RIDING IN THE HEAT: I had an interesting and fun day today on my bicycle. Some of that experience is important to you as you exercise outdoors in this extremely hot and humid weather.
I spent the day with my friend Randy Gaffney who is a professional bike racer. Randy lives in Boulder but is back in Iowa due to a family illness. He invited me up to Northern Iowa for a ride today. We all know that heat can hinder your performance. It can also threaten your health due to the risk of heat exhaustion and even heat stroke. Here's how Randy and I dealt with the heat today.
--> Even before the ride began, I was anticipating the heat and beginning to prepare. I drank two full water bottles plus a chocolate milk on the drive North.
Lesson One: Pre-hydrate. The most important thing you can do to prepare for this weather is to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. It is important to begin your workout fully hydrated or even hyper-hydrated. (It is possible to over-hydrate but unlikely during these conditions.) Drink at least till you need to urinate. (Remember that a lighter urine color is an indication of good hydration while a darker color indicates dehydration.) This pre-exercise hydration helps you control your body temperature and also assists your cardiac output. The goal is to drink enough before your workout so you can start exercising fully hydrated.
--> We rode around Clear Lake twice (about 37 miles). I had taught two classes the day before and had a class to teach tonight so I rode the ride today at an endurance pace. Randy had not been able to ride lately so he added two intense ten-minute efforts at a high power rate. Throughout the ride, we were very conscious of the temperature - 95 degrees with high humidity and a heat index over 100. We each had two large water bottles - one water and one electrolyte replacement. In addition we stopped once during each lap to get inside air conditioning and a cold drink to lower our core temperatures. The point of this was to keep ourselves at a temperature where we would be able to continue to perform well in the heat. We monitored each others heart rates for any indication of overheating and we both noted that our heart rates came down more readily after we had cooled off. We wanted to do a third lap around the lake but decided not to because of the heat.
Lesson Two: Stay constantly aware of the heat. Monitor your effort and be sensible. Don't be afraid to cool off when you can. Lowering your temperature will improve your performance.
Lesson Three: Continue drinking throughout the ride. No single thing affects your relative performance as much as being properly hydrated. Water is needed for every metabolic process you want to occur during your ride including energy metabolism. The Spinning program recommends you drink 40 ounces of fluid in conjunction with a 40-minute class --- one ounce per minute before, during or after the ride. You need to drink at least that much outdoors in this heat. Remember that you don't get thirsty until AFTER you are already dehydrated so you must remind yourself to drink often.
--> On the way home, I drank more water, and more chocolate milk. I still had an evening class to teach and wanted to be able to perform in it.
Lesson Four: Rehydrate. Immediately after the ride, begin to re-hydrate for the next workout. Chocolate milk has the same mix of carbs and protein as the fancy energy replacement drinks and it is available at every convenience store.
Lesson Five: Adapt. Several days of exposing yourself to the heat and humidity stimulates physiological adaptations that lessen the stress of hot weather exercise. If you haven't been riding in the heat already, take it especially easy. Give yourself time to acclimatize. While you need to acclimatize to the heat, you should also work in more friendly i.e. cooler environment. You can do this by training during the cooler parts of the day or by attending Spinning classes.
Some of this is common sense, but all of it is important. Please don't underestimate the power of Mother Nature. Give her the respect she deserves and you'll be able to keep working in the heat.
WEAR YOUR HELMET, ALWAYS: I asked permission to pass along this message from one of my students. Peg Shelton writes: "Add me to the list of people who have cracked a helmet - not my head. I have been riding for over 30 years and have never had a crash previously that involved my head -- obviously, no matter how experienced you are at riding, it only takes a second for the situation to present itself where no matter what you do to prevent it, the head takes a hit. Absolutely no one is immune." This is a great reminder for us all. Thanks Peg and I'm glad you are okay.
MY TEACHING SCHEDULE:
Alternate Monday's 9:00AM at Southeast
Every Monday 5:45PM at Southeast.
Every Wednesday 9:00AM at Southeast.
Every Wednesday 5:45PM at Merle Hay.
Every Thursday 5:45PM at Merle Hay.
Every Saturday 7:30AM at Hickman.
Check out all the schedules at http://www.aspenathleticia.com/group-fitness/schedules/
Join us at http://billroachblog.blogspot.com
Bill Roach
Star 3 Lifetime Certified Spinning Instructor
Certified Personal Trainer, National Academy of Sports Medicine
Aspen Athletic Clubs
bill.roach@mchsi.com
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