Its been a record summer of heat in much of the Northern Hemisphere, and the traditionally ‘muy calor’ Vuelta dEspaa is just about to start. What happens with heat acclimatization, and can it improve performance in either the heat or in cooler conditions?IntroductionIm spending this week visiting my parents in Vancouver, where the severe drought conditions had led to huge wildfires in the province and heavy water restrictions. And back home in Ontario, the summer has been warmer than usual, with multiple weeks of heat warnings coinciding with the Pan American Games being hosted in Toronto.Were now a year out from the Rio Olympics 2016, which has a good chance of high heat and humidity. Stifling heat and humidity is an almost certainty come Tokyo 2020 (being smart thermophysiologists, were having a big conference in Japan in 2017, but were deliberately avoiding its traditional summer slot and delaying it until the much nicer November time period). And of course, Qatar is the site of the cycling road Worlds in 2016, and possibly the football World Cup in 2022 unless FIFA implodes.So the big issue is, what happens with heat acclimatization, and can it improve our performance when competing in the heat? A related twist is also whether any improvements from heat acclimatization can transfer over to becoming an ergogenic aid when competing in cooler conditions?Heat Adaptation DefinitionsLets define some basic terminology first, as that helps clarify discussion and avoid confusion:Adaptation: The overall responses by humans to a different environment such...
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