2023-07-22 13:00:25
It’s the furnace at the moment, but for all that, you don’t want to stop the sport.
The holidays are fast approaching, the test of the swimsuit too, it is out of the question to destroy your efforts of the past month because of the stifling heat and show up at the beach with a chubby can!
During heat waves, just be strategic to continue his training.
Here we explain how the principle of body temperature regulation works and what tricks work to accelerate this natural process.
By playing sports, the body undergoes various physiological changes allowing it to adapt to the effort, including thermal regulation which allows it to maintain an optimal internal temperature during exercise.
Energy, heat and heating
During physical activity, the body generates heat: contracting muscles produce energy and this energy is converted into heat.
This heat is proportional to exercise intensity.
Thus, the more the production of heat increases, the more the internal body temperature rises, a heating phenomenon then occurs, and will be the starting point of the regulatory mechanisms aimed at maintaining the thermal balance.
Thermal regulation mechanisms
To generate a cooling effect, the body will respond in different ways to this heating.
First of all, we see a vasodilatationi.e. a dilation of the blood vessels making it possible to increase the blood flow towards the skin.
The warm blood then approaches the surface of the skin, thus dissipating its heat into the environment by convection and radiation.
Then it’s the transpiration which comes into play.
THE sweat glands of the skin secrete sweat, which is mainly composed of water and salts.
By evaporating from the surface of the skin, it simultaneously absorbs heat from the body, helping the latter to cool down.
Finally, breathing speeds up during physical activity to increase the supply of oxygen to the muscles. During this process, fresh air is inhaled at the same time, which also helps to cool the body.
Also Read: Secrets of Athlete Sweat: 9 Amazing Facts You Need to Know About Your Sweating
What are the signs of hyperthermia?
Overheating of the body will be expressed in different ways:
Nausea and/or vomiting; Dizziness; Headaches ; Cramps ; Hot, red skin; An extremely rapid pulse; Behavioral confusion (difficulty thinking, impaired judgment, irritability, etc.).
At the least of these signs, stop training immediately and proceed to a rapid cooling of the body.
It is also recommended, during heat waves, to train with a partner in order to monitor each other and more easily detect the signs of hypothermia.
Tricks to speed up body cooling
The heat is scorching right now, but luckily there are a few tricks to help you cool your body down quickly and avoid overheating during your workouts.
Edit your workouts
Rather than exercising outside in the heat and at the hottest hours, you can start by making some changes to your workouts.
So :
Opt for the air-conditioned gym where you can practice your discipline in more comfort; Prefer your sessions at dawn when you can still enjoy the cool night air; Prefer green parks and alleys, as concrete retains a significant amount of residual heat.
Get acclimatized
When the air is suffocating, we tend to avoid training outdoors.
However, it is recommended togradually accustom your body to the difficult conditions.
Thus, it is advisable to punctually be violent and to train outside when it is very hot so that the metabolism adapts and conditions itself, it will then be better able to cope with the heat.
Once used to it, you sweat more, and more and more quickly, which will have the effect of accelerating the cooling process since your internal body heat will be better dissipated.
Earlier and more profuse sweating is a sign of successful acclimatization. Be aware that it takes between 5 to 10 adaptation sessions, so be patient!
Read also: Brave the heat wave: find out why you can continue to train in the sun despite the heat
Take a hot shower
After a sports session, and a fortiori in case of strong heat, we dream of a good cold shower to cool down. However, it is quite the opposite that must be done!
It is recommended to take a hot shower for various reasons:
This promotes muscle relaxation by increasing blood flow to the muscles, thereby relieving muscle tension and pain; This stimulates the dilation of blood vessels and therefore improves blood circulation. The metabolic waste produced during exercise will then be more easily eliminated, which will facilitate muscle recovery; This allows more effective evacuation of body heat accumulated during physical exertion; This prolongs the beneficial effects of an acclimatization session, encouraging the body to continue to adapt.
Cool down before your session
Your body heat will rise, so remember to lower it as much as possible before training.
You can thus:
Drink half a liter of cold water before leaving, which promotes good hydration, but also perceptual and real cooling. Attention, it is recommended to drink at least 20 minutes before the session to avoid stomach upset; Putting a cold cloth around your neck, ice packs in your vest and ice cold underwear following freezing them overnight will help reduce pre-workout body heat.
These techniques are beneficial, but have short-term effects.
So avoid too intensive sports practice from the start on the pretext that you are less hot, at the risk of overheating too quickly and having to stop before the end.
Read also: 8 infallible tips to keep running despite the overwhelming heat (the 8ᵉ is to be known to as many people as possible)
Wet the extremities of your body
In the event of an excessive rise in body temperature, it is recommended to first cool the extremities of the body, hands, feet and face, because:
The heat is mainly concentrated in the trunk, i.e. in the central part of the body. Cooling the extremities helps redistribute heat to areas of the body where it will be more easily dissipated; These are the parts of the body that have a larger skin surface in comparison to the rest of the body. By cooling these areas, the surface area available for heat exchange with the environment is therefore increased, thus facilitating the dissipation of heat; This can help restore balanced blood circulation (not just to the trunk) and promote overall body temperature regulation; Cooling peripheral areas sends signals to the brain to regulate core body temperature; This avoids reaching a dangerous level of overheating and helps prevent complications, such as sunstroke or heatstroke.
Thus, during your training, opt for a circuit with a water point (fountain, river, etc.) and go with your fogger, it will help you to have cooling solutions at hand.
Updated by Emma on: 07/22/2023
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