Why You Should Workout During The Dog Days Of Summer
By admin
Have you ever wondered where the term, “dog days of summer” came from?
Let me tell you…
Whether you like it or not, summer is here. We’ve already had 100+ degree days, with humidity at 90% and higher.
Basically, it’s hot as hell.
Yet, I still put my LA Sportiva’s on and hit the road cobblestones for a few miles.
As a runner, I love and hate the heat.
As a gym owner, where only ½ my building has air, I love and hate the heat.
During workouts, it’s close to miserable…
- The air is thick, it’s hard to breath, as if a brick is laying on your chest.
- Sweat is dripping into your eyes at a constant rate that you can’t control. Finally, you give up trying to wipe it out before it drops and decide to suck it up and endure the salty sting.
- You can’t drink water fast enough, but if you could, you get annoyed by the constant slushing around of water in your stomach with each stride, jump or rep.
- You smell. The smell of a summer workout is indescribable… but if you have to put it into words it’s as if you turned into a 15 year old boy headed to football practice.
But when the workout is over and done, you feel like a badass and you’ve done a lot more for your body and performance than you realize.
For a runner, summer is our best friend. It’s our opportunity to run slower (because who can run all out in 100-degree temperatures) while building up our performance for fall races.
I can remember the October race above, I felt completely not ready for a PR. My speed work had taken a back seat and because of the heat that I had endured during training, I felt my pace was s-l-o-w. Until I woke up that morning to feel a cool 50 degrees, and I crossed the finish line with a killer PR.
Did you think that the fall is heavy in races because of the cooler temperatures?
Well, yes and no… Fall races means summer training and summer training means improved race times come fall!
As I was hitting the roads this past weekend, that is what I was thinking about. Well, I think it was more like:
“Damn, it’s hot and humid… this sh$ t better help me get my PR in October!”
Yup, that’s more like it.
But how?
Your Body On Heat
Heat is hard on the body! It’s not as if you can workout at 55-degrees one day and then go and do the same workout with the same performace at 90-degrees the next.
Just like going up in altitude, it takes a period of “acclimation”.
Over the course of 5-10 days of training in the heat, your body will:
- Increase circulation for better heat transport. It’s like a flowing river, a river is always going to be cooler than a lake, right? So increased blood flow, means a better cool down system.
- The body begins to sweat at cooler temperatures. The body becomes more efficient at cooling you down!
- The body activates up to twice the amount of sweat glands working at once. Thought sweat was an all or none deal? Nope! When you’re forced to endure hot temperatures, the body turns on more sweaty sweat glands to help increase it’s cool down mechanics.
- Because you’re sweating more, one concern you may have is losing electrolytes too fast, right? Well, the body knows this and therefore lowers the % of electrolytes lost during sweat. That way you’ll hold on to more to help ward off heat stroke, muscle cramping, etc. ← Though you because you’re sweating more as a whole it’s important to replenish electrolytes during and after workouts!
So that’s how your body acclimates… but what does that mean?
Heat Training May Be Better Than Altitude Training
Everyone knows that athletes of all sports love spending time at high altitudes for training. It increases red blood cells and the amount of available oxygen in the blood stream to help increase VO2 max and overall performance abilities.
I’m not going to lie, when I do trail races I often think, “of course that girl is better, she’s from Colorado!” As if she has some unfair advantage over the rest of the field.
But I guess I can’t use that excuse any longer as I live in one of the hottest, most humid places in the continental US.
A study out of the University of Oregon found that athletes that trained at 100-degree temperatures increased their performance by 7% over the course of 10 days.
7% in 10 days… THAT’S HUGE!
Heat and humidity intensifies how hard the body works to maintain normal function, and as the body adapts (because it’s amazing), the body becomes more efficient.
And exciting… clearly!
This was one of the first studies to compare heat training to “normal” training. The body works optimally at a cool 55-degrees. This is it’s happy place where it can just focus on the workout, not the work of cooling or warming the body.
So taking it up to 100 degrees for 10 days, puts quite a lot of stress on the body and the results were apparent.
And yes, the study looked at a group of athletes doing the same workouts as those exercising in 55-degrees. Their performance increase? ZERO. None. Nada.
TIME!
It takes the body around 3-6 weeks to fully acclimate to high altitudes. This is why mountaineers have to spend so much time going up and down a mountain before actually going for the summit.
Changes are slow!
For heat training, acclimation takes just 10 days, or a total of 5-10 workouts.
I don’t know about you, but that’s pretty sweat sweet. That means you don’t have to take an entire month off from life in order to train for the benefits. I have a friend doing a trail run in Colorado later this year who has to go up 4 weeks prior to adjust…
Not many of us can do that!
According to Dr. Christopher Minson (co-author of the Oregon Study)…
- Workouts should last 60 minutes.
- Workouts should bring the core temperature up to 101-degrees for those 60 minutes.
- 5-10 workouts during extreme exposure is all it takes to acclimate and see performance benefits.
- Be smart! See below!
Tips For Smart Hot Workouts
What’s the take away here?
Don’t let the heat deter you from getting a workout.
Yes, it might be hot. Yes, you might be slower. You might be weaker…
But when the temps fall, you’ll see you’ve gotten stronger, faster, better. It’s amazing. It’s why runners secretly LOVE the summer because it’s like Christmas come their first cool race.
But it is important to be smart.
Heat can stress the body out and if done improperly or too much too soon, you will pay a price…
Don’t be dumb and put yourself at risk of heat exhaustion or stroke. Listen to your body!
- Start slow and slowly work your way up. And only if you’re already into a serious workout regiment. If you haven’t worked out in years, then start inside! If a heat wave suddenly hits, decrease training load and slowly build up.
- Wear light, breathable clothes. I don’t like to workout in just a sports bra… but you better believe when it’s 90+ degrees outside, I will! Avoid cotton, please! Good workout clothes with whisking abilities are more expensive but totally worth it.
- Hydrate. Should be common sense, but I see people all the time who forget a water or make it through a workout with just a few sips of water. Make a conscious effort to drink constantly. Plan runs that go by water fountains or sprinklers where you can dunk your head! Weigh yourself post workout: for every pound lost, drink 1 pint of water to replenish.
- Replenish with electrolytes. Fill a water bottle with half water, half Gatorade… or drink a Nuun. I’m an extremely salty sweater, so I make an effort to drink 2-3 electrolyte drinks on days I workout to feel my best.
I think it’s EXTREMELY important for me to stress, that I am sharing this science with you but not recommending that you run in 105 degree temperatures. Listen to your body and do what you think is best.
If at any time during summer workouts, you feel nauseous, dizzy, weak, etc. STOP and find a place to cool down immediately.
Because of my race schedule and backpacking goals, it’s crucial that i fight through the heat and train. But that’s not everyone.
Like that like PSA?
Okay, with that…
I LOVE high 40s and low 50s. My body warms up very quickly, so even at these temperatures you’ll find me in shorts and a tank top!
Resources For This Post:
Heat acclimation benefits athletic performance in hot and cool conditions
Heat Acclimmation Improves Performance
Team Oregon Heat Tips