When is it too hot to train?

[Gweilo]

Yesterday it was 34 here in the southwest UK, still trained but in woodland, where it was a a good 10 degrees cooler, then made use of a local indoor swimming pool, but definately keep hydrated.

 

[JR 137]

I had to walk 12 miles to school every day. In 4 feet of snow. Up hill. Both ways. Barefoot.

You beat me to it.

 

[JR 137]

"Too hot" depends on a lot of factors. Others have mentioned acclimation (what you're used to), and that's a big deal. When I used to spend time every summer in Florida, 90-100F wasn't unusual, and I'd still go out for a run, sometimes in the hottest part of the day. Today I can't do that, because I don't train in heat often enough (30C isn't much hot to me unless humidity is high).

Your conditioning also matters. Someone who trains harder than me is likely to be better equipped to survive heat I wouldn't do well in.

Listen to your body, hydrate well, and know the signs of heat exhaustion/heat stroke. Make sure your training partners know them, too, because you may not spot them in yourself.

During my undergrad sports medicine days, my mentor knew a Kenyan former marathon runner. He came in and gave an informal lecture to us (there wasn’t anything science based, he was simply talking about his training and experience). One thing that stood out to me was him talking about his first experience running the NYC marathon - he said it was like running on a nice brisk autumn day with a weightless oxygen tank on. They live and therefore train at extremely high altitude and heat. Their normal to practically everyone else is an environment where you’re struggling just to breathe and sweating your nuts off.

My dojo doesn’t have air conditioning to speak of. It’s a window unit designed for a small bedroom. 85 degrees with high humidity is pretty common in the northeast. Sparring for an hour and a half in our dojo that does have windows that open nor sufficient AC wouldn’t go over well for people who aren’t used to living in those conditions. Yeah it’s tough for us some days, but we’re used to it.

Acclimation. It’s all about acclimation.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

During my undergrad sports medicine days, my mentor knew a Kenyan former marathon runner. He came in and gave an informal lecture to us (there wasn’t anything science based, he was simply talking about his training and experience). One thing that stood out to me was him talking about his first experience running the NYC marathon - he said it was like running on a nice brisk autumn day with a weightless oxygen tank on. They live and therefore train at extremely high altitude and heat. Their normal to practically everyone else is an environment where you’re struggling just to breathe and sweating your nuts off.

My dojo doesn’t have air conditioning to speak of. It’s a window unit designed for a small bedroom. 85 degrees with high humidity is pretty common in the northeast. Sparring for an hour and a half in our dojo that does have windows that open nor sufficient AC wouldn’t go over well for people who aren’t used to living in those conditions. Yeah it’s tough for us some days, but we’re used to it.

Acclimation. It’s all about acclimation.

I will say I'd love to NOT have AC on in the dojo except maybe in the hottest part of summer (when an un-cooled building can get hotter than outside), but I'd want to also have showers for people. I liked that at the first two places I had my program (a YMCA and an athletic center). I don't want people to have to pack an entire extra set of clothes to change into after a sweaty workout, since some will be coming directly from white-collar jobs, and probably don't want to put on their work clothes after they've sweated that much.

 

[Martial D]

Just googled 30c to Fahrenheit...86 degrees. Not at the point where I'd say not to be doing any exercise. I would say make sure you're hydrated at that point, but you can still exercise outside in that.

Depends what you're used to, and what your body enjoys.

38c=100f

That's really hot, especially if you happen to be aclimatized to the UK or somewhere similar. Train with caution.

 

[donald1]

Shade trees. Too hot outside? No problem. Step under a big tree and have plenty water. I live in Texas and it's always worked for me.

 

[jobo]

Shade trees. Too hot outside? No problem. Step under a big tree and have plenty water. I live in Texas and it's always worked for me.

I think most cultures have worked out the go in the shade solution

 

[Tony Dismukes]

As others have said, it depends on how heat adapted the individual is.

I'm naturally pretty heat tolerant and I've been training in the heat most of my life, so I'm generally okay as long as I stay hydrated. The place I train is a repurposed warehouse, so on hot days it's usually a little hotter and more humid inside than out. Last week we had temperatures around 95 F (35 C) with humidity around 68%. I didn't push myself as hard as I might on a cooler day, but I felt perfectly safe.

On the other hand, everyone's limits are different and heat can be dangerous (even lethally so) if you don't recognize those limits. My wife has MS and heat aggravates her symptoms, so if she trained she would need to do so in air conditioning. Other people may be used to lower temperatures and it takes time for the body to adapt.

I remember when I was in basic training at Fort Jackson in South Carolina 37 years ago. I was not in good shape when I went in and it was summer, with temperatures regularly hitting 95-100 F (35-38 C). One day early in the training we had a PT test. Most of the platoon had did the test in the morning while it was still cool. I was on KP that morning, so I had to make up the test during the afternoon, with the temperature a little over 100 F. I finished my run with an abysmally slow time, got mildly chewed out by the lieutenant for my slowness, then rejoined my platoon, where we had just gotten our M16 rifles for the first time and were learning how to disassemble and reassemble them. I had some difficulty at first. Part of the process involves pulling back the charging handle of the rifle and I didn't seem to have the strength to do it. I was surprised to find it so hard and thought maybe I needed to do more pushups. I didn't discover until later, after I had rehydrated somewhat, that pulling back the charging handle actually requires very little strength. I was just so hot and dehydrated that applying a few pounds of pressure was beyond me. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was probably close to passing out with some sort of heat injury. I had been doing laps of the company area mostly out of sight of the lieutenant, so if I had collapsed it might have been a little while before I was discovered. This is part of why I believe coaches have a responsibility to keep an eye on their students/athletes to make sure they are staying hydrated and handling the heat safely.

 

[jobo]

38c=100f

That's really hot, especially if you happen to be aclimatized to the UK or somewhere similar. Train with caution.

we have a real problem in this country, with weather extremes that aren't really that extreme, yesterdays heat effectively shut the country down, there were blocked motorways and cancelled trains everywhere,, hhalf the population didn't go to work or did and then went home .
I went shopping and found that all the fridges had packed up, that all the shops were short staffed and the ones that had turned up were very bad tempered and unhelpful, but then nobody had gone shopping anyway, apart from me, so it didn't really matter that much.

but th it much the same if we get 4 incheinches of snow, or some heavy rain or a nmodderatly high wind, some times there is train choas as leafs have fell on the line in the " fall"

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

38c=100f

That's really hot, especially if you happen to be aclimatized to the UK or somewhere similar. Train with caution.

38 is 100, but i was quoting someone discussing how 30 degrees is too hot to do anything as well.

 

[Xue Sheng]

It's the hottest day in the UK ever today.

38C so I've not

So when is it too hot to train?

Am I just a wimp?

38C = 100F....wimp

Actually for someone who is not a fan of excessive heat (me), a strange thing occurs when I find myself in real hot and humid weather (high 80s to 90s Fahrenheit with 80 to 90% humidity)...I want to train outside. Not sure if it would occur in real hot dry weather like in Arizona or Nevada, never been there on real hot days. But on hot humid days it happens every time.

And, as it has already been said, stay hydrated.

 

[dvcochran]

Have to be careful training in excessive heat. Can't really put a number to it, too many factors involved.

My advice if you DO train in excessive heat, stay heavily hydrated, make your pace much slower than usual, take way more breaks, and watch out for your fellow trainees.

Yes, it wasn't exercise in the typical sense but the air conditioner went out in my cab tractor yesterday with hay on the ground. You can't roll the windows down on a tractor so you are setting inside a clear window box. The fan is just blowing hot air around (better than nothing). I rode the tractor today form 8:00 am to 6:30 pm to get hay baled and after bouncing and rolling around all day I was beat when I got home.

 

[dvcochran]

It’s all about acclimation.

You will understand from my last post. I knew my A/C was out and starting early and staying in the heat definitely made it easier. 2 Gatorades and 2 waters didn't hurt either.

 

[JR 137]

Yes, it wasn't exercise in the typical sense but the air conditioner went out in my cab tractor yesterday with hay on the ground. You can't roll the windows down on a tractor so you are setting inside a clear window box. The fan is just blowing hot air around (better than nothing). I rode the tractor today form 8:00 am to 6:30 pm to get hay baled and after bouncing and rolling around all day I was beat when I got home.

I’d like this post, but that must’ve sucked way too much for me to like it.

 

[BrendanF]

We regularly hit low 40s here (Western Australia), but as a result we're more accustomed to it.

As other posters advised, hydrate and be aware. If it's too hot for you sit it out, there are (for me at least) always plenty of things to do other than train.. in fact I usually struggle to make the time, so weather be damned as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Rabbitthekitten]

The weather here now is cold and wet.

 

[skyeisonfire]

Just googled 30c to Fahrenheit...86 degrees. Not at the point where I'd say not to be doing any exercise. I would say make sure you're hydrated at that point, but you can still exercise outside in that.

Depends what you're used to, and what your body enjoys.

Haha! 86 degrees? I just finished a workout in 100 degree weather, well, that's normal for me actually. I agree with @JR 137 - acclimation.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Haha! 86 degrees? I just finished a workout in 100 degree weather, well, that's normal for me actually. I agree with @JR 137 - acclimation.

When "Skye is on fire" becomes literal, it's too hot.

 

[skyeisonfire]

When "Skye is on fire" becomes literal, it's too hot.

LMAO! Ya! Didn't think about that

 

[Rabbitthekitten]

When "Skye is on fire" becomes literal, it's too hot.

Skye is one of Scotland's Western Isles.

It's never on fire there.