold water on your head are all ways to help keep core temperature from rising too much.
✅ Use these tips to help you keep training and racing successfully in the heat! But most importantly, know when to call it quits for your own health!
