Weblogic

Before we talk about heat, lets talk about cool.  Ironman UK 70.3 took place over a week ago.  Factor 9 athlete Adam took it on and improved on his previous performance.  Congrats on a solid effort on a really tough course!  Want a tough 70.3 to do?  Look no further than Ironman UK 70.3!

There were a lot of races last weekend.  Ironman Japan (which was HOT!), France and Coeur d’Alene.  The big ITU race in des Moines, Iowa with a big $200,000 cheque going to first place male and female.

An interesting tidbit is Emma Snowsill’s victory.  Last year she had to withdraw due to asthma and the heat.  This year she ran away with it. 

Over on Science in Sport  are doing a nice job of summarizing the research done on fatigue and racing in the heat.  To side track their discussion, I thought it was interesting to see:

1.       Less power being produced in time trials done in the heat. 

2.       Less muscle activation in these time trials in the heat.

Some world renowned running coaches have advocated that training in cooler temperatures is preferred for effective run training (especially at faster speeds).  Namely, Arthur Lydiard and Alberto Salazaar.  They believe shorter periods of training should be done in the heat to get ready for a hot race.  Lydiard has even pointed out that is more difficult to train hard in dry-heat because of the difficulty in maintaining hydration in the long/hard sessions.

The data presented in the study I mentioned above on cycling shows that less power is produced in the heat, which, everyone who has raced in really hot weather knows will happen.  However, it is interesting to see that the EMG (electromyography), which gives us an indication of how much of a muscle is being activated, was also lower.  This may be a chicken and egg thing; however, it is important to see that the nervous system is not activating as much muscle in the heat.  It would be a different scenario if the muscle was activating to the same level as in the cold but not producing as much power.

Although there is still a lot to be learned about improving performance, the basic idea is that our circulation system, nervous system and muscular system need to be stressed appropriately to improve performance.  In the heat, our circulation system is definitely stressed.  However, the nervous system and as a result our muscular system are not being stressed as much as they could be.  As a result, muscle fibres are not working.  Muscle enzymes are not needed within those fibres and mitochondria will sit there waiting to be used.  Without stimulation, they will not improve their capacity to perform.