I sweat a lot when I’m pushing myself at full pace in the heat. I drink as much water as possible. If I’m in the shade (under trees mostly), and hike/running for 3-4 hours at max pace, is the heat dangerous for my body? Should I limit it over the summer? What about 1 hour-like today’s hill repeats? Is that still bad, or is it useful for the body to encourage elimination of toxins by sweating? Any views would be appreciated. Cheers.
it’s much harder on the heart, as you are pushing a lot of blood through the skin to cool down and less to the muscles as a result, so your performance suffers a bit. But it is good cardiovascular training. I used to do most of my riding in the midday heat, and it does make you fitter than early-morning riding after a while. You may want to avoid it if you have high blood pressure.
I do have high blood pressure and I forgot my little pill this morning. And I was walking a LOT in the hot, hot, heat today, and I felt miserable! (Walking a lot is exercise for an out of shape person such as myself, trust me.) But once I was able to pour a litre of water into myself, I felt like a new woman! I think I was getting dehydrated, and it started pretty quickly. It thought, even sweating like a race hourse, it would take a while to dehydrate an adult, but maybe not.
Be careful out there.
Do people with high blood pressure dehydrate more quickly, or is it just the extra strain on the heart to try to keep cool that you mention?
Thanks for the reply. My BP was last year 95/55, but I’m fitter now.
I exercise with the HB in the red, doing hill repeats pushes it over 170 on the way up, but down obviously it recovers quickly.
Is it bad for the brain getting so hot? Other organs? I guess if I limit it to a few hours, it’s not that bad-the Ironman in Hawaii is done in heat for 8-10 hours.
During summer I switch from pure water to more sports drinks in order to replace electrolytes. In winter, i consider such drinks excess calories and I just drink water instead. But in summer you’ll likely sweat constantly (at least I do) and that increases the need for electrolytes, especially if you keep up the intense training. I’ve also found it improves my performance in summer. That might help you.
Well one thing that would happen to me every summer when I used to jog was that my hair would thin out. I take it from the excessive heat and sweating. It would grow back thick every winter.
If I just hike in summer I am okay, but if I jog or bike, then my hair thins.
I only exercise in the evening this time of year. The heat & humidity are too punishing. You absolutely have to stay hydrated and do not overdo it if it is not your custom to exert yourself in the heat. Heat stroke can kill. No joke.
[quote=“Mucha Man”]Well one thing that would happen to me every summer when I used to jog was that my hair would thin out. I take it from the excessive heat and sweating. It would grow back thick every winter.
If I just hike in summer I am okay, but if I jog or bike, then my hair thins.[/quote]
F**k. That’s one more thing I do not want. I already cut off the cloth on the top of my sun hat to let out the heat. I don’t stop sweating in the Winter either. Well, I still have hair at this stage so that’s a plus (touch wood).
FF-I will drink more Supau. Supau ice cubes (using the ice cube tray) are a great snack at night instead of food with higher calories.
To Tazzie: I drank about 1L before going out today, and another 2L when exercising, and will have had 1L since being back till now. Still, I do worry that going full out in the heat might be unhealthy. Even at 4-6pm it’s warm. Fingers crossed.
EDIT: Well, I’m no longer young, but I’m in decent shape.
Thanks all.
Kea,
Indeed. You have it right on the water intake then. I’d still be careful. Yes, 4-6 pm is still warm afternoon heat. I don’t go out for my evening walk until after 7pm nowadays. But I suppose we are on very different workout regimes (if I can call mine a “regime” LOL).
I hope you’re a young fella/gal. We middle age & up folks are more likely to have problems, particularly if we are out of shape.
Taz
I also take into account length of time when deciding on sports drink or water. If I’m going for a 2+ hour bike ride I’m taking a sports drink regardless if it’s summer or winter (and probably a granola bar at a break). The electrolytes are good but I need the sugar also. I do mix the sports drink at 1/2 the recommended amount though. I personally think that it’s a waste to drink full strength sports drinks.
I have yet to meet a person who perspires more than I do. I add concentrated drops of electrolyte and trace minerals to my water bottles. I haven’t had cramps as a result. Supao is way to sweet for me. I supplement on rides with mildly-sweetened teas from convenience stores. I’ll have a candy bar or an energy pack as back-up if it’s a long ride.
But, as for the heat and exercising in the sun, hydrate, cover up and wear good materials that will trap the moisture and release it slowly, while protecting your skin.
Would you please tell me where you get these, and what they are called in Chinese? Thanks.
^ I had the same question.
[quote=“Wookiee”]I have yet to meet a person who perspires more than I do. I add concentrated drops of electrolyte and trace minerals to my water bottles. I haven’t had cramps as a result. Supao is way to sweet for me. I supplement on rides with mildly-sweetened teas from convenience stores. I’ll have a candy bar or an energy pack as back-up if it’s a long ride.
But, as for the heat and exercising in the sun, hydrate, cover up and wear good materials that will trap the moisture and release it slowly, while protecting your skin.[/quote]
Have you tried mixing with water?
I am also intererested in powdered sports drink. Is this available in Kaohsiung anywhere? I’ve mostly been using NesTea until I found a package of Tang last week. But I would like something like gatorade if reasonably priced. there’s no way I’m buying accelerade at GNC because it’s overpriced in the US and it’s marked up a ridiculous amount here (like everything at GNC). I don’t even need to walk into that store again.
[quote=“Mucha Man”]Well one thing that would happen to me every summer when I used to jog was that my hair would thin out. I take it from the excessive heat and sweating. It would grow back thick every winter.
If I just hike in summer I am okay, but if I jog or bike, then my hair thins.[/quote]
Wow, that’s really weird. Are you part Alsatian?
No, but seriously to the OP:
Sweating your ass off isn’t bad for you unless you bcome dehydrated. Keep drinking enough water to keep peeing failry frequently. It’s that simple.
The other danger is heat exhaustion and heat stroke. But you can detect that because if you have heat exhaustion you will fell like total shit, and if you have heat stroke you will be half (or more) dead.
You can tell if you’re on the borderline of heat exhaustion because you will probably feel: hot, headachey, shivery, irritable, fatugued, a bit daft.
I did notice on our last ride that even your gloves were drenched.
Then again, last weekend I rode up to Lengshuikeng and when I got there removed my helmet and sweat poured (not dripped) out of it. I then wrung out the front of my jersey, without removing it, and got a steady stream of sweat from it.
It’s just freakin’ hot in Taiwan.
That’s why I like hiking/biking early. I prefer to leave the house no later than 6 am. Of course that means getting to bed early, but for me it’s worth it. Then, when the midday heat arrives I’ve already exercised, showered, eaten and am sprawled on the couch in the airconditioning. 
Who said “only mad dogs and englishmen go out in the noonday sun” ??
You did. 
[quote=“BigJohn”]
The other danger is heat exhaustion and heat stroke. But you can detect that because if you have heat exhaustion you will fell like total shit, and if you have heat stroke you will be half (or more) dead.
You can tell if you’re on the borderline of heat exhaustion because you will probably feel: hot, headachey, shivery, irritable, fatugued, a bit daft.[/quote]
I would generally agree with what you’ve written above, but when doing a high range aerobic workout in tropical heat, heat exhaustion and even heat stroke can come on pretty fast. I think this is especially true for people who are just getting back into exercise, or for people who are not used to pushing it in extreme heat and humidity. Such peope are less likely to know their limits when training in tropical heat.
A heart rate monitor comes in handy when training hard in the heat. I use one every morning when I go on my hilll climb. Year round, it helps me keep myself training right at the edge of what I want my body to handle, and in the summer, it helps me recognize that even though I’m going a bit slower (due to the heat), I’m still actually pushing my heart right up to the limit.
Another thing that is handy is a camel pack. When training hard in the heat, your body diverts blood away from your internal organs and toward your skin to dissipate body heat. If you take spread out, big gulps of water from a bottle, you’re more likely to end up with cramps since your gut is not running on a regular supply of blood. With a camel, or something else that is easy to sip from without stopping, you can keep moving and take more smaller sips of water.