TRAINING IN CHALLENGING

ENVIRONMENT

HEAT AND SWEATING

Acclimation
Acclimation is defined as the continuous or
repeated exposure to heat, cold, or some new
environment, so as to provoke physiologic or
biochemical changes that allow you to better
tolerate the new environment.
Physical training in extreme conditions, such as hot,
cold, or high-altitude environments, presents special
challenges. Even highly accomplished athletes can be
quickly overcome by “environmental exposure”
injuries, if proper preparation is overlooked or if signs
and symptoms of impending illness are ignored.
Humidity

▪ Exercising in hot, humid environments imposes a

significant challenge on the body. The human body
maintains tight control of body temperature through
several different mechanisms.

▪ Under conditions that impose large heat loads (for

example strenuous exercise in a hot environment), the
primary mechanism for cooling is evaporation of sweat
from the skin or evaporative cooling.
▪ Relative humidity is the most
important factor governing
evaporative cooling: evaporation
is greatly limited when the
humidity is high.
Sweating
▪ Your skin is like the radiator of a car;
as the temperature of the body core rises
it warms the blood and pumps it to the skin
to cool off.
How does sweat reduce body temperature?
✓ Sweat is released at the skin and absorbs the
heat from the warmed blood. As sweat is
warmed, it is vaporized the same way boiling
water turns to steam and thus removes a large
amount of heat from the body.
Only sweat that evaporates can effectively
cool the body; sweat that “drips” is
essentially wasted fluid and provides little or
no cooling effect.
Evaporative Colling
The body maximizes evaporative cooling by:

❑ Increasing Heart Rate: An increase in the heart rate

increases blood flow to the skin and results in
greater heat transfer to sweat and vapor.

❑ Increasing Sweat Volume: Beginning to sweat

earlier and recruiting more sweat glands increases
the rate of sweat production, therefore cooling.
Colling Blocks

When you exercise in temperatures that are

higher than you normally exercise in, your body
will react accordingly and try to cool itself in
order to return itself as close as possible to
its normal temperature of 37 degrees Celsius/
98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
There are a variety of factors that can hinder or
delay the body in cooling itself when overheated,
some of which are outlined below:

➢ Humid Heat: As the humidity increases,

evaporative cooling slows due to saturation of
the air with moisture.
➢ Skin Disorders: Injuries such as deep thermal
burns, sunburn or rashes will prevent or hinder
sweating.

➢ Clothing: Any clothing that is impermeable to

water vapor will compromise cooling.