I seem to recall hearing or reading that spending time in a sauna after doing fairly strenuous exercise is a good way to prepare yourself for racing in hot and humid conditions.

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http://www.howesgreg.com

Check this out and listen to the podcast episode as well:

https://triathletetraining.com/...cclimation-protocol/

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What's your CdA?

I used to do bikram yoga when I was training for IM and found that it helped me acclimate better to training/racing in hot humid weather.

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"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler

Purple Patch have a reasonably detailed protocol. I have also read some places that you can do a similar idea with a hot tub (which is essentially 100% humidity). (Edit: now that i have read it, as noted in the above post :-))


https://purplepatchfitness.com/...patch-sauna-protocol


Think the key is make sure whatever you do is not at the penalty of your standard training program. If you start doing sauna sessions and your following sessions start to suffer then you will lose out overall.

Hot tub after training can help. Something that's worked well for me in Chicago winters is dressing warm all the time to stay acclimated. Run with hat and gloves once it gets below. Long sleeved shirts on the treadmill are also great and keeping hot and humid.

What are the objectives for heat acclimation?

Tolerance of heat
Increase blood plasma volume
Determining pacing

Can someone help with that list?

The sauna can accomplish the first two, experience can help you with the third one.

I have seen arguments that training in moderate temperatures can maximize the load and training effect on a person, then sitting in a sauna afterwards helps the first two on the list. Doing the workouts in a hot environment diminishes the training effect while having nearly the same acclimation effect on the same two variables.

Should all workouts be done in either environment? I don't think a polarized approached is the best but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do with what you have.

I did all my trainer sets in front of a space heater in prep for kona. Do not have treadmill but would have done similar setup for that as well. I live in Minnesota which is as cold as anywhere and heat of Hawaii was no problem.

Thanks for the feedback.

I lived in Thailand for 5 years and that’s where I started triathlon and did my first 70.3.

I haven’t been there in 1.5 years so my question is more reg heat and humidity acclimation, especially during the run as it will be around noon.

I heard going to the sauna 3 times a week, first for 5 min and then extending duration as weeks get closer to event, was the way to go.

Not sure if it had to be done after training or as a separate schedule.

Any recommendation on time inside the sauna, etc?

Thx

Great! Exactly what I was thinking. ;)

That's what I did only I started 4 weeks out and and built up to 35 min 3 to 4 times a week right after a workout.

The purple patch sauna protocol referenced earlier in the thread is scientifically based and works. That si what I would STRONGLY recommend (not just opinions here).

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

A friend of mine in PA trained for Badwater by building a hot box around her treadmill

YMMV

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Heaters and humidifier for the trainer rides/treadmill runs.
Layer up for rides and runs.
Sauna treatment for 15 to 20 minutes after workouts.

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Ryan
http://www.SetThePaceTriathlon.com
http://www.TriathlonTrainingDaddy.com
I got plans - https://www.trainingpeaks.com/...dotcom#trainingplans

Sounds like riding in my backyard shed, in NC, in summer, in 3 layers, in a poncho. Hottest I ever rode in like that was 115 degrees. If I got to 60 minutes and felt like I would pass out, that was a good ride.

Yep, the literature suggests that 7 to 14 days of passive heat stress (I think for about an hour) after a typical workout will improve indices of heat tolerance. However, the literature also suggests that active heat stress (doing moderate workouts in the heat) is a better stimulus for that acclimation. The obvious caveat is that training capacity declines, so you can begin to sacrifice exercise-specific stimuli in favor of heat stimuli. The *best* solution probably resides within the individual. If you have HORRIBLE heat tolerance, like me, probably better to favor the heat stress before a hot race.

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There's really a lot of literature on this topic. And unlike a lot of other exercise-related literature, there are multiple manuscripts (peer reviewed) that make specific recommendations as to how you should go about setting this up. You would probably be best advised to read those, first-hand.

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Also, keep in mind that dehydration appears to be a major stimulus for these heat-associated training acclimation, so hold off on slugging down that gallon of gatorade until after your heat session.

Disclaimer: I'm absolutely not an expert. Please read the peer reviewed literature on this topic. I don't want to read about you having a heat stroke.

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