Women's Locker Room

Some interesting research out of Stanford about saunas and sports performance. One of the body's biggest physiological adaptations to exercise, particularly endurance exercise in the heat, is getting better at dealing with the considerable heat generated internally by muscle contractions. We have a great triathlete on our swimming team, and he can last forever in the steam bath and sauna. I quipped once that this was probably a great form of "training" that was giving him an advantage over this tri competitors. He later found the Stanford references, which I might be able to track down if there is any interest... To sum up: Ahelee, you might feel lazy sitting around in the sauna. But you might actually be getting in shape in a new way! Not all gains come at the expense of pains! Interesting, I heat up when I do longer swims & my performance is effected by my ability to keep cool. I noticed on longer swims my full B70 held more heat. I also prefer to work out with out a cap. I thought it would be interesting to throw a bunch of ice in the pool to keep the water in the resting section cooler

So this is an endorsement of bikram yoga then? :) Yes, I suppose it is. I came across some reference in an ex phys journal article that made mention of how a significant part of the training effect is simply getting better at dealing with heat. You don't usually think of sports like swimming or cross country skiing as "hot", but if you've ever gotten out of the pool, or off the snow, and continued to sweat for the next hour, you know your body is overheated from the internal muscle contractions. It would be interesting to see if bikram yoga would have a positive effect on swimming. I suspect it would not be terribly important for sprints, but it could really affect long distance stuff of the sort Andre mentioned. You would think hot yoga would be more effective than passive sauna exposure. But then again, a lot of what seems intuitively correct is not always so. More study needed! Interesting, I heat up when I do longer swims & my performance is effected by my ability to keep cool. I noticed on longer swims my full B70 held more heat. I also prefer to work out with out a cap. I thought it would be interesting to throw a bunch of ice in the pool to keep the water in the resting section cooler Our pool is often too warm for comfort--84 or 85 degrees. It's particularly onerous of distance days. The only consolation I have managed to give myself is that perhaps this is forcing more heat adaptation to occur, and when I get to race in more hospitable temperatures, I will benefit. But who knows? They used to think training at altitude was an advantage. Now it's known that this may help some blood changes that should theoretically be beneficial, but you can't work out hard enough at altitude to get other, and arguably more important, changes associated with being in peak condition.

Our pool is often too warm for comfort--84 or 85 degrees. It's particularly onerous of distance days. The only consolation I have managed to give myself is that perhaps this is forcing more heat adaptation to occur, and when I get to race in more hospitable temperatures, I will benefit. But who knows? It's ONLY 84-85 degrees? :laugh2: :lmao::rofl: I can only wish our pool would get down to the too-hot 84 degrees I was swimming in before I returned from my trip to Alaska! Since I've been back, the heat was turned off, but water temp. has climbed from 86 to 88, since Saturday, due to the greenhouse effect (our pool is indoors). :shakeshead: :cry::help: :whiteflag: I keep trying to CONVINCE myself it will do me good to train in an adverse environment, but my mind is willing and my body ain't. With my heat intolerance (medical) issues, I feel like I'm taking one step forward and two steps back.... :afraid:

It would be interesting to see if bikram yoga would have a positive effect on swimming. I suspect it would not be terribly important for sprints, but it could really affect long distance stuff of the sort Andre mentioned. You would think hot yoga would be more effective than passive sauna exposure. But then again, a lot of what seems intuitively correct is not always so. More study needed! Some endurance athletes use saunas for heat adaptation. I've even heard of people exercising in the sauna, doing stuff like running in place for 10 minutes. If you live in a moderate climate and you're training for an event like Ironman Hawaii or the Badwater 135, you need to find a way to get used to the heat. Take your run at the hottest part of the day, schedule a training camp somewhere hot, etc. One of the reasons that Ironman Arizona moved from April to November was so that athletes from cooler parts of the country could train for it in the summer, rather than the winter. BIG difference.

Yesterday the heat index here was well over 100 degrees. I think that the high temperature was about 101 for the day. Good grief. I was in the locker room changing into my suit, getting ready to head to the pool, when another woman asked me how to get to the sauna. I told her that she had to go through the showers and onto the pool deck...but after I told her this and she walked away, I thought why would she want to go into a sauna when it is blazing hot outside? Just go out to the parking lot and sit for a while, it would be the same! I was inside to get away from the heat.

Yesterday the heat index here was well over 100 degrees. I think that the high temperature was about 101 for the day. Good grief. I was in the locker room changing into my suit, getting ready to head to the pool, when another woman asked me how to get to the sauna. I told her that she had to go through the showers and onto the pool deck...but after I told her this and she walked away, I thought why would she want to go into a sauna when it is blazing hot outside? Just go out to the parking lot and sit for a while, it would be the same! I was inside to get away from the heat. She just needed to put a bucket of water in her car and sit for a bit. Our saunas are in the locker rooms and some older (60's maybe) lady keeps getting naked and changed in there. Yea.. I'll never go in that sauna!

Came across these while perusing the Internet today. Wearing these might save me some time getting ready in the morning. ;) www.hightideheels.be/.../droppedImage.jpg :lmao:

Do most women wear flip flops or something on their feet in the locker room?

Came across these while perusing the Internet today. Wearing these might save me some time getting ready in the morning. ;) www.hightideheels.be/.../droppedImage.jpg

Leslie and Evilwatersprite, A friend of mine is moving back to his family's home in Vienna. He has been swimming for years with the U. Pitt masters swimming team, though he does so mainly for exercise (I don't think he swam as a kid.) Anyhow, are there Vienna-based teams that are accommodating to less than world-class swimmers such as yourselves? If so, I will refer Yiu to you (pronounced "u2u").