|
Heat puts more stress on an athlete’s body than any other environmental factor. Any time that you exercise, your body temperature can go up. Sweat normally cools your body. However, in high heat and humidity, sweat does not quickly
evaporate from your skin, so you don’t cool down as fast as you would in other conditions. At these times, your body temperature can rise to dangerously high levels.
- To prevent heat illness, plan ahead.
- Before you compete in hot, humid conditions, you need to train in a hot, humid environment. This training will allow your body to acclimatize to the heat by increasing blood volume, making you sweat faster and at an increased sweating rate, and decreasing the sodium content of your sweat. All of these changes will help your body work better in the heat. Before the 1996 Olympic Games held in Atlanta, Georgia, in July, athletes from cool-weather countries trained for months in the southeastern United States.
- You need more fluids when you exercise in the heat. In hot conditions, your body may lose as much as 3 liters (about 3 quarts) of fluid per hour.
- Use sport drinks containing 6% to 8% carbohydrate (14 to 19 grams of carbohydrate per 8 ounces) before, during, and after exercise.
- If you are a child or an older adult, you need to be especially careful to get enough fluids. You are at greater risk than other people for heat illness. Compared with adults, children have lower sweating rates, lower cardiac output, slower acclimatization rates, and a faster rise in core temperature when dehydrated. Older adults may not be as fit as younger people, and they have a less sensitive thirst mechanism.
The biggest concern for athletes exercising in cold weather is hypothermia. Hypothermia is the inability to keep your body temperature at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. When your body temperature drops, your body may respond by sending less blood to the outer parts of your body, like your arms and legs, because the blood is needed in the core to keep your vital organs warm. Mild hypothermia can affect your performance, and extreme cases can cause death. We do not know as much about how to prepare your body for the cold as we do about preparing for competition in hot weather.
- Carbohydrate is the most important fuel for athletes active in cold weather. Be sure to eat adequate amounts of carbohydrate to fuel your sport.
- Stay hydrated. You need about the same amount of fluid in cold weather that you need when the weather is mild.
- Choose warm beverages. They may increase blood flow. Also, warm beverages just make you feel good on a very cold day.
|
