Air Conditioning!

[[old] Jim Barry]

I live in Maine where it is not very often that you need air conditioning. I do own a unit that fits in the window, but rarely use it unless we get a heat wave. This is the first summer I've decided to row indoors and knew I'd have to come up with a strategy to beat the heat and the humidity. To date the heat has not really been that bad and I've been too lazy to put the unit in my training room in the basement. This past Saturday the heat and especially the humidity simply killed my hard hour row. This was just the motivation I needed and I heaved the unit in place and plugged in a fan to boot. Oh, wow! This felt like cheating. The splits simply fell. I felt great. I rowed 4 x 5k last night and cooling off between pieces I could get cold! The usual little sweat pools behind the erg were dry as the desert. Beg, borrow or steal an air conditioner this summer. Now "This", is free speed.

[[old] SteveV]

I rowed outside on the deck last night, I usually row in the garage. I found a similar effect, the cooler air and cooling effect of the wind made the whole thing feel a lot easier.<br><br>Not quite so hot over here in the UK though

[[old] CAROLE MAC]

Steve I love rowing on the deck too ..and even when its raining I have been known to put a gazebo up to row under so I don't get wet .

[[old] stkcoal@comcast.net]

If you want to keep cool just contact Paul Smith and order a SEA BREEZE. They work great and are the next best thing to AC and cost a pittance.<br><br>Joe D

[[old] Canoeist]

My best rows are always when the temperature feels a little uncomfortably cold at the start. 10 C or 50 F is probably ideal for rowing with just short pants. In the summer, I use an air conditioner, two floor fans, and a C-breeze.<br><br>The need for cooling diverts part of the blood supply from the muscles. This is why you want to minimize the cooling requirements on your body.<br><br>Once I tried to find out if I could minimize the amount of blood diverted to my skin for cooling. I rowed a 10K at sub-freezing temperatures while only wearing shoes and shorts. I found that my heart rate still climbed during the 10K, but at a slower rate than when rowed at warmer temperatures. <br><br>Cheers,<br><br>Paul Flack

[[old] Gnoarme]

Ambient temperature does have an effect on output. Coaches in Canberra, Australia (where winters reach about -5°C or so in the morning) are cautioned not to rely on heart rate monitors as an assessment of athlete's effort, as they read lower on such cold mornings.

[[old] Roland Baltutis]

There is no doubt that heat affects output/performance. From experience I have found that with high intensity workouts on the erg, in hot or humid conditions, the body seems to cope OK up until about the 13 minute mark. As all my erging is at high intensity (I'm not a plodder), I notice a sudden increase in body temperature at around 12-13 minutes.<br><br>Hence, I have found that in hot conditions 2000m and 5000m workouts are relatively unaffected by the conditions. Without airconditioning my training is adversely affected by the weather. During summer a training plan becomes useless to me because at high intensity pace anything longer than 5000m needs to be delayed for a relatively cooler day. My so called training plan is based on the 7 day weather forecast.<br><br>At humidity no greater than 70% and air temperature 24 Celsius / 75 F, high insensity workouts of greater duration than 5000m can be performed with satisfactory results. Once above that, you are better off waiting for cooler conditions or just doing a shorter workout. <br><br>It's not worth doing a longer workout in those warmer conditions, as it takes too much out of your body, which then needs longer to recover. All my past PB's have been done in cooler conditions. In fact my 10K PB of 33.49 min last season was done outdoors during an unexpected rain downpour. The cooling of the rain on my shirtless body really made a difference.<br><br>Without adequate cooling you just feel lethargic and slow and loath the session, which in turn doesn't help you achieve much. No point training for the sake of training. You won't loose any training effect by saving the workout for a cooler period.<br><br>Keep it smooth, keep it relaxed<br>Roland Baltutis<br>

[[old] Coach Gus]

<!--QuoteBegin-Roland Baltutis+Jul 13 2004, 07:12 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'><span class='genmed'><b>QUOTE</b></span> (Roland Baltutis @ Jul 13 2004, 07:12 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin--> It's not worth doing a longer workout in those warmer conditions, as it takes too much out of your body, which then needs longer to recover. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><br>This isn't true as a workout in warmer or even hot conditions can be just as good as any other workout. Two things have to happen. You have to get used to working in the heat and you have to adjust your workload which is usually pace for us ergers. Yes, if you aren't used to the heat and/or don't slow your pace down, it will take too much out of you. But, if you are smart, you slow the pace down to compensate. Even at the slower pace, your body works just as hard because of the added burden of cooling and you end up with a good workout. Just like any other change, start off slowly and with shorter workouts until you become acclimatized. Some athletes seek out warmer weather for the training benefits. Do heart rate based training and all the pace adjustment necessary for hotter weather is automatically done.

[[old] Roland Baltutis]

Coach Gus,<br> No amount of adjusting would make it possible for me to repeat my 10K 33.49min PB in cool rain, in hot humid conditions. Your body automatically slows down in such heat making it difficult to apply the same intensity. I'm use to training at a certain pace. If I can't train at that pace in the heat then I find it far more satisfying to leave it for a cooler day. I know that 1.41 pace in cool conditions can be the same workout as 1.44 pace in hot conditions but I still think that recovery in the hot conditions will take longer.<br><br>Keep it smooth, keep it relaxed<br>Roland Baltutis<br>