Is Heat Training Changing Endurance Sports?

[@happydaysgoon]

I'm totally feeling it. I live in a place known for brutal heat and humidity, and after training from July to September in that crazy heat, my performance, whether it's long runs or speed work, gets way better in autumn and winter. I think it's got a mental boost too. Pushing through tough conditions just makes it easier to go harder.

[@Aberger789]

Coming out of swamp summer here in the east into Fast Fall lol

[@goranwinblad]

Interesting to hear I have heard several runners experience the same thing, thanks for sharing!

[@pete5691]

I always did the opposite. In the summer I ran at night exclusively. My feeling was I could go faster and further at night therefore more speed and distance.

[@AoNLobby]

I have the same experience. It’s been about 110 degrees here for like 2 months, temperatures in the morning dropped to 58 degrees and I was running each mile like 1min 30 second faster than I was in the heat.

[@englishsimplicity1946]

I'm in Taiwan and like where you live, it's brutal between the start of June and the end of September. Tomorrow, we have a Typhoon and that should finally bring temperatures below 30 degrees C, well at least for a few days. I'm looking forward to a run in slightly cooler temperatures. I hope there is an effect because being covered in sweat for every run isn't that nice. Can't wait for the autumn to finally arrive!

[@MasonManning-o9o]

Yeah I live in a super hot place. Oftentimes I find myself running in 110+ degree weather. It is honestly terrible but when the weather cools down you can really feel the benefits.

[@gggibson3058]

Going to test this once I recover from foot surgery. Your videos are always very educational. ❤

[@goranwinblad]

I wish you a speedy recovery, thanks 😊

[@99Dalida]

Nice and interesting video! I try it immediately when I can run after my knee injury, thanx a lot!

[@danjohnson9821]

Interesting video. I certainly prefer cool weather training, but it makes sense that the added stress of heat would over time strengthen our bodies. I can't afford altitude training, but I can afford a sweat suit and cap.

[@DNA912]

Fantastic to hear! Because lately I've actually tried to avoid training indoors specifically because I overheat. Good to know even if my performance suffers during the training session, it doesn't mean the fitness result suffers.

[@tiagomateiro]

Very interesting video, brother. 👊🏽

[@goranwinblad]

Glad you enjoyed it 😊

[@paologuarano9760]

I live in the North America south along the coast where its super hot and humid where the real feel is often 100+ F/ 38+ C and heat training definitely does help. Whether or not it makes your body produce more hemoglobin idk. But it does make your body more efficient at cooling its self so when you do run in cooler temps your body barely has to work to keep you cool allowing for an overall lower HR which in turns allows you to maintain a quicker pace more easily.

[@ictstudentk7956]

AYYY! I live in Bali so I'm glad you posted this video. I trained in the heat for the last 8 months and will go to my family in Europe in 2 weeks. So I finally can test the fitness I build haha

[@edwin5419]

Good timing. We're just going into Summer in Australia. Good motivation to still get out when it gets hot

[@mote3124]

What I think is what’s going on with this method is, that you can let your heart work harder while your muscles still getting only the load of an easy pace but cardiac output is increased a lot. With all the clothing your probably close to threshold HR while you’re pace is still at an easy pace so you don’t get same level of fatigue that one would normally have running at that high HR. So the session is much harder from a cardiac point of view but the some from a muscular.

[@finlandguy9]

i just love how well you explain everything with easy to understand english

[@goranwinblad]

Thanks 😊

[@largesatsuma]

In the 1990s a British cyclist named Chris Boardman trained for the Olympics by setting up his bike in his bathroom and turning the shower on for the humidity.

[@io-rj6sk]

dam sounds like a wasrte of water lol

[@djmurps1587]

@@io-rj6skmaybe he did a max effort sprint for a short time to not waste as much water who knows

[@ThomasRedmond-q8q]

Love this Video, also so jealous of that pain cave!

[@Mdaddarioe]

Notice his bright smile as he runs on the treadmill. His enthusiasm is inspiring.

[@alfredberggren5985]

I’m from Sweden but I was in USA this vacation. I was in Death Valley for a day and for some reason I thought I was gonna run there. I went at 1 am and ran a 24 min 5k in 35°, absolutely ridiculous. It’s like running in a sauna with pure darkness.

[@alansamuel2454]

I used to train in UAE, low to mid 30s is super common there. I think humidity is actually way worse for me than literal heat.

[@alfredberggren5985]

@@alansamuel2454 Wdym by humidity? Does it make the heat worse

[@alansamuel2454]

@@alfredberggren5985 Humidity is when there's high levels of moisture in the air. This also hinders sweat evaporation making it more difficult to cool down. Normal heat would cause you to sweat but at least there would be a slight cooling effect due to evaporation of the sweat. Humidity ends up making you hotter and "stickier" and it becomes suffocating according to me. Ive always handled normal heat better.

[@alfredberggren5985]

@@alansamuel2454 Ye that makes sense. I’m from Sweden so I can’t handle heat super good. But I can still handle heat better than most of the Swedes.

[@ironmitchel]

Love your vídeos. Congratulations from Brazil

[@michaelwieczo5729]

Thanks for your video and best regards from the hot and humid Panama 🇵🇦

[@RaphaelIgrisianu]

thanks Göran for yet another eye opening video. I wanted to do this and you confirm its a good idea

[@barriehobbs4533]

Living in Spain summer running can be a struggle when every effort is at 30C plus. But if you stick with it then about now with the temperatures dropping you get an incredible boost.

[@ericbeall7675]

Over this summer in Texas the heat regularly gets up to 100 F (almost 38C) and it’s extremely humid. I close my garage every day at the heat of the day and run on my treadmill. It has done wonders for my ability to race in the heat. I’m by no means an elite athlete (just near 20min 5k) but it’s helped me get so much faster in a relatively short period of time. Especially when you take into account the fact that I was 300 lbs (136 kg) less than two years ago and I could barely run a 45minute 5k.

[@SamLaw1]

Going from 300 lbs to running a 20 minute 5k while training through the texas summers is an elite accomplishment, a level of grit and determination that is really impressive.

[@ericbeall7675]

@@SamLaw1 I appreciate that, thanks so much! Lost 130 lbs in the process. Lots of hard work hoping to keep getting better 💪

[@ThomasRedmond-q8q]

Its great how easy you make it for everyone to understand the science.

[@AdamMc192]

Nice video, what camera/lens set up do you have? You seem to be able to hold it with ease

[@onclouds3069]

The sound which came whilst you put on the different layers made me really giggle 😄 such a RPG vibe

[@goranwinblad]

😅

[@smurphies]

Well this is good to know. I usually wallow in self pity and go into mourning when summer hits and for at least three months we have 110F(43C) averages and running only happens early in the morning and you can’t even enjoy walking during the day. But now I can look at it as a training edge… I guess, lol. Still, very envious of the beautiful runs you show on your channel. :)

[@joshualui2634]

Great insightful video! I've been looking into this topic for quite a while now and it's great to have your opinion on it! I do, however, have one concern. Higher temperatures would ultimately lead to higher intensities at the same speed or work output. For supra-maximal or maximal intensities, would the elevated temperature compromise our work output? Intuitively, at the same intensity in 2 temperatures, the cooler temperature would see the production of a higher work output. Would it be more beneficial to preserve this higher velocity for reasons such as improvements in biomechanics and neurological adaptations? From another perspective, heat stress is real (increased dehydration and overall fatigue from heat exhaustion), would the total training load from one session be compromised, to the point it is no longer more beneficial to undergo the heat training? It would be great to have more research to see where we should draw the lines in such heat training! Another huge factor that should be accompanied with increased temperature should be humidity too haha!

[@joshualui2634]

there's a lot of nuance in this regard of training, and i come from a place of a hotter climate (right along the equator) personally, I think it may be more beneficial in the long run to train in cooler climates to maximise work loads per session. It would also make more sense from a recovery standpoint in terms of being less dehydrated after each session, allowing for a faster recovery.

[@bouffon1]

There are plenty of charts available showing the effects of heat, humidity and Dew Point on running. They usually finish in a zone called"extreme caution advised".

[@tuhnutuhnu4257]

running in sauna would be good idea.

[@ShanemanFP]

I heard it’s the best way to bring your heart rate down to 0BPM

[@largesatsuma]

Setting up a treadmill in a sauna is a funny image

[@nikitaw1982]

Step ups if the ceiling allows it.

[@MrEvirtue]

Very interesting, thank you for the video! Here in Canada we don’t have hot temperatures for too much of the summer, depending on where in this huge country you live of course, but this could be a great tool for sure. You also have to factor in the extra laundry!!! I wouldn’t do it with a down coat however, the oils in your skin as you sweat that much will ruin that coat…

[@pedro.almeida]

Carlos Sá when training for Badwater 135 ultra race, had an indoor bike installed inside a sauna. He won that year.

[@nicholascastro4923]

In nyc it gets pretty hot and humid during the summer. As long as it’s 90 degrees F or below I’ll run, (above that I find dehydrates me too much). Once fall hits I definitely notice all the performance gains. I don’t think it’s just a mental toughness thing I’m glad that the studies at least point to the heat training pointing to improved performance. I’m running the NYC marathon in November so I’m glad I was able to get a lot of my training block in hotter weather!

[@S9999Frank]

zwift racing feels like heat training, even in short/short clothing :-) So maybe that is why I always feel in good shape after a few weeks of bad weather and racing indoors.

[@haroldheymans]

Great video ! ** you mean less air density as opposed to less oxygen (propotion is the same at low and high altitude) ;)

[@AndropovYurii]

Ребята, это может оказаться опасным для вашего здоровья!!!! Нагрузку необходимо снизить на много- допустим сделать 2 или 3 км вместо 10. ИЗБЕГАТЬ резких перепадов температуры распаренного, мокрого тела- это, очень опасно и легко на пару недель выпасть из тренировочного процесса из-за такой, казалось бы, мелочи. Скорее такая тренировка принесет много "боли", чем хоть какой- то прогресс. Но смысл попытаться правильно организовать такую тренировку, вероятно, имеется.

[@cej3940]

Its super funny to me how I was introduced to heat training, moreso heat suits from combat sports who used them instead for making weight (basically faster dehydration prior to weighing in) rather than integrating them into their long runs or other LISS endurance activities (because everyone has to have the traditional morning 5k lmao)

[@ThomasRedmond-q8q]

For those who want a brief summary of what to do, according to the study to get these cool gains: - 5 weeks of 5x50 min easy training in the heat (you can do less to start if you want to build into it or if you don't have the time, you will probably just see progress slower) - Wear lots of clothes (see 5:44 for example): thin wool underlayer, wool hat, down jacket and a nylon rain coat on top. If you do all this you should get significant increases in lactate threshold, VO2 max and 15 minute all out power output 🔥🔥

[@norma1604]

Living in Thailand, I only train in heat and humidity 😂😂😂

[@dimitar297]

Go up to Chiang Rai in January.

[@norma1604]

Yes, that's right. Don't have a chance to go there. I live in the North East.

[@DutchThailandRunner]

The same for me!

[@alansamuel2454]

I used to be in UAE. Also our training used to be at peak heat. Luckily July August, the hottest months were summer holidays or I'd literally get burnt to death

[@a.fdz.prieto1870]

El enfoque q lecdas a tus videos me gusta mucho. Creo q entrenar de vez en cuando forzando un poco el cuerpo a adaptarse al ambiente puede ser positivo para el rendimiento y para la mente. Un saludo ❤

[@goranwinblad]

Thanks and thanks for watching and commenting!

[@Marathon5151]

Haha, it’s great that I have been doing this already whenever I want to have a brutal workout. Try to consistently train in hard conditions, which will make races feel easier.

[@brianreiter5572]

I am going to put this to the test as I am currently living in West Africa and training in tropical heat and humidity but at sea level. My goal event will be a moderately high altitude. I’m hoping the heat adaptations will largely offset my sea level disadvantage going to altitude so that I can enjoy my time and not suffer too much at the top of the mountain.

[@haihod6356]

very cool! i love videos about physio

[@ruffeyx]

Live near the equator. Average daily temp in the evening 31'C (+humidity = feels like 35'C). always advice my friends against running in sweater/wind breaker in our climate, body could easily overheated, may leads to heatstroke. Few cases of death due to heatstroke during sport events reported locally for the past several years

[@chiensean]

Here is Malaysia we train at 35c normally. So if the race day ends up in heavy rain and the temp drops to 25, you will feel like Superman for sure.

[@alvaropv7574]

This summer I went running while I was on holidays in Santorini, 27 degrees (but 90% humidity), nearly fainted while running within normal limits I normally run on a regular week. So yes, hot is definitely crucial but also moisture can be lethal 😂

[@nenadcvele]

I've been running entire summer in temps from 30 - 36C. My hemoglobin was 160 couple of years ago. I should check it soon, it was the upper limit. My resting heart rate is 39.

[@danieljackson5497]

Summer military intakes for basic training on average end up fitter, faster and stronger than winter intakes. I was a spring/summer intake and we had crazy good weather that year (for the UK) and it was the fittest i have ever been

[@joelng7389]

this is literally just training in the tropics when there isn't rain

[@MartinMikulas-l4c]

Would be actually interesting to see if the positive effect of the red blood cell generation would overweight the negative effect of training in the heat (you can't push so hard or for so long in the heat both in training as well as in racing).

[@1991ryanl]

Im from the UK, and running a half marathon on my return from 3 weeks in Hot and humid Japan.. if this final 3 weeks of running in 30 degrees with 70% humidity leads to a shock PB, ill be back here to update my comment!

[@TrashDino357]

i live in nj and my coach has always said that our humidity/heat training is better than altitude training because its harder to recover from

[@tri0xin]

Interesting.. I wonder how long the potential improvements in performance could last.

[@paulcook7426]

I have done this before, but as you suggested early on, as acclimatisation for a mid-summer ultra. The key question now, is how do you include heat training to increase performance. Every training run, a short period, key workouts only? Or totally ignore?!

[@viturban6324]

Amazing, I would love to try that, but I think that it can limit my movement, for example in rowing. I am curious if they also performed their final training in heat or if they went for the comfortable option for the final test. PS My mother tongue isn't English so sry if anything is not understandable

[@floridaaaaa]

What about the impact of humidity? Doesn’t it have a factor?

[@FabiFuu]

I live in tropical country. It's 34°C with 70-90% humidity every year. I take it as win

[@RCstrava]

another thing, too, is that altitude seems to have closer to short-term benefits while heat has long-term benefits

[@19Kamau79]

I have heard about athlete who did stationary bike sessions inside of Sauna, it must be brutal as sitting 15minutes will bring me fever 😊 It's hard to think heat is exactly same as altitude as Kenyans run their long runs at early morning or maybe equator level sunshine aside of +23C° at high altitude just kill and not make them stronger..

[@Isnack96]

So is heat training at all comparable to altitude training, in terms of hemoglobin production?

[@10ktube]

I haven't seen percentages that were consistent across all studies for an increase in red blood cells. I've read 5 percent at the low end, and 16 at the high end. These are EPO levels if you're in the double digits but i'd like a better range if it's out there.

[@TriangleEmpire-sc2ye]

Pros about to do heat training and altitude training lols

[@davidnelson7719]

I mean, may as well throw in wind velocity (higher results in a faster evaporation rate as well) as well as how much a person actually perspires. Perspiration rate is not static between individuals.

[@iknowyouwanttofly]

I love that they study on both men and woman!!!

[@Nayz13]

I live in Australia, heat is no problem the cold makes me cough when I run 😂

[@kduty236]

Wow I always run in a singlet all the time, even if the air humidity is 90% (Indonesia) I don't wear clothes at all 😂

[@dfcx1]

I've always just blasted fans at myself at full power because it lets me exercise much longer and harder in the moment. How much of a loss in total work done is worth sacrificing for the heat training benefits?

[@bouffon1]

Running slower than you would like doesn't necessarily mean that you are working less. Running into a gale force wind would make Stava think you are walking, but the work is there.

[@jassaljs]

So this means that we in India are having the best of this?

[@1l14cu5]

If they trained in zone 2, or as you say, easy, how is this effort measured? If they used HR, it suggests lower effect due to cardiac drift, unless they factored this into the zone ranges. If they used power or pace, the HR should be higher than usual when doing heat training.

[@goranwinblad]

They used watt/power

[@Kinaanath]

Living in the Maldives, we are always heat training 😂, however, I didn't notice any hb level increase, maybe I am adapted to here,..although hb mass might have increased

[@sandataonline]

wouldn't there be more elite athletes from warmer climates then like the Philippines, Thailand, UAE, etc?

[@davidnelson7719]

So many variables when you try to isolate one particular region like that. Do they run? What percentage of them run? Can they make money? Do they ever run outside of their country? Is there infrastructure at the national level? Genetically speaking, what is the typical (normal distribution) ceiling? Many, many more.

[@soggyrice02]

@@davidnelson7719Concur

[@SurpassYourLimits7]

But there is, isn’t there? I mean Africa has like 80% of the worlds top runners

[@thatguy647]

Over summer my teammate who i was neck and neck with got significantly better after going to the Philippines

[@davidnelson7719]

@@SurpassYourLimits7 You should look at the elevation of Kenya...

[@jorislal]

Having a down jacket under a rain layer and trying to pretty much sweat as much as possible seems like a pretty crazy idea. It's basically washing your down jacket in sweat🤢

[@brianreiter5572]

Use your old jacket.

[@goranwinblad]

Haha yeah I recommend using a cheap/old jacket that you only use for this purpose 😅

[@jorislal]

@@goranwinblad wouldn't waterproof layer UNDER insulation layer do the trick?

[@iknowyouwanttofly]

Maybe wool? To make one warm but easy to handwash or just air out after

[@gabornagy7676]

It is a double edged sword. When training in heat, one runs a lot slower, thus training the body mechanics to that slower speed.

[@johnmcdonagh374]

Well you could say the same for altitude but I think the idea is to train in those conditions long enough for your body to fully adapt and for it to feel like the norm. From my experience training in 35-40 degree heat with high humidity, given enough time ie. A few months, your body adapts and now you can run with the target pace body mechanics. Then, when you run in cooler weather running at that pace just feels much less taxing on your cardio and you have an additional boost.

[@jimmybondy9450]

Never would I want to do this. Unless I was a world class athlete, or close to.

[@nomennescio-xyz]

När jag tränar i högre värme så blir ju pulsen drastiskt mycket högre i mitt fall, bör jag anpassa min easy pace så att jag fortfarande håller mig i HR zon 2 eller ska jag träna i pace zon 2?

[@squngy0]

The problem with presenting this as an alternative to altitude training is that there is no reason athletes can't do both. Those who can afford to go to a training camp have no reason to not also do heat training while there.

[@salemal-murisi5784]

What if you combine the two... Heat + altitude training = world class athlete?

[@FabiFuu]

When I was trail running in Indonesian mountain called Arjuno, it was 30°C even at 3300+ masl. It was around 13:00 o'clock. I can't bear both the temperature and altitude 😂

[@fiddleronthebike]

training on an indoor trainer in winter clothing I would call torture…

[@nikitaw1982]

When air is hot, less o2 molecules per volume.

[@iknowyouwanttofly]

But if you body produce legal epo can the drug test tell its illegal or bodys own?

[@MoHuette]

Please: The Air does not contain less Oxygen in high altitude. The air is just not the same density

[@jimmybondy9450]

Well yes, but you get less oxygen into your body because of this.

[@squashduos1258]

This is old old news…your body learns how to cool down during heat and humidity then when cooler you have new set point for the body to cool down…

[@sys4008]

I live in Valencia and do 2-3 months of heat training ffs

[@LaiShaoYangCwss]

what is a urine sport

[@Xpecialist]

So, my regular day? 😂

[@everything-has-a-handle-now]

Me living below sea level xd

[@RustyNinja100]

I think humidity is a more important factor than heat.

[@jambomambo3808]

Why? What mechanisms could cause that?

[@RustyNinja100]

@jambomambo3808 humidity makes it harder for your body to exchange heat, and you retain much more heat. This causes you to sweat much more. I ran my first marathon in Kuwait at a 4:15 while it was 95. I never had an issue with overheating. I ran 2nd marathon in swampy DC in 70 degree whether and definitely suffered from the heat.

[@DaniilDimitrov]

😂😂😂

[@bouffon1]

I believe that the Swiss have the best average marathon times, whereas Thailand has one of the 'worse'. I did quite well when I went back to race in Switzerland from Thailand. It did take me some time to acclimatise to Thai conditions, now I just worry whether it might rain or not. 29°C today, 90% humidity and I managed a 13 K mountain/jungle trail race. I'm sure that both heat and altitude training are good, but in different ways.

[@MarylanderX]

As relative humidity is kind of meaningless (relative humidity changes a lot during the day) I'm curious what the dew point is like there is Thailand. Where I'm at (midatlantic US) we see dew points from 21-27 all summer long. It does get even more humid further south but I understand places like Thailand can have regular dew points even higher. In any event, even here there's no need for "heat" training as that's every day when you step outside.

[@brianreiter5572]

Not Thailand but for sure tropical. The dew point in Abidjan is around 24 most of the time. During the West Africa heat wave this spring it was 27-30. It’s like Washington DC permanently stuck in August.

[@MarylanderX]

@@brianreiter5572 Oh, dang. I'm just north of DC so that's the weather I'm talking about. I was about a minute/km faster in september than I was in august and with a lower avg HR. I can't imagine that being year round. Our next door neighbors, from Nigeria, are always freezing here except in summer. ;)

[@bouffon1]

@@MarylanderX At present, DP will be around 23 -24 °C but I have gone out at DP 27 -28 °C, that slows you down a lot and isn't to be joked with.

[@capslock9031]

Yuck!

[@kahlaaja]

FYI pigs dont really sweat.. that's one reason why they like their mud baths