Training in the Heat

Preparation is paramount!

This week marks my first week back in South Florida after a delightful summer in Rhode Island. College drop-off at UCF was uneventful, and we completed our 1200-mile road trip before hurricane Erin started wreaking havoc along the East Coast.

We were welcomed by one of the hottest weeks on record - and that’s saying something for South Florida in August. I was eager to get back to CrossFit Pompano Beach and jumped into my usual 4 sessions per week.

Training without air conditioning in the heat was going to take some getting used to after spending the summer training in cooler, less humid conditions. But even with this awareness and setting expectations to move a little slower and scaling the workouts generously, I pushed it a little too hard and clocked a max heart rate of 202 during a 24-minute soul-crusher. That translated into a lot of nausea, some dizziness, and feeling like ass the rest of the day. Lesson learned. But I was back at it again the next day, more humble and kinder to myself, and managing to keep my heart rate out of the stratosphere.

Today was my long run day, and the heat has not abated. So I searched out all the articles I could from Feisty and Dr. Stacy Sims about training in the heat to prepare. I bought a race vest (Thank you, Selene Yeager!) with hydration bottles and electrolyte replacement. I wanted to set myself up for success, so I reduced my distance by 1/3, and my metric was maintaining an RPE of 6 rather than holding a certain pace. This felt great, and my pace was only 10 seconds slower. Success!

So, here are my takeaways and some resources I wanted to share from this experience as a recreational-level athlete:

• Understand that adaptation to high heat and humidity can take time - up to 9 sessions according to Dr. Sims. In this article, she discusses some strategies for prepping for heat in a cooler environment before arriving in a hotter, more humid environment.

• Don’t be surprised if performance takes a step backward during the adaptation phase. Be kind to yourself.

• Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate! Optimizing fluid volume in the blood vessels helps the body cool off. If you go into a training session in the heat dehydrated, the body will have a greater sensitivity to the effects of the heat because cooling will be more difficult with less water in the blood vessels.

• Gut awareness. The blood vessels redirect water (via blood plasma) away from the core to the skin surface to radiate heat and cool the body. Consequently, blood is also redirected away from the intestinal tract, so digestive function is not optimal under these conditions. For this reason, you may want to avoid high-carbohydrate or high-salt supplements as these things can draw water out of the blood vessels (that are trying to cool the body) and into the intestinal tract, causing bloating, indigestion, and vascular dehydration. This holds if training recreationally for an hour or less. If your sessions are longer, more carbohydrate and salt may be appropriate. Stacy Sims reviews some great strategies and guidelines for this in her article, How to Fuel to Compete in the Heat.

Lastly, I want to alert you to another resource that is a must-listen from this special episode of the Feisty Triathlon Podcast, “Women’s Specific Heat and Nutritional Concerns” led by the awesome and amazing Selene Yeager.

Stay cool, my Friends, and enjoy this week’s Strength Training Boot Camp!

There is some great strength training in this workout, but don’t be fooled by the dumbbells! This combination of movements will raise your heartrate and provide a formidable cardiovascular endurance challenge!

Why is this a great workout for mid-life women? Because the movements are functional, bulding strength and mobility in the activities we do every day, like squatting, pushing, and lunging. Because the movements are complex, the nervous system is recruited to coordinate these large muscle groups which is a potent stimulus for physical adaptation, which is much-needed when estrogen levels are phasing out. This workout targets upper and lower body muscular strength which takes with it benefits for bone density, core strength, and joint health! Finally, let’s not forget about heart health with our friend, the burpee!

Warm-Up

AMRAP 5 min (As many rounds as possible in 5 minutes)

• 5 burpees

• 10 air squats

• 5 push-ups (easy option)

• 10 (5 each side) bodyweight lunges in place (or walking)

Movement Practice

Practice a few reps of each movement in sequence to get a feel for the flow of the workout. The suggested weight is 2x 20lb dumbbells, however, if you are not familiar with these movements, try 5-10# dumbbells. Watch the videos and practice the movements in sequnce so that you feel confident with the flow of the workout. You may need to break up the Renegade Row or the overhead lunge into smaller sets, but not more than 2-3 sets per movement.

TIP: You may start to appreciate the difficulty of this workout early on. Do not let it get in your head! Power through each movement, one rep at a time and finish the 5 rounds.

Adjust the pace of your reps to manage fatigue and on the larger set movements, rest as needed but move efficiently.

Workout

5 Rounds for time -

• 5 Devil’s Press (alternative: 10 kettlebell swings)

• 10 right/10 left Renegade Row (alternative: alternating plank shuolder taps)

• 5 Dumbbell Push Press

• 10 Dumbbell Front Squats

• 50 ft Double Dumbbell Overhead Walking Lunge

Cool Down

Cooling down after a workout like this is of paramount importance! Jumpstart your recover with this 15 minute Post-workout deep stretch. #dontskiptheyoga

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