Training temperature...?

[chh]

Is it considered beneficial to keep the heat up during training sessions? Perhaps to keep the muscles warm & prevent injury, or just to make you sweat more? I'm wondering because my sensei cranks the heat all the way up to 90 in our dojo. Doesn't help that it's a forced air unit that blows across the room directly on the front line of students, if you're stuck with the end of the line in that row while doing lunge stretches and such it feels like your ankles are getting singed. He usually lowers it to 75/80 after the warmups are over, at least. Nobody's dropped dead of heat stroke so far and I'm not inclined to question his methods, just curious if it's a common practice.

 

I'm taking a cardio kickboxing class at another dojo (thanks for the suggestion Kickbutt:)) and I noticed it's pretty darn toasty in there too. Last summer I was so looking forward to training in winter when it would be nice and cool...no such luck!

[shotochem]

A warmer room helps you loosen up easier and stretch more effectivly. I know Kickchic will give a more detailed explanation. I also believe that it helps with your conditioning. Its working out and training youre supposed to sweat....

 

 

[KickChick]

... ok here goes!!

 

Your body will burn more calories if you work out in warm temperatures. The main reason is the heat's effect on your cardiovascular system. Heat causes more blood to flow out to the skin in an attempt to cool the body. This strains the rest of the system, which now has less blood for exercising muscles ... end result being that you burn more calories. However, you shouldn't exercise in uncomfortable hot conditions ... don't risk heat exhaustion., and of course if you're working out with the heat turned up or in warmer weather...increase you're hydration by drinking more water prior to your workout and afterwards too! Exercising in warm conditions will help to reduce stiffness in your muscles, and as your body will already be warm, there will be less chance of muscles tears.

 

During our TKD class our instructor keep the heat up and I have followed suit as weel and usually keep the cardio class turned up to 72 or so but with fans going to keep the air circulating.

 

_________________

 

1st dan Black Belt Tae Kwon Do (ITF)/ CardioKickbox/Fitness Instructor

 

[ This Message was edited by: KickChick on 2002-03-08 07:40 ]

[chh]

youre supposed to sweat....

 

'kay, I can accept that. And I'd definitely rather be hot than tear muscles. But what if you don't tend to sweat much, does that make you more prone to heat exhaustion? The other night we had a pretty tough workout and I was stuck in front of that heater which was going full blast the whole session, I was really having problems. I don't seem to sweat much compared to most people, I drink lots of water regularly, was wondering if there's anything I can do to make my body regulate its temp better.

 

Kind of different topic from KickChick's reply: I always associated the desire to burn calories with the desire to lose weight. If you don't want or need to lose weight, is there some other motivation for burning more calories?

 

Thanks for your responses, by the way. Phew, training at 72 degrees sounds like paradise. We're outgrowing our current location and hopefully moving soon, with a little luck the new place will have a heater that blows anywhere other than directly on ME!

[AnonymousOne]

I think its very important to learn to train in all sorts of weather. This helps one to be more accustomed to difficulties and develops ones mental fortitude

 

_________________

 

Soft teachers make soft students

 

[ This Message was edited by: AnonymousOne on 2002-03-15 20:10 ]