For the next two weeks Ralph has competition for time in the chamber – the Marathon de Sables runners are in town! The Marathon de Sables is a 6 stage event in which competitors from all over the world attempt to cover ~150 miles in temperatures of up to 50°C. For the UK competitors (approximately 25% of the field), repeated exposures to high temperatures (heat acclimation) is a highly recommended part of race preparation – heat acclimation allows the runners to prepare mentally and physically for the task ahead. While the optimal heat acclimation approach isn’t known, it does seem that to enhance exercise performance in the heat more is more and individuals should be exposed to very high temperatures, for a prolonged period of time, on a number of occasions. Over the next two weeks at the University of Roehampton the MdS competitors will be exposed to temperatures of up to 50°C for 1 – 2 hours on 5 occasions under the careful watch of Ralph and Jodie. If you are interested in reading more about heat acclimation please take a look at a recent review article that I wrote with Tom Reeve (University of Roehampton), Professor Stephen Cheung (Brock University, Canada) and Dr Gary Hodges (Brock University, Canada): The Effects of Heat Adaptation on Physiology, Perception and Exercise Performance in the Heat: A Meta-Analysis Below is a figure summarising some of the key data from the review. It is clear that although ideally competitors would have 15+ days of heat exposure, positive changes are observed earlier. It is too late for this year’s MdS but if you are interested in acclimating to the heat for an event in future please get in touch.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorsThis blog will be used by members of the team to provide updates, ideas, and food for thought! Archives
February 2020
Categories |