On heat conditioning/acclimatization

[Octave]

Long story short, my current employment path means I'll be spending a solid amount of time in very hot conditions in the outdoors with a strict requirement for long sleeves, pants, and headwear. There is no air-conditioning escape route. It is demanding physical labor living in the outdoors full time. I don't know anyone specifically on the forum who has a similar line of work, but I do know that many of you ride throughout the summer in hot conditions and some of you work with hot metal indoors (meaning I assume you wear sleeves and headwear and that it is hot). I am thus appealing to the wisdom of the Salon for any tried and true tips or protocols for heat conditioning/acclimatization. Sauna time? Changing up sleep clothing routines? What have I not thought of outside of the obvious (go do hard work in the hottest hours of the day)?

It's been a particularly cool and wet spring in the valley where I live, so simply working hard outdoors in heavy clothes has been good but not as challenging as it would have been last year, when it hit 108f this week. I live mostly outdoors anyways, and we don't have any form of climate control in our home, so I can't just crank up the heat and do jumping jacks. Surely this subject is relevant for anyone who spends summers doing sports in a warming climate, so hopefully my OT-ishness is permissible...

[KonaSS]

I have done heat training from an athletic point of view and had success with it, so would guess that it would translate well. 2 ways of going about:

1. Heat exposure after you are already hot. After a ride, workout, outside work in hot conditions, go into a sauna or hot bath. Start with 5-10s and gradually build up. Drink - this isn't dehydration training, just heat training.
2. Do a ride, workout, outside work in warm conditions and wear extra clothing to simulate additional warmth. Key here is that you shouldn't be killing yourself as far as work rate. If you are familiar with cycling lingo, this is a zone 1 ride. You want to build up internal temp and let it sit there. Not build it up until you combust. Again, drink.

Would guess that these types of techniques would be good for any type of heat adaptation.

[echappist]

Heat acclimation described in item 2 mentioned above is recommended. Putter along on a really hot day (with enough cold water), but just let your body soak up the heat. It's how I would prepare for warm and humid conditions back when I raced on the road.

Other things to consider. Would you be allowed a cooler filled with ice? If so, water bottles that 1/3-filled with frozen water will come in quite handy. There are also cooling vests with phase-change cooling inserts. Those probably have to be replaced every hour, but it should make things a bit more bearable.

[bigbill]

I've done a bunch of deployments in the Persian Gulf region on ships. As an engineer, I spent most of my time in the steam plant where general ambient temps would be around 120 degrees with areas around the turbines at 150. Moving air is your friend, so are coveralls. Coveralls minimize the layers of material to dissipate heat and you can get materials that quickly evaporate. If possible, avoid cotton undergarments. Although I generally despise boxer briefs, they work well in hot temps and help prevent prickly heat. Neck wraps for evaporative cooling and if you're in a hardhat, a broad brim version is desired. If you're in a hardhat, pro tip, unscented panty liners work well on the sweatband. Stick it on and when it gets too dirty, just peel and replace.

[rwsaunders]

Are you handling hot/dirty/dangerous materials as well and are gloves, eye protection and a respirator required? I ask as I spent 5 years working outside in a mill environment and the equipment that I wore there was pretty intense and we were exposed to Mother Nature 12 months a year. Summers were always the worst, in terms of high temperatures, humidity and rain and what I'd recommend in terms of clothing, protection and hydration, might be different from what you'd need.

https://www.acmecoke.com/acme-coke-c...dman-training/

[vertical_doug]

I will throw this out here for anyone that has seen a road crew laying asphalt in Phoenix when it is 110 degrees. Long sleeve light colored shirts, large large brim hats.

Everyone is a little different so you just have to listen to your own body and when you get rest in the shade, rest in the shade.

I'd tell you to go sit in a sauna for 1 hr. I have a 80 C sauna that I will do 30 minutes. It makes riding in high temp easy.