Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Just a question out of interest more than anything else...
Yesterday I rode in the afternoon, rather than early morning with the temp around 29 degrees and I bonked on what is my usual ride (I know it wasn't just the heat but also what I'd eaten through the day etc), but it got me thinking - what is the optimum temperature for training (as far as your body's concerned)?
Don't know if something like this would alter with varying levels of fitness or if our bodies are "programmed" to work best in xx degree heat...

I realised I was being lazy by not Googling this myself... so here's what I've found in case you were curious..

"In a workout, we want to lose heat at a quick enough rate, so that the muscles fail because of maximal inroading, not because of heat buildup. By the time your body has to resort to an evaporative heat-loss mechanism, it is already too late. You will fatigue prematurely because of heat buildup. If the temperature is at an ideal 61 degrees, you can effectively lose exercise-related heat buildup through conduction and convection. At the beginning of your workout, it feels uncomfortably chilly, but by the conclusion of your workout, it will feel perfect to you and you will not have a drop of sweat on you. More importantly, you will have inroaded as efficiently as possible and given your body the greatest stimulus for improvement possible."
http://www.ultimate-exercise.com/pb5.html

There were a few other articles that varied slightly - but I liked the "MD" after this guys name

It seems that ideal temp for exercise is between 18-22 degrees.

Nix wrote:
It seems that ideal temp for exercise is between 18-22 degrees.

I prefer the temp to be a couple of degrees cooler than the lower figure quoted there. Even in Winter when the temp is in the negative figures I sweat when doing hard training such as hill repeats.

20 degrees and not a tornado in sight. I think humidity affects me more than the temperature though

Wayfarer wrote: I think humidity affects me more than the temperature though

+1

justD wrote:

Wayfarer wrote: I think humidity affects me more than the temperature though

+1

+2

scoulr05 wrote:

justD wrote:

Wayfarer wrote: I think humidity affects me more than the temperature though

+1

+2

I'll +3 that - but also really cold temps get me too... this morning it was below 10 and it felt like I was breathing acid on my first hill...