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Riding/Training in the Heat/Humidity

Sikochi

Maximum Pace
Sep 13, 2010
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Seeing as that time will sadly be soon upon us, thought I would post a link to this article.
`In other words, heat acclimation doesn't just make you better at dealing with heat; it makes you better, period.`
* As for the old `drink to thirst` versus `always drinking` debate -
`One of the key signals that tells your body to adapt may be dehydration. So if you do the heat acclimation but are super-careful to stay hydrated, you miss out on the benefits.` In the New Zealand study, the athletes were allowed 100 mL of water during the 90-minute bouts -- enough to stave of the feeling of being super-dehydrated, but not enough to stay hydrated.
 
An interesting read and I've read/heard others that talk about the "theme of training with depleted energy stores".

I understand the basic concept but I'd personally only try this in relatively controlled situations, like my training rides that are close to my house, and as for the "depleted energy" training thing it seems somewhat counterintuitive.

Something to consider.
 
Riding depleted is done to train your body to become better at fat burning, thus saving your carbohydrate stores as you cannot replace these fully when riding. Its something Wiggins worked on after his 1st TDF on Team Sky, when he was blowing up early in the hills. Personally I have managed 4 hours at an endurance / tempo pace on just water, with a double espresso and green tea for breakfast.
 
Getting the body to 'turn on' the lipololysis circuit is a vital part of being able to manage steady state power over longer periods of time. A good part of this type of training falls under biofeedback and conscious consumption behavior. If you just starve yourself or restrict hydration the intended results will likely be negative as much as positive. It's good to have a coordinated training and nutrition plan that deliver the results you are seeking. With that being said, I'd say its poor advise to give anyone to generally restrict their eating and especially drinking (hydration) when engaging in strenuous, un-monitored activities. The risk of dehydration is more a more serious health and safety issue than the supposed benefits of increased performance for the typical casual rider.
 
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