I wrote previously about my experience of the Team Timex Multisport annual camp, which took place in February 2012 at the New York Giants Performance Centre, East Rutherford, New Jersey.
I mentioned that the Timex athletes were fortunate to be offered the opportunity to work with the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI), from the University of Connecticut (http://ksi.uconn.edu/). The Korey Stringer Institute is a research institute, established in 2010 by the widow of Korey Stringer. Korey Stringer was a Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman, who sadly died in 2001, from Exertional Heat Stroke. The Institute was set up by Korey’s wife, Kelci Stringer, with the help of Professor Doug Casa, with the aim of ‘minimizing sudden death in sport for any reason, beginning with Exertional Heat Stroke’. (See http://ksi.uconn.edu/ for further explanation on Exertional Heat Stroke).
As part of the ongoing research undertaken by KSI, they tested the affects of heat and exertion upon athletes at the 2011 World Ironman Championships, in Hawaii. Some of the measures used (in brief) were sweat rate/core body temperature/sweat electrolyte content/hormone and protein analysis. These measures have been used to build a picture of how athlete’s bodies react to exertion in hot temperatures. The findings of the results, as suggested, will be used to prevent deaths amongst athletes participating in sport.
Back to camp in New Jersey, KSI and Timex teamed up to provide athletes with valuable information for racing and training, and to provide further data for the clever guys at KSI to use for their research.
Professor Doug Casa and his team explained the protocol to us. Simple! Pee in a jar for 24 hours, write down everything you eat and drink and then participate in the heat exertion element of the test. Sounds fine! But then when you are moving from building to building, meeting new people, training, going to cocktail parties and generally going about your business, carrying a jug to pee in everywhere you go can become a little more involved….
When we pitched up at the Metlife Staduim for the party, clutching bottles of urine, no-one turned a hair. Athletes do strange things! We duly left the aforementioned pots in the toilet areas and carried on with the evening. It was a close call when one athlete came back to find the cleaner about to either clean the floor with or dispose of the contents of the pot!
Aside from recording our intake and capturing our urine, we also had to swallow a thermometer. Fortunately the thermometer was only the size of a large vitamin pill, and even more fortunately, we didn’t have to give the thermometer back once the experiment was over (yes, someone did ask that question). Swallowing the thermometer facilitated accurate core temperature analysis, using a hand held monitor during the heat exertion test itself.
The testing was carefully controlled. Pre-test we handed our kit to the KSI team, who took the kit and washed it to rid it of any traces of sweat from previous wearing and any other contaminants such as washing powders. Immediately prior to our exertion test we were handed back our kit. We were weighed and skinfold measurements taken. Our resting heart rate was taken and we gave one further urine sample.
During the test we chose to either ride or run. We were instructed to proceed at race pace, but all of the normal pace and exertion indicators were hidden from us (speed, distance, time, heart rate etc.) and we were not told how long the test would last. Race pace for an unknown time is hard to gauge and I think I went out too hard given my lack of adaptation to the heat.
The exertion test took place in a chamber heated to 35C. For me, this felt fairly warm given that the previous weekend it was around minus 10C in London! During the test we were asked to use the Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion, a 15 point scale (6-20). We used this to rate our level of effort, fatigue, and our perception of body temperature. We were also asked to give an estimate of our heart rate. These indicators were regularly monitored throughout the test.
We were permitted to drink freely during the test, our water bottles were weighed before and after the exercise in order to determine the amount of fluid taken in. We were also encouraged to towel off any sweat, as this should be removed before the final weigh-in (as this was ‘lost’ fluid).
Once the exercise element of the test was completed, we were asked to provide a further urine sample and were re-weighed to determine weight loss through fluids. We then proceeded to be washed down by two assistants! This might sound nice to some, but I can assure you the cold water was not so nice and the wash down took place fully (lycra) clothed, in the training room!
KSI collected the water from our wash downs and took back our clothes, both for further analysis of electrolytes lost.
You may be wondering what the results of the testing showed. For me, I found that I sweat heavily (at least when unconditioned to the heat). I lose 1.9 litres of fluid per hour and 1.52g per litre of sodium. For me, this will be very useful information for training and racing in hot temperatures. This sort of testing is of particular relevance to athletes competing in World Championships in Kona or Las Vegas where temperatures are often close to the testing environment we used.
Below are some findings from the KSI research that I found particularly useful:
- It takes an average of eight days for 90% acclimatisation to occur in heat.
- Hydration is key to maintaining a lower core body temperature.
- During initial acclimatisation sweat rate will increase, and related sodium loss. After the initial period of acclimatisation, sodium loss per litre of sweat will decrease.
- Sodium intake can aid acclimatisation.
- Post exercise ‘icing’, 10-12 minutes is the most beneficial duration, at a temperature of 55-60 F (12.8 – 15.6 C).
Thank you to KSI and to Timex for giving us this fantastic opportunity to learn more about exercising and performing in the heat.
