As the temperatures rise and the workouts get tougher Source Endurance has some quick action items to help you beat the heat, nail those hard workouts, and continue your success into the dog days of summer:
Cycling Tips for Hot Weather
1. ALL HEAT ADAPTATIONS ARE DEPENDENT ON YOUR ABILITY TO SWEAT MORE. This means that you need MORE fluids on your rides vs riding in primo weather. Athletes will sweat between 1.5- 2 L of sweat per hour. That’s +50oz of sweat per hour. Your two water bottles are probably 24 oz each at best so add a third bottle or a hydration pack. Plan on stopping to refill if your ride outruns your fluids.
2. Hydration in the summer is a constant battle. You’re never “caught up” for longer than your next bathroom trip. It can become a job to stay hydrated.
3. You become heat adapted by being in the heat longer. Heat adaptations are gained in a similar way to altitude so you don’t need to be training in the heat to be more adapted. Simply lying in a shaded hammock reading a book for a few hours every day will get the job done. Yard work counts too.
4. Heat index from temperature and humidity will degrade performances. Change your training times to allow you to perform. We’ve had to remind a bunch of athletes this week that they can’t do big powers very long when the heat index approaches 110F. If you can get out early (6-7am) you’ll hopefully have until about 10am before it gets hot enough to degrade your performance on an absolute scale. If that’s not possible consider going inside for the structured efforts then heading outside for the balance of the ride.
5. We’ve done a Racing and Training in the Heat webinar. Watch it. Remember all those little things because you need to do them all.
6. ALL HEAT ADAPTATIONS ARE DEPENDENT ON YOUR ABILITY TO SWEAT MORE. This means that you need MORE fluids on your rides than during primo weather. Yes, we are saying this a second time for a reason.
Nearly all athletes decline in ability as it gets too hot or too cold. Here’s a PD Curve we’ve built that is looking at a long time athlete’s power profile with respect to temperature.
