How much does heat affect your erg training?

[DNA_Rower]

Urgh this was a much longer post but for some reason when I posted it I got logged out and lost the whole damn post.

Anyway, I set my 30min PB on 10th May, which seems to have been the last cool day in Berlin. Since then the temperature outside has been >20C (28C today). My gym does not really have the A/C cranked up so it feels really warm in the gym now. I am sweating before I even start a session.

Since the temperature increased my 5k splits are now 3s slower so I don't think I will manage to make any more progress until Autumn.

Is there any kinda "rule" for how much the temperature affects performance? I'm assuming that if I just keep training over Summer, albeit with depressing times, by the time the temperature in the gym returns to normal in Autumn my performance will suddenly jump back beyond my PBs, or thereabouts. Does that make sense?

[G-dub]

I had similar thoughts this morning. Sessions are more of a struggle and HR is higher since weather has gotten warm. I thought one would acclimate at some point. I wonder if dehydration factors in - are we replacing the water lost in sweat.

[kini62]

My rowing is done outdoors. Temp varies from the rare upper 50s to the mid 80s (F). Other than the size of the puddle of sweat I can't say that I notice any difference in performance.

[DNA_Rower]

My rowing is done outdoors. Temp varies from the rare upper 50s to the mid 80s (F). Other than the size of the puddle of sweat I can't say that I notice any difference in performance.

Do you have a breeze on you when you are rowing outside? The only respite I get is when there is someone pulling hard on the erg to my left then I get the breeze from their fan on me which helps a bit.

I doubt I can acclimatise. I'm from Scotland so more used to cool Summers than what we get here in Berlin. I have sweat patches showing through my t-shirts just walking around today when it was 28C. I sweat so much with little exertion when it's warm it gets embarrassing!

[Anth_F]

On my 5k's i notice the difference when it's hot (seem to breathe heavier). However, if i put the fan on directed at me it definitely helps my performance on humid days, even if it's only by a few seconds difference for the piece of work and + calmer breathing. The main factor thats good is how much more comfortable and settled i feel during the session.

[kini62]

My rowing is done outdoors. Temp varies from the rare upper 50s to the mid 80s (F). Other than the size of the puddle of sweat I can't say that I notice any difference in performance.

Do you have a breeze on you when you are rowing outside? The only respite I get is when there is someone pulling hard on the erg to my left then I get the breeze from their fan on me which helps a bit.

I doubt I can acclimatise. I'm from Scotland so more used to cool Summers than what we get here in Berlin. I have sweat patches showing through my t-shirts just walking around today when it was 28C. I sweat so much with little exertion when it's warm it gets embarrassing!

Little to no breeze most of the time. Especially on the days when it's in the 80s. It is also very humid much of the time. My 15K sweat puddle actually starts to run across the floor. On extra warm and humid days my 10K puddle will perform similarly.

[Carl Watts]

Temperature has a huge effect, so does the HUMIDITY but many countries do not suffer from humidity problems.

I had to laugh when I watched Myth busters once and they were trying something that was not working because the humidity was up at like 30% !!! I thought how lucky you are we cannot get it below like 45% in Auckland.

These days I record both temperature and humidity for every row. Humidity can hit 85% over here no problem and it also elevates your heart rate because your body is not getting the same cooling through sweat evaporation.

High humidity elevates the average heartrate 3 or 4 beats per minute, temperature is the same so much easier rowing at 18 Degrees C than 28 Degrees C and anything in the 30's becomes very hard, especially when the humidity is also 80-90%

[Gammmmo]

As said, temperature can have a big effect. It's obviously hugely dependant on the individual e.g. genetics, sweat rate, metabolism, where you live etc. Therefore I don't think there is any "rule" but I'd let HR be your guide and compare with YOUR known data. I know it affects me alot. When I've erged in gyms ("proper" sessions of say 30mins or 10K) I've insisted on using fans. Most gyms are way too hot because the vast majority of their clientele won't be doing extended aerobic workouts, or they simply don't have decent aircon. They might not let you bring your own fan because of health & safety (rolls eyes) issues.

If you are REALLY serious about heat acclimation start using a sauna. Ideally you want to do active heat acclimation e.g. do a core routine in there. I tried passive heat acclimation a few years back and increased the time I could sit in a sauna at 175F from ~25mins to ~45mins within about a month. It has lots of health benefits including heat resilience. I was doing it to get the purported gains to my blood profile. It didn't work, but like I say I was doing passive (sitting still) heat acclimation and never got round to doing a block of the active stuff as I thought I'd try the easier option first! Again, it might be that everyone is different...

[lindsayh]

yes a lot for me.
Like Carl the humidity is the killer here too - 30+C with 80% relative humidity common in Sydney in January.
Without aircon it is impossible to train at anything like 100%

[hjs]

Blood does two things, bring oxigion to the muscle and sweat to the skin to prevent overheating. The more is needed for sweating the less is left.
Longer sessions in the summer are more or less impossible, you need drink pauzes en cool wipe downs. I lose easily 2kg per hour on the erg. In warm conditions more. Never even tried to do longer sessions in warm conditions.

[Parky]

yes a lot for me.
Like Carl the humidity is the killer here too - 30+C with 80% relative humidity common in Sydney in January.
Without aircon it is impossible to train at anything like 100%

It's alright for you in Oz, Linsay. You want to try the 40 degs C over here in England.

15 in the morning, 15 in the afternoon and 10 at night. Air -con is Au Naturelle.
Humidity - constant rain - everythings wet.

[DNA_Rower]

I wonder if one of these cooling vests would make a big difference? http://store.coolvest.com/flex-vest-bla ... ct-reviews

[edinborogh]

i live in a tropical country. its very hot and super humid.
this is not easy on the rowing but i guess the body adjust.

[nick rockliff]

I find the main problem with training in hotter climates is the elevated HR. I spent 4 years in southern China with a temperature variation of about minimum 12C in the winter and 40C in the summer, very humid at times too especially during the early part of the year. Crossing 8 time zones didn't help the HR either. Used to take about 2 weeks for the HR to get back to normal.

During Jan and Feb I used to row outside on the balcony and used to leave a lake under the erg each session. The rest of the time I had to erg indoors with AC on full.

Back in the UK I always have the erg outdoors, best when temp is around 10c.

[gcanyon]

I wonder if one of these cooling vests would make a big difference? http://store.coolvest.com/flex-vest-bla ... ct-reviews

I tried a low-cost variant of that for a half-dozen rows or so and found that it was incredibly difficult to row comfortably in, and didn't provide much cooling -- far less than a small fan.