I live in Florida and train on zwift 90% of the time. From May to September the temp has been over 80 degrees(26-27 celsius). I did 100 miles with the peak temp was 105(40+) degrees at Hotter n’ Hell last weekend. My ride was so easy and finished in around 5 and a half hours. There are some serious benefits to heat training.
Last year I lived for 8 months in a tiny house while working away. I had to train next to a radiator in the kitchen which couldn’t be switched off. At one point I hit a run of form which was unreal. Hitting all my numbers every session. At the time I just thought I’d hit a sweet spot but this has made me wonder if it was training next to that radiator which I developed a deep hatred of. Unfortunately a dose of flu stripped the fitness back off me.
The military has been on to this for decades. We called this getting poor man's altitude training, especially in the hot and humid environments. When you then go to less humid areas you would not overheat as quickly and your endurance would feel much better. Our 3 mile run times were much faster. I averaged two to three minutes faster, because I was able to maintain speed and not cook myself. In fact, Runner's magazine published an article, circa 2012, suggesting to run steady 5ks for training in the summer and save the interval training and long runs for winter to see improvement in pace and endurance.
Our cross country running assistant coach in the early 90's was a competitive runner himself and trained on a treadmill in his sauna. We all thought he was just nuts. We didn't actually think there was any benefit to it, but I'm sure the idea of training under stressful conditions has been around for a long time. There just was never really any scientific proof of its efficacy.
@@gcnoh yes! Living and riding in Singapore 11month a year and probably one month in native Switzerland in autumn. The autumn rides feel so much easier, both: during the ride but also recovery seems faster.
just cuz it's warm, doesn't mean you're heating up. sometimes my core is cruising 38.5 C and outside is 40C, while sometimes i'm at 40C+ and it's 17C outside
Just tried my first session. I live in a tropical country and temperature in my room was 32c and 90% humidity when i did it. No fan, big jacket, door and windows closed, 45-minute session. The first 15-20 minutes was ok. After 20 minutes, things were getting harder every minute. Had to stop for a drink a few times. After 30 minutes, HELL. Struggled to hold even 55% of FTP although heart rate was still around mid zone 2. Struggled to breath with nose and felt almost like bonking. Drank around 2.8l of water and 700ml of isotonic drink. Harder than those vo2max training by GCN training. Beyond brutal.
I live in Hawaii. Avg speed rider here. Hawaii is year long 90% humidity 32C. When I traveled to cold climate country, noticed I suddenly have no shortage of energy and faster than locals. Best proof, North African riders are starting to excel in TDF too.
Except, if memory serves, Biniam lives in the Netherlands most of the time. Also, you'd need to also consider that Eritrea is a country at altitude, so that's a factor. But, yes, being forced to ride in heat makes you faster when you're suddenly somplace cooler. I lived in Doha, Qatar for six years and heat training was a feature of any ride outside.
@@mathewrose2951 the problem with constantly being in high heat environment is that the quality of top end training is reduced. Your ability to produce max watts for given duration is diminished. That’s why arguably it’s better to do heat training sessions than live in the heat.
I heat train for 8 months every year here in south central Texas. Learning how to hydrate and keep your electrolyte balance is something you learn from an early age. It can be 35C at 80% humidity at 8:00am increasing up to over 40C by 2:00pm. Heat exhaustion is a real concern just doing yard/garden work. Back in the day Lance Armstrong trained here every summer.
Same here in North Carolina. It's seemed to be especially rough this year, as someone who works outside year-round. Then I realized it's most likely because this year being my 50th trip around d the sun😂
@@yayweredoomedsame, north Florida here. I’ve been doing mainly intense max interval trail workouts. We had a small dip in temps two weekend ago, and I was amazed at the at the speed I had during those two days of reprieve (ie. 90° instead of 96°).
I live in North Scottsdale in Arizona. McNulty is out there every day he's in the US, putting in 4 to 6 hours in the summer, with temps over 100 F for the last couple hours of his ride. He usually is doing structured workouts, e.g., over/unders, block intervals, etc. with peak efforts near 500 W. Just before the Vuelta, he did a ride with over/unders where one of them finished at the top of a climb (2.7 mi, 360' gain) near me. He took the KOM from Ryan Bailie, elite triathlete, who held it for 6 years, 24.3 mph and 442W. He wasn't even trying to do this. I'm not surprised he won the Giro opening TT.
Brandon is a great guy, and a monster on a bike. Very cool and humble. I like him and I like that Isaac del Toro is on the same team. I know Brandon McNulty but have never met Isaac yet. Isaac is my favorite pro tour rider. Brandon is always my horse in the race also. ❤I'm excited to see them work together in a race in the near future.
This past weekend I rode in Flagstaff at 7,000' altitude for the first time and completed my fastest metric-century ride (3 hours 7 minutes) despite having double the climbing I’m used to. The long training hours I’ve put in over the summer in Phoenix have truly paid off. I started cycling in June and can't wait for the nice Phoenix winter!
It’s 95F+ in my garage most of the summer in the Ca Central Valley. It’s punishing and I think of indoor training as torture. My work makes it an evil necessity. I’ve always known there was a benefit to it. Thank you for providing this confirmation of it. Acclimatizing to heat, if nothing, else trains the body to cool efficiently.
When I was in Scouting, our leader, Mr. Yost, always made us cook these foil packet dinners where we just bunged some meat and two veg into a little foil envelope, which we tossed directly on the fire. That memory just kept coming back to mind while watching Conor baste in his own juices (for science).
I always do heat training. I live in a desert and the cooler temperatures are mid 20-30s most of the year with at least a third of the year in the 40-50 range. Glad I've been doing miracle training all along.
of course it needs a bit more of experience and studies to proof the effects, but interesting. And I find it… funny how people are defending 1000 € ceramic bearings and 5000 € aero frames which make them 0.? % faster but say a bit uncomfortable training for 5 % or even 10 % is not worth it…😎
Yes, heat expands blood vessels, which is called vasodilation. When your body detects that it's hotter than normal, it dilates blood vessels to allow more blood to flow near the surface of your body. This helps your body lose heat to the air. Heat can also help with pain and stiffness by increasing blood flow and relaxing muscles. This can be especially helpful for chronic pain, rather than new injuries.
I don't understand why people do cold water submersion as "recovery" when it is decreasing blood flow. Surely you want heat baths for increased blood flow directly after exercise?
The blood vessels decrease in size in the cold, when the blood vessels return to normal size there is a rush of blood. The rush of blood pushes out the toxins from the muscles therefore aiding recovery. It's the same reason you put ice in a bruise or cold water in a cut / burn.
@@_Tp___ Be more specific. Recovery from what exactly? It's called "heat stress" for a reason. If in a stage race like the Tour de France, riders use ice baths to be better prepared for the next stage, even though they have been shown to blunt adaptation to exercise.
Remco Evenepoel starts his day with this type of training. You can watch his video: "A day in the life on the road to my recovery". During this turbotrainer session, he has to hit a body temperature of 38.5 degrees (Celsius).
Long term organ damage from exertion in extreme heat is a quietly growing problem - I hope sports scientists can verify that this can be done without risking long term health damage.
Would love to know a couple of extra bits from this as it is quite a fascinating subject. 1. How is the sweat rate for day to day life during/after the heat training cycle? As a sweaty sod, I can't afford for that to increase 2. Maintenance - what would maintenance look like after a 2 week cycle to try and retain the benefits? 1 or 2 heat sessions a week for instance?
I would be interested to know if, after the initial adaptation, you can enter a maintenance phase. If I did the five-day-a-week training for the adaptation, could I then maintain the benefit with only one session a week? Or two? And how long could it be maintained for?
So the plasma volume increases and dilute the red blood cells concentration, so you can use a little more EPO without getting your hematocrit higher than 50%, got it!
Seems like a great bike block to do during a heavy winter weight training block. Keep the leg muscles fresh for heavy lifting while still getting aerobic gains. May need to give it a try this winter!
I was heat training on zwift for some time. Saw some incredible benefits from it but it will take a little time for you body to adjust.. but when it does you'll be training blood plasma, how you body cools itself will improve, lower heart rate, more power for longer. When I was riding for 3+ hours with no fan, after about 2 hours my body would stop sweating and my performance would kick up, I have yet to understand that. I saw more than 5% gains, especially with body temperature under effforts.
When your body stops sweating it is not a good sign it is showing your dehydrated !! v dangerous and not to be done without proper measure of core temps imho
I'm not dehydrated, I'm constantly drinking water especially on longer rides. I eased into heat training a little bit at the start of every ride and eventually the fan stayed off and i was able to due races on zwift without any cooling. It takes time but yes a multi hour effort no fan is challenging to the body but it you do it correctly, the longer you ride without any assistance the stringer you'll get.
Could be at 2hrs your surface capillaries have swollen allowing more blood cooling reducing need for sweating. If you can quickly restart sweating by going harder or putting on layers it's safe, if not it's likely dangerous territory and you need more fluid WITH electrolytes. If you are on just water you can dehydrate.
As others have said this has been known informally for a long time but just not scientifically. 35 years ago I trained hard through an 8 day 35C high humidity heat wave & was flying the week after it ended. I knew immediately it was due to heat training but didn't know I could duplicate the conditions artificially. It is definitely worth the effort.
@@francescomancetti8327bro it was over 100 degrees for 80 days last year. Trust me it is heat training. The tar from the roads melts and gets on my bike frame.
@@alecsuggs it's about humidity and you will never have a comparable amount of humidity in air vs. full sweat trapped in your clothes. You could in east asia but Texas isn't in Asia isnt it ? Just you talking about degrees shows you have no idea what you're talking about
To summarise. Slow long sessions in the heat can potentially boost red cell volume similar to altitude training. HIIT sessions should be done in an environment where external stressors aren't a limiting factor.
been doing this since the start of my indoor training... I only use the fan for online races, but I rarely race anyway. Always felt that indoor training in a hot environment would translate well when I'm riding outdoors.
After watching this, I tried this training for 2 weeks, did 9 45 minutes sessions and my ftp raised from 250w to 262w, so it worked! Not to mention i have 61 kilos and was at my best ftp so far, so that is better than my best ever peak performances (4.3 w/kg). Will be posting a video on my channel about this in a few weeks. I used an armpit termomether, and favero assiomas to measure before and after ftp tests.
I have tried heat training not on purpose but because I have reptiles that need heat in my room so I keep it on low and allow the room to be humid while keeping my window open a crack and using a fan on my face and chest. Started doing that all last year and made a HUGEEE jump in my ftp of about 35W more when I first took my ftp test (ftp was @190). Definitely worth the training and still do it when I train indoors because now it’s all mental and pushing through the heat
I ride 40-60+ miles (at 20mph 2-3 hours) in central Florida all year long, in the summer months the heat and humidity are both over 90, I lose at least 5lbs of water sweating my ass off. When I’m done I jump straight into my swimming pool, with my kit and gloves still on!
This reminds me of two things wrestling training in garbage bags and sweats. That and my time I spent living and riding in Hawaii. Both really did put me in my best shape.
Recently, there was a strong heat wave (34-38 C°) where I live, but I couldn't train in the morning like before when it was so hot, only in the afternoon during the hottest period. I didn't have much strength in this heat and towards the end of the period due to a knee problem, I could only train even weaker, typically in zone 1, maybe a little in zone 2. Then the garmin connect indicated top form, which I laughed at first, but then came a performance tour, on which I was much stronger than usual. Then I saw this video and it explained everything! So, since then, cycling has been a step better, so this training really works, even though I did it unintentionally!
@@francescomancetti8327 Ok, in the 1st place it was a facetious joke. In the 2nd you have no idea what you are talking about. But hey, you got to show everyone on the internet just how smart you really are, congrats!
I do heat training. 100 degrees out in the UT sun (105-110 road temperature) and i wear a fleece lined bib tight (Giordana) and Sportful Fiandre rain jacket. No fluids on the bike and i sweat about 4.5-5 pounds in a two hour ride. When i wear my typical Assos summer kit in the group ride, I fly in comparison. I ride past several gas stations along the way so i always have a bailout if i need to, but only needed it once to grab some fluids
It's good that he warned people about about safety. I'm sure people will over-do this and mess themselves up. It is a big deal. Earlier this year - while not trying to do heat training - just riding on a really hot day, I was too hot for too long, and it REALLY messed me up. Stomach all messed up. Immune system significantly reduced. I couldn't do long rides for the next 3-4 weeks (and if I did, I would get sick).
This is superb video gcn! Just the kind of science deep dive that I love to watch, with excellent interviews with researchers and a Conor guinea pig case study! (Conor, you should have made Hank do it, or at least with you). My interest was piqued when too when Si referenced the article and I wondered how it worked. Now, I have a clear idea. Thanks gcn for one of the most insightful and informative videos!
I have read that Tony Martin made heat training in advance of the TT championchips 2016 in Doha (I think he even used hot air blower), with the focus on getting used to the high temperatures there. As a result he could celebrate the victory after an insane ride in the heat, ahead of Vasil Kiryienka and Jonathan Castroviejo, but I don't know whether this was just to get used to the klimate, and the improve in power output was a bargain, or whether Tony knew already about the possible improvements.
I’ve been watching GCN more recently - such innovative topics and high production quality. I’m impressed! Bravo. I wonder if a weekly hot yoga session counts as heat training, otherwise I’m out. 😅
I will always choose to go out riding during the hottest part of the day and I find that I improve easier when it's warm rather than cold. One thing I really notice is that either I don't need a warm-up or the time to warm-up is significantly decreased
Wrestling coaches seem to have been on to this method for decades. The practice rooms in high school and college (in the 1990s for me) were aways small, hot and humid. And the Conor’s clothing choices were the same when we spent hours on the exercise bike trying to lose weight.
Due to my work schedule, I usually only ride in the afternoon during the week. Here in the front range of Colorado that often means 95-100 f (35-37C). My wife thinks I am crazy for riding when it's that hot but now I can tease her that I am training harder than her :)
At least the Colorado front range is dry, and once the sun goes down the temperature drops pretty rapidly. I wish I was a cyclist while I lived in Boulder - I missed out. Took a pandemic in Canada to get me. I imagine night cycling in Boulder summer could be pleasant, but mid-day? OUCH.
I thought it was well known that living in hotter climates increases your blood volume? I was involved in an Alzheimer's research study that used cycling in a facility that had a chamber that had altitude and heat functions. A professional football club used the facility for training at hot altitude.
I believe heat training works due to one thing: the higher your core temp, the faster all chemical reactions occur so all the factors which trigger muscle growth and increased red blood cells are generated more quickly, ie with less total power output getting the same benefits. This is extremely dangerous however, especially as your blood will get thicker and you'll need more water, you'll be extremely prone to electrolyte imbalances, aka heat exhaustion/stroke. In the southern US this kills several athletes each year who didn't know or weren't allowed to get enough salts and water. Usually you get sick first, and confusion is a big symptom so you might forget what to do once it sets in. It doesn't necessarily become less dangerous with experience because it can also manifest in a sudden heart attack, probably when you're at maximum exertion and you're actually feeling ok. Then you just have to hope medics are nearby.
You want to do "heat training"? I'm here in Arizona and today's high is going to be around 112. Later in the week it will be 117. This has cooled down from the mid 120's for the past three months. I'm doing heat training, and I didn't realize. Hydration is a constant battle; you think you are on top of it, but it is something you MUST be constantly aware of. Even indoor training can be tricky.
I think it makes sense. But I also think ‘’heat training’’ and its benefits might be as simple as something that is already established by medical science: a body that is stressed will react. Often, when controlled, the reaction can be a benefit. In other words: there seems to be a positive gain for health when a person makes themselves uncomfortable. I also would be interested to know if these measurable benefits disappear after a certain time. Very interesting nonetheless. Cheers, MC
And those amazing things people like Wim Hoff did also play into this argument that controlled stressing of the body makes it react and if properly controlled, it can have insane benefits. So it works physically for both hot & cold stimuli !
Tried this on turbo two years ago , i did all my Z2 as heat seshions and turned fan on for intervals. Used hot baths aswell. Saw i massive improvmemts, but as soon as i stared to go outside in cold early spring air felt like lost loads of fittness.
Well I did my first 100mi epic ride and.... I was the last woman back. Not because of cramping, or altitude, or cramps, but because I was on the verge of overheating. I was going from tree-shadow to tree-shadow, trying to cool off at each stop. I was stuffing my sports bra with ice at the aid stations. The SAG wagon helped me stay cool for the last bit by pouring water on me. My moving time and speeds were fine, legs tired but okay, but UGH at heat! Now before 100mi epic #2 I've deliberately gone out on more rides over the last month in the heat just to acclimate. Not to the level Connor just did - but in SoCal mid-day for 2hrs at a time. Garmin says it helped heat acclimation. Will see if I can keep moving while toasty next weekend!! I don't think I could bring myself to that level of intense heat training.... but I can survive more "hotter than I want" acclimation rides.
Not sure what to make of this. I ride in the heat year round and continue to get slower as I get older... ;) I'm just happy that at 58, I still can pedal!
Thanks alot Conor and GCN, super interesting! Kinda crazy the things people will do for performance gains. Can't believe that prof recommended (regular?) use of a rectal thermometer with a straight face!
I think these tests will never give terribly useful data with riders that have had significantly higher FTPs in their past. It's a lot easier to improve to a level below your peak.
@@veganpotterthevegan doing Z2 for 30min/45min a day shouldn't give +11,4% increase even to people that had great ftp in the past. And it's not like he didn't cycle at all those past few months
For a minute I thought you said hiit training... the idea of heat training scares me, I get migraines when I get too exhausted on hot days. Heat training is something I couldnt do. Living in a relatively hot place, I am probably more aclitimised than most Europeans but I still hate it.
I could be daft, but I live in the desert with 105-118 degree temps for 4-5 months the year. It seems like I just need to make a point to do races in cooler temps 60-70s during the summer and I should hypothetically do very well against those who reside there locally.
Very interesting, thanks for the video! Love learning about new ways of training better! Would love to know how many heat training sessions you did, how long they were and what %of FTP were they? Would be interested to understand how it could be incorporated into a training plan
if you try to ride with the average value of this hiit workout for 30 minutes for example 250 try to keep those watts from the beginning of the workout and the next day do 60 minutes. After a week add 5-10 watts and start with 30 minutes (255-260w) It is important to have at least 3 days of rest or rides at zone 1-2 (100-125 BPM) or it depends on how your legs feel.
I live in Raleigh, NC. This past week was temps inhigh 90s f, with 90% humidity. People in the southern/ southeastern US have been heat "training" every summer for lifetimes😂
This has been really interesting. I am going to give this ago myself. I mean I’d like to think that summer riding in the uk might go some way towards heat training, but this year it’s been more like winter training.
@@songofyesterday the level of humidity is not even close to loads of sweat trapped all around your body. Average humidity in Texas is 60/65%, in a heat session you aim for 90/95%
Meanwhile back here in Australia, in summer or our winter it can be pretty warm on a trainer. I probably dont turn a fan on until the temp gets above 25c. All you Poms would have melted by then.
The best use case for heat training is during recovery from injury to maintain your heart/endurance fitness without taxing the body as much. I know it's used a lot by Norwegian skiers.
Hi Connor. Thanks for the great video. I am up in the alps at 1800 m and finishing my training for a 70.3 race in Italy at sea level in two weeks and with it getting cold outside this seems like the perfect training program to prepare for the expected to be hot race later this month. Altitude training, heat training and no cars and on my race TT bike seems like a great way to go. So I plan to follow your protocol and do an FTP test today, then follow my training program for the next two weeks indoors and then see how the race goes on 22 Sept. Should be an interesting experiment and maybe help my race performance a little bit. Still have to run outside and swim but can dress up for the runs to maybe get similar benefits. QUESTION: When you did your first and last FTP ramp tests, did you go with a fan and cooler room and normal indoor cycling clothes or do both in the hot environment? I am thinking of doing both in a normal environment to measure the change. Ciao and grazie.
Hi when you start doing heat training do you combine it with another session later in the day or straight after ? Or is it the only sessions you do on a daily basis ?
Ive been an advocate of heat training since my first youtube vids in 2008. Makes a huge difference. Remember though gang if you dont eat enough sugar every day your body will kill off its RBC because they live on sugar.
Would be interesting to do a similar experiment with a passive heat exposure protocol using hot tub or sauna. Sounds a bit more comfortable, a lot more expensive and should supposedly have a lot of the same benefits.
I did the protocol and it works amazing. But it is really really tough (1hour at 38.5 is horribly uncomfortable and your body is doing everything it can to make you stop and cool). One safety mesure you forgot to mention and the most dangerous one is heat stroke. It is easy to notice - if you stop sweating, stop immediately.
Do you think the improvement in performance from heat training is worth it?
Hey GCN, how many sessions did Connor do in those two weeks?
yes definitely, most races are in the summer, so training in the summer is even more worth it. But I would not do rectal temperature testing :-D
@@YuriPraca I’d also like to know
@GCN would also like to know
I live in Florida and train on zwift 90% of the time. From May to September the temp has been over 80 degrees(26-27 celsius). I did 100 miles with the peak temp was 105(40+) degrees at Hotter n’ Hell last weekend. My ride was so easy and finished in around 5 and a half hours. There are some serious benefits to heat training.
I would like to see the rectal temperature as a feature on Strava.
Ear thermometer is less hardcore. 🙂 take several readings because of error.
Can’t breathe properly if a thermometer is back there.
i'll be affraid to sneeze
Yeah he lost me with that. Good thing I’m not a pro.
I always do heat training. Because my indoor setup just has not enough cooling ...
everyone was thinking that
There is almost no way to cool down a room enough. If you're cruising at 200w your body produces ca. 1000w of heat.
And have you noticed the improvement yet?
Last year I lived for 8 months in a tiny house while working away. I had to train next to a radiator in the kitchen which couldn’t be switched off. At one point I hit a run of form which was unreal. Hitting all my numbers every session. At the time I just thought I’d hit a sweet spot but this has made me wonder if it was training next to that radiator which I developed a deep hatred of. Unfortunately a dose of flu stripped the fitness back off me.
yep me too :-D I dont have ventilation in my little room so I always train in the heat ahhaha
The military has been on to this for decades. We called this getting poor man's altitude training, especially in the hot and humid environments. When you then go to less humid areas you would not overheat as quickly and your endurance would feel much better. Our 3 mile run times were much faster. I averaged two to three minutes faster, because I was able to maintain speed and not cook myself. In fact, Runner's magazine published an article, circa 2012, suggesting to run steady 5ks for training in the summer and save the interval training and long runs for winter to see improvement in pace and endurance.
Our cross country running assistant coach in the early 90's was a competitive runner himself and trained on a treadmill in his sauna. We all thought he was just nuts. We didn't actually think there was any benefit to it, but I'm sure the idea of training under stressful conditions has been around for a long time. There just was never really any scientific proof of its efficacy.
For heart training do the intervals in summer. Winter for long slow rides or runs.
Heat*
Yeah that also reminded me a Fashion Running in a hoodie 10 years ago
I do interval training all around the year. 2-3 per week during the summer. 1-2 during the winter. (Winter sessions less so due to the weather)
Looking forward to the new Wahoo Rectal Themoetrer that connects to zwift and shows everyone your core temp alongside your w/kg.
It's definitely possible to enjoy the thermometer without the boring Zwift ride.
Then you can see a tail on your avatar 😂
Wahoo RCTL
@@HarryFunmaker 🤣
Just remember there is no Ant+/Bluetooth signal drop out with the corded version.
36C and high humidity. Sounds like a normal day in Singapore!!
I've been there a few times and there is no way to stay dry ever at 6:00am! Though the native people seem to never sweat.
@@billmccaffrey1977 you just get used to it
Do you notice any difference when you train in a different climate?
@@gcn I have noticed how easy it is to ride long distances in cooler geos.
@@gcnoh yes! Living and riding in Singapore 11month a year and probably one month in native Switzerland in autumn. The autumn rides feel so much easier, both: during the ride but also recovery seems faster.
In India, every day is heat training day
Only if you really train every day.
just cuz it's warm, doesn't mean you're heating up. sometimes my core is cruising 38.5 C and outside is 40C, while sometimes i'm at 40C+ and it's 17C outside
@@gcn Savage
Just tried my first session.
I live in a tropical country and temperature in my room was 32c and 90% humidity when i did it. No fan, big jacket, door and windows closed, 45-minute session. The first 15-20 minutes was ok. After 20 minutes, things were getting harder every minute. Had to stop for a drink a few times. After 30 minutes, HELL. Struggled to hold even 55% of FTP although heart rate was still around mid zone 2. Struggled to breath with nose and felt almost like bonking.
Drank around 2.8l of water and 700ml of isotonic drink. Harder than those vo2max training by GCN training. Beyond brutal.
You are over doing it for a first effort, build up slowly!
I live in Hawaii. Avg speed rider here. Hawaii is year long 90% humidity 32C. When I traveled to cold climate country, noticed I suddenly have no shortage of energy and faster than locals. Best proof, North African riders are starting to excel in TDF too.
North African riders starting to excel is barely the best proof 😂
Almost certainly those North African TDF cyclists are training and competing in Europe, and following similar training programmes to their teammates.
Except, if memory serves, Biniam lives in the Netherlands most of the time. Also, you'd need to also consider that Eritrea is a country at altitude, so that's a factor. But, yes, being forced to ride in heat makes you faster when you're suddenly somplace cooler. I lived in Doha, Qatar for six years and heat training was a feature of any ride outside.
Can only imagine the level of sweating if I went there from England 🤣
@@mathewrose2951 the problem with constantly being in high heat environment is that the quality of top end training is reduced. Your ability to produce max watts for given duration is diminished. That’s why arguably it’s better to do heat training sessions than live in the heat.
Thanks for not showing Conor using a rectal thermometer! 🤣
MinuteEarth viewer? 😜
Missed opportunity.
🌝
His poker face was legendary 😂
Made it to the gcn show, thanks :)
I heat train for 8 months every year here in south central Texas. Learning how to hydrate and keep your electrolyte balance is something you learn from an early age. It can be 35C at 80% humidity at 8:00am increasing up to over 40C by 2:00pm. Heat exhaustion is a real concern just doing yard/garden work. Back in the day Lance Armstrong trained here every summer.
Same deal here in Florida. Every once in a while we get a coolish (not 90+ degree) evening and I’m surprised by how easy it makes the ride feel.
Same here in North Carolina. It's seemed to be especially rough this year, as someone who works outside year-round. Then I realized it's most likely because this year being my 50th trip around d the sun😂
@@yayweredoomedsame, north Florida here. I’ve been doing mainly intense max interval trail workouts. We had a small dip in temps two weekend ago, and I was amazed at the at the speed I had during those two days of reprieve (ie. 90° instead of 96°).
I live in North Scottsdale in Arizona. McNulty is out there every day he's in the US, putting in 4 to 6 hours in the summer, with temps over 100 F for the last couple hours of his ride. He usually is doing structured workouts, e.g., over/unders, block intervals, etc. with peak efforts near 500 W. Just before the Vuelta, he did a ride with over/unders where one of them finished at the top of a climb (2.7 mi, 360' gain) near me. He took the KOM from Ryan Bailie, elite triathlete, who held it for 6 years, 24.3 mph and 442W. He wasn't even trying to do this. I'm not surprised he won the Giro opening TT.
This comment would be really interesting if you didn't use scales that noone in the world understands.
@@BOodidarma It's mad, isn't it? Posting on a video with an international audience, but still expecting everyone else to do conversions....
@@71CMM Muricans gonna murican :D
Brandon is a great guy, and a monster on a bike. Very cool and humble. I like him and I like that Isaac del Toro is on the same team. I know Brandon McNulty but have never met Isaac yet. Isaac is my favorite pro tour rider. Brandon is always my horse in the race also. ❤I'm excited to see them work together in a race in the near future.
This past weekend I rode in Flagstaff at 7,000' altitude for the first time and completed my fastest metric-century ride (3 hours 7 minutes) despite having double the climbing I’m used to. The long training hours I’ve put in over the summer in Phoenix have truly paid off. I started cycling in June and can't wait for the nice Phoenix winter!
In Florida we just call that training.
How do you train in Florida when there's not a single Hill, you can't Coast your way to fitness
It’s 95F+ in my garage most of the summer in the Ca Central Valley. It’s punishing and I think of indoor training as torture. My work makes it an evil necessity. I’ve always known there was a benefit to it. Thank you for providing this confirmation of it. Acclimatizing to heat, if nothing, else trains the body to cool efficiently.
When I was in Scouting, our leader, Mr. Yost, always made us cook these foil packet dinners where we just bunged some meat and two veg into a little foil envelope, which we tossed directly on the fire.
That memory just kept coming back to mind while watching Conor baste in his own juices (for science).
We’re glad to have reminded you of something from your childhood... I suppose 😟
If the thermometer has a proper flared base a saddle may become unnecessary.
New business idea! Wireless rectal thermometer integrated saddles with live display on the handlebar.
@@raisingachampion8693 No more sliding forward on the saddle!
😂
I always do heat training. I live in a desert and the cooler temperatures are mid 20-30s most of the year with at least a third of the year in the 40-50 range.
Glad I've been doing miracle training all along.
As an Aussie who rides in similar weather, who knew it was for the gods
of course it needs a bit more of experience and studies to proof the effects, but interesting. And I find it… funny how people are defending 1000 € ceramic bearings and 5000 € aero frames which make them 0.? % faster but say a bit uncomfortable training for 5 % or even 10 % is not worth it…😎
If you have it, it is easier and more fun to spend money than it is to find time to hurt yourself with training.
Yes, heat expands blood vessels, which is called vasodilation. When your body detects that it's hotter than normal, it dilates blood vessels to allow more blood to flow near the surface of your body. This helps your body lose heat to the air.
Heat can also help with pain and stiffness by increasing blood flow and relaxing muscles. This can be especially helpful for chronic pain, rather than new injuries.
I don't understand why people do cold water submersion as "recovery" when it is decreasing blood flow. Surely you want heat baths for increased blood flow directly after exercise?
The blood vessels decrease in size in the cold, when the blood vessels return to normal size there is a rush of blood. The rush of blood pushes out the toxins from the muscles therefore aiding recovery. It's the same reason you put ice in a bruise or cold water in a cut / burn.
@@_Tp___ Heat is an additional stress on the body. Reducing it allows *much* faster recovery.
@@philadams9254 Using heat directly after exercise is better for recovery than cold therapy. You are just straight up wrong.
@@_Tp___ Be more specific. Recovery from what exactly? It's called "heat stress" for a reason. If in a stage race like the Tour de France, riders use ice baths to be better prepared for the next stage, even though they have been shown to blunt adaptation to exercise.
Remco Evenepoel starts his day with this type of training. You can watch his video: "A day in the life on the road to my recovery". During this turbotrainer session, he has to hit a body temperature of 38.5 degrees (Celsius).
@@MyNameIsJeeeff Hilarious channel!
I live in the South in the US. Our temps in the summertime generally hover around 37-38C, so every ride is a 'heat training' ride. :)
Long term organ damage from exertion in extreme heat is a quietly growing problem - I hope sports scientists can verify that this can be done without risking long term health damage.
Especially permanent nerve damage that can occur above 44C pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8144987/
Yep. Been doing 2x heat sessions per week for about 6 weeks. Just hit an all time 30 min PR yesterday at 43 yrs old. This works.
Would love to know a couple of extra bits from this as it is quite a fascinating subject.
1. How is the sweat rate for day to day life during/after the heat training cycle? As a sweaty sod, I can't afford for that to increase
2. Maintenance - what would maintenance look like after a 2 week cycle to try and retain the benefits? 1 or 2 heat sessions a week for instance?
You'll tolerate everyday heat better and sweat less I'd imagine. One way to find out.
I would be interested to know if, after the initial adaptation, you can enter a maintenance phase. If I did the five-day-a-week training for the adaptation, could I then maintain the benefit with only one session a week? Or two? And how long could it be maintained for?
So the plasma volume increases and dilute the red blood cells concentration, so you can use a little more EPO without getting your hematocrit higher than 50%, got it!
That's silly. But it's not your fault. 'Exercise Physiologists' have been talking bs about oxygen delivery for decades.
Seems like a great bike block to do during a heavy winter weight training block. Keep the leg muscles fresh for heavy lifting while still getting aerobic gains. May need to give it a try this winter!
I was heat training on zwift for some time. Saw some incredible benefits from it but it will take a little time for you body to adjust.. but when it does you'll be training blood plasma, how you body cools itself will improve, lower heart rate, more power for longer. When I was riding for 3+ hours with no fan, after about 2 hours my body would stop sweating and my performance would kick up, I have yet to understand that. I saw more than 5% gains, especially with body temperature under effforts.
When your body stops sweating it is not a good sign it is showing your dehydrated !! v dangerous and not to be done without proper measure of core temps imho
I'm not dehydrated, I'm constantly drinking water especially on longer rides. I eased into heat training a little bit at the start of every ride and eventually the fan stayed off and i was able to due races on zwift without any cooling. It takes time but yes a multi hour effort no fan is challenging to the body but it you do it correctly, the longer you ride without any assistance the stringer you'll get.
N of 1
Could be at 2hrs your surface capillaries have swollen allowing more blood cooling reducing need for sweating. If you can quickly restart sweating by going harder or putting on layers it's safe, if not it's likely dangerous territory and you need more fluid WITH electrolytes. If you are on just water you can dehydrate.
Ok got it. Optimal training nowadays is basically low effort zone two training in warm jeans and a sweater?
At noon, middle of summer, in florida.
and special 'preparation' by their doctors, of course
with a thermometer up your bum
My mum will be a pro in no time!
As others have said this has been known informally for a long time but just not scientifically. 35 years ago I trained hard through an 8 day 35C high humidity heat wave & was flying the week after it ended. I knew immediately it was due to heat training but didn't know I could duplicate the conditions artificially. It is definitely worth the effort.
Central Texas, we do HEAT training outdoors 9-10 months a year.
it's not humid and outside you have wind and air penetration, it's not a proper heat session at all
@@francescomancetti8327 Tx is more humid than most people realize.
@@alanfunk2592 it's not even close to having a lot of sweat trapped all around your upper body
@@francescomancetti8327bro it was over 100 degrees for 80 days last year. Trust me it is heat training. The tar from the roads melts and gets on my bike frame.
@@alecsuggs it's about humidity and you will never have a comparable amount of humidity in air vs. full sweat trapped in your clothes. You could in east asia but Texas isn't in Asia isnt it ? Just you talking about degrees shows you have no idea what you're talking about
To summarise. Slow long sessions in the heat can potentially boost red cell volume similar to altitude training. HIIT sessions should be done in an environment where external stressors aren't a limiting factor.
been doing this since the start of my indoor training... I only use the fan for online races, but I rarely race anyway. Always felt that indoor training in a hot environment would translate well when I'm riding outdoors.
And does it?
@@gcn Performance wise I don't mind really hot weather. Thats about the extent of what I feel.
Forty years ago, we used a sauna for this purpose, but only after training, not during it.
If you want to do a more fun way of heat training. Go to spain or somewhere really hot during the summer and go ride there for 2 weeks
Midday rides. It will put you in hospital instead of on the TDF podium.
No, because not enough humidity
@@alinapopescu872 midday rides in Spain's heat are common for people training for the TdF and Vuelta
@@veganpotterthevegan What can I say? Good on them...
@alinapopescu872 well, it's how you win. And there's always risks. Can't win by safely riding the brakes on a hairy descent either
After watching this, I tried this training for 2 weeks, did 9 45 minutes sessions and my ftp raised from 250w to 262w, so it worked! Not to mention i have 61 kilos and was at my best ftp so far, so that is better than my best ever peak performances (4.3 w/kg). Will be posting a video on my channel about this in a few weeks.
I used an armpit termomether, and favero assiomas to measure before and after ftp tests.
I have a pop up rectal thermometer built into my saddle. Works a treat.
I have tried heat training not on purpose but because I have reptiles that need heat in my room so I keep it on low and allow the room to be humid while keeping my window open a crack and using a fan on my face and chest. Started doing that all last year and made a HUGEEE jump in my ftp of about 35W more when I first took my ftp test (ftp was @190). Definitely worth the training and still do it when I train indoors because now it’s all mental and pushing through the heat
I ride 40-60+ miles (at 20mph 2-3 hours) in central Florida all year long, in the summer months the heat and humidity are both over 90, I lose at least 5lbs of water sweating my ass off. When I’m done I jump straight into my swimming pool, with my kit and gloves still on!
This reminds me of two things wrestling training in garbage bags and sweats. That and my time I spent living and riding in Hawaii. Both really did put me in my best shape.
Love you guys! I did start it, i pushed the record button, people are scared! But I need the humor from england!
Fantastic video!
Thank you
Going by his breathing rate he is well over zone 1
Which would be over the VO2 max used in the research
Recently, there was a strong heat wave (34-38 C°) where I live, but I couldn't train in the morning like before when it was so hot, only in the afternoon during the hottest period. I didn't have much strength in this heat and towards the end of the period due to a knee problem, I could only train even weaker, typically in zone 1, maybe a little in zone 2. Then the garmin connect indicated top form, which I laughed at first, but then came a performance tour, on which I was much stronger than usual. Then I saw this video and it explained everything! So, since then, cycling has been a step better, so this training really works, even though I did it unintentionally!
I live in Florida ALL my training is heat training!
it doesn't, it's not humid and outside you have wind and air penetration, it's not a proper heat session at all
@@francescomancetti8327 Ok, in the 1st place it was a facetious joke. In the 2nd you have no idea what you are talking about. But hey, you got to show everyone on the internet just how smart you really are, congrats!
We have been doing this already. Especially for the Munga race in the middle of the Karoo in the summer. Temperatures range from 4C to 49C.
I do heat training. 100 degrees out in the UT sun (105-110 road temperature) and i wear a fleece lined bib tight (Giordana) and Sportful Fiandre rain jacket. No fluids on the bike and i sweat about 4.5-5 pounds in a two hour ride. When i wear my typical Assos summer kit in the group ride, I fly in comparison. I ride past several gas stations along the way so i always have a bailout if i need to, but only needed it once to grab some fluids
It's good that he warned people about about safety. I'm sure people will over-do this and mess themselves up. It is a big deal.
Earlier this year - while not trying to do heat training - just riding on a really hot day, I was too hot for too long, and it REALLY messed me up. Stomach all messed up. Immune system significantly reduced. I couldn't do long rides for the next 3-4 weeks (and if I did, I would get sick).
This is superb video gcn! Just the kind of science deep dive that I love to watch, with excellent interviews with researchers and a Conor guinea pig case study! (Conor, you should have made Hank do it, or at least with you). My interest was piqued when too when Si referenced the article and I wondered how it worked. Now, I have a clear idea. Thanks gcn for one of the most insightful and informative videos!
the best guinea pigs 🤣
I have read that Tony Martin made heat training in advance of the TT championchips 2016 in Doha (I think he even used hot air blower), with the focus on getting used to the high temperatures there. As a result he could celebrate the victory after an insane ride in the heat, ahead of Vasil Kiryienka and Jonathan Castroviejo, but I don't know whether this was just to get used to the klimate, and the improve in power output was a bargain, or whether Tony knew already about the possible improvements.
crude as you say conner, but you definitely proved a point in obtaining physical gains, brilliant m8.
I’ve been watching GCN more recently - such innovative topics and high production quality. I’m impressed! Bravo.
I wonder if a weekly hot yoga session counts as heat training, otherwise I’m out. 😅
It's the "banging your head against a brick wall effect". It feels so much better when you stop (and ride in normal conditions)!
that is one way of looking at it!
Wahoo to introduce wireless Ant+ rectal thermometer in 2025
If it flashes a red light to show connectivity, it can double as a bike light.
I live in SE Virginia, we heat train all summer. When the weather cools we are flying.
Fantastic job. I am adding this to my training schedule. Glad I won't be doing intervals while heat training...
Alex Dowsett’s protocol was to run as hot as bath as possible then ride the turbo inside in bathroom
I will always choose to go out riding during the hottest part of the day and I find that I improve easier when it's warm rather than cold. One thing I really notice is that either I don't need a warm-up or the time to warm-up is significantly decreased
Wrestling coaches seem to have been on to this method for decades. The practice rooms in high school and college (in the 1990s for me) were aways small, hot and humid. And the Conor’s clothing choices were the same when we spent hours on the exercise bike trying to lose weight.
Due to my work schedule, I usually only ride in the afternoon during the week. Here in the front range of Colorado that often means 95-100 f (35-37C). My wife thinks I am crazy for riding when it's that hot but now I can tease her that I am training harder than her :)
At least the Colorado front range is dry, and once the sun goes down the temperature drops pretty rapidly. I wish I was a cyclist while I lived in Boulder - I missed out. Took a pandemic in Canada to get me. I imagine night cycling in Boulder summer could be pleasant, but mid-day? OUCH.
Heat training with the shed door and window left open :)
I thought it was well known that living in hotter climates increases your blood volume? I was involved in an Alzheimer's research study that used cycling in a facility that had a chamber that had altitude and heat functions. A professional football club used the facility for training at hot altitude.
I believe heat training works due to one thing: the higher your core temp, the faster all chemical reactions occur so all the factors which trigger muscle growth and increased red blood cells are generated more quickly, ie with less total power output getting the same benefits. This is extremely dangerous however, especially as your blood will get thicker and you'll need more water, you'll be extremely prone to electrolyte imbalances, aka heat exhaustion/stroke. In the southern US this kills several athletes each year who didn't know or weren't allowed to get enough salts and water. Usually you get sick first, and confusion is a big symptom so you might forget what to do once it sets in. It doesn't necessarily become less dangerous with experience because it can also manifest in a sudden heart attack, probably when you're at maximum exertion and you're actually feeling ok. Then you just have to hope medics are nearby.
2:49 I like that there’s a snowman on the wall behind him during a heat training episode
You want to do "heat training"? I'm here in Arizona and today's high is going to be around 112. Later in the week it will be 117. This has cooled down from the mid 120's for the past three months. I'm doing heat training, and I didn't realize. Hydration is a constant battle; you think you are on top of it, but it is something you MUST be constantly aware of. Even indoor training can be tricky.
I think it makes sense. But I also think ‘’heat training’’ and its benefits might be as simple as something that is already established by medical science: a body that is stressed will react. Often, when controlled, the reaction can be a benefit. In other words: there seems to be a positive gain for health when a person makes themselves uncomfortable.
I also would be interested to know if these measurable benefits disappear after a certain time.
Very interesting nonetheless. Cheers, MC
And those amazing things people like Wim Hoff did also play into this argument that controlled stressing of the body makes it react and if properly controlled, it can have insane benefits. So it works physically for both hot & cold stimuli !
Tried this on turbo two years ago , i did all my Z2 as heat seshions and turned fan on for intervals. Used hot baths aswell. Saw i massive improvmemts, but as soon as i stared to go outside in cold early spring air felt like lost loads of fittness.
Well I did my first 100mi epic ride and.... I was the last woman back. Not because of cramping, or altitude, or cramps, but because I was on the verge of overheating. I was going from tree-shadow to tree-shadow, trying to cool off at each stop. I was stuffing my sports bra with ice at the aid stations. The SAG wagon helped me stay cool for the last bit by pouring water on me. My moving time and speeds were fine, legs tired but okay, but UGH at heat!
Now before 100mi epic #2 I've deliberately gone out on more rides over the last month in the heat just to acclimate. Not to the level Connor just did - but in SoCal mid-day for 2hrs at a time. Garmin says it helped heat acclimation. Will see if I can keep moving while toasty next weekend!!
I don't think I could bring myself to that level of intense heat training.... but I can survive more "hotter than I want" acclimation rides.
Not sure what to make of this. I ride in the heat year round and continue to get slower as I get older... ;) I'm just happy that at 58, I still can pedal!
Would you be getting your core temp above 38ºC though?
Thanks alot Conor and GCN, super interesting! Kinda crazy the things people will do for performance gains. Can't believe that prof recommended (regular?) use of a rectal thermometer with a straight face!
Was he training less before starting this experiment? If so, then it could just be the training volume change that caused the improvement?
I think these tests will never give terribly useful data with riders that have had significantly higher FTPs in their past. It's a lot easier to improve to a level below your peak.
The training he has is very light which should not improve for a guy like him at all.
@@veganpotterthevegan doing Z2 for 30min/45min a day shouldn't give +11,4% increase even to people that had great ftp in the past. And it's not like he didn't cycle at all those past few months
For a minute I thought you said hiit training... the idea of heat training scares me, I get migraines when I get too exhausted on hot days. Heat training is something I couldnt do. Living in a relatively hot place, I am probably more aclitimised than most Europeans but I still hate it.
I think I will give this a try in the near future. My morning workouts are about an hour and could probably fit it quite nicely
I unknowingly did a lot of this in Spain this summer… tdf ready then!
I could be daft, but I live in the desert with 105-118 degree temps for 4-5 months the year. It seems like I just need to make a point to do races in cooler temps 60-70s during the summer and I should hypothetically do very well against those who reside there locally.
45 minutes roller sweater PLUS altitude masks twice a week works amazing for me.
I live in Tucson Arizona so hell yeah! 🔥
Very interesting, thanks for the video! Love learning about new ways of training better! Would love to know how many heat training sessions you did, how long they were and what %of FTP were they? Would be interested to understand how it could be incorporated into a training plan
if you try to ride with the average value of this hiit workout for 30 minutes for example 250 try to keep those watts from the beginning of the workout and the next day do 60 minutes. After a week add 5-10 watts and start with 30 minutes (255-260w) It is important to have at least 3 days of rest or rides at zone 1-2 (100-125 BPM) or it depends on how your legs feel.
I live in Raleigh, NC. This past week was temps inhigh 90s f, with 90% humidity. People in the southern/ southeastern US have been heat "training" every summer for lifetimes😂
Was recently forced to move my indoor setup to a room where the heat come into the house and it's around 25C so this sounds perfect 😂🎉
This has been really interesting. I am going to give this ago myself. I mean I’d like to think that summer riding in the uk might go some way towards heat training, but this year it’s been more like winter training.
I'm going to try it right now.
We do this (by default) every day for about 8mo of the year in the southeastern US!
welcome to Florida most of the year.
Hope that when the news is out, people do not get injured trying this heat training
Arizona Desert is about to be a training destination. +100f for 1/3 of the year.
I do alot of heat training because I live in the American south..... come out in August and you'll get all the heat training you need.
Last May 2024, I rode 50kms on weekends in heat wave conditions in India. 30-32c even at 5-7am. I beat gcn 😉
Living in Texas, free heat training for everybody.
it doesn't, it's not humid and outside you have wind and air penetration, it's not a proper heat session at all
@@francescomancetti8327 obviously you don’t live here
@@songofyesterday the level of humidity is not even close to loads of sweat trapped all around your body. Average humidity in Texas is 60/65%, in a heat session you aim for 90/95%
Meanwhile back here in Australia, in summer or our winter it can be pretty warm on a trainer. I probably dont turn a fan on until the temp gets above 25c. All you Poms would have melted by then.
The best use case for heat training is during recovery from injury to maintain your heart/endurance fitness without taxing the body as much. I know it's used a lot by Norwegian skiers.
Hi Connor. Thanks for the great video. I am up in the alps at 1800 m and finishing my training for a 70.3 race in Italy at sea level in two weeks and with it getting cold outside this seems like the perfect training program to prepare for the expected to be hot race later this month. Altitude training, heat training and no cars and on my race TT bike seems like a great way to go. So I plan to follow your protocol and do an FTP test today, then follow my training program for the next two weeks indoors and then see how the race goes on 22 Sept. Should be an interesting experiment and maybe help my race performance a little bit. Still have to run outside and swim but can dress up for the runs to maybe get similar benefits. QUESTION: When you did your first and last FTP ramp tests, did you go with a fan and cooler room and normal indoor cycling clothes or do both in the hot environment? I am thinking of doing both in a normal environment to measure the change. Ciao and grazie.
Hi when you start doing heat training do you combine it with another session later in the day or straight after ? Or is it the only sessions you do on a daily basis ?
Did Alpe hues on zwift in the heat yesterday went through 4 towels
Ive been an advocate of heat training since my first youtube vids in 2008. Makes a huge difference. Remember though gang if you dont eat enough sugar every day your body will kill off its RBC because they live on sugar.
i used to do the first 5 miles of an 11 mile run to work as fast as I could. My rectal temperature was about 41 - 42 degC
Would be interesting to do a similar experiment with a passive heat exposure protocol using hot tub or sauna. Sounds a bit more comfortable, a lot more expensive and should supposedly have a lot of the same benefits.
Come to Cyprus, round the clock heat training for 6 months per year
I did the protocol and it works amazing. But it is really really tough (1hour at 38.5 is horribly uncomfortable and your body is doing everything it can to make you stop and cool). One safety mesure you forgot to mention and the most dangerous one is heat stroke. It is easy to notice - if you stop sweating, stop immediately.
I’ve been doing heat training just by riding my bike in Texas!