how hot is too hot to workout?

I was going to say that I never found it to be too hot to get at least a short workout in, but I've never experienced 106 degree temps. Sheesh. 

In TX I have to either go out in the morning or the evening, as the 100 degree temps during the day will just take it out of you! I would do some type of interval training through and just keep it to an hour.

That being said - what is with the heat in the Northwest lately? I've got Ironman Canada in a couple weeks and I'd really prefer not to race is 100 degree temps!

yeah, i guess global warming isn't a hoax?! record temps yesterday. . but we also had a ton of snow during december, so i guess it is just a crazy weather year!  up here though, people freak out when it is this hot. . since very few homes have AC.  however, i am in the AC market and this heat is good for our business!

I have had NO energy to work out during this heat wave ... even if the temp cooled off enough to get a short run in, my body is too drained to even think of moving. I've been eating right, drinking TONS of water - but it's just too much. I overheat with very little exertion.

Quite a few of my clients have said the same thing - the Exercise part of their logs have been empty - how can I get angry with them for not running/cycling/whatever when it's too hot to move?!?!

We're just not used to it. It does get quite warm here over the summers, but this is the hottest it's been since the 40's.

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100 degrees is the cutoff for me.

NO .. no dry ... the humidex puts us up around 105-110 most days lately ... no wind whatsoever ... just ... air so thick I can feel my body moving thru it. It wouldn't be bad at all if there was some kind of short reprieve, but so few people have AC and it's not cooling off at night. Truthfully I love the heat. But this is a bit much, even for me.

The last few days we have been told to stay inside as the air quality is so bad due to the heat .. on the mainland (Vancouver) I see it .. but even here on my pure little Island it's become a problem.

Stats are showing a higher than average temps in the NW US and lower than average temps in the Midwest and East this year.  So, while not global warming, definitely a climate change this year.  But the climate's always changing right?

As for how hot is too hot.  It's all about pacing and hydration.  106, cycling is more possible than running, running sprints while taking regular drinks is probably better than running 5 miles at tempo.  I've had to do a lot of getting used-to heat down here.  It sux in the middle of the summer, you walk out of your house and start sweating!

There has not been a limit yet and I routinely workout in 100-110 degree weather - even up to 115.

Proper preperation and hydration and you are ok.  Granted, it takes a lot out of you and expect your bike and run pace to be a lot slower than if it was 70 degrees.

When You're old and skinny like me you will learn to appreciate the warm sun.  On the other hand, anything below 70°F I wear sweatpants and a hoodie.

Have you done much outside of Michigan?  Where did you run/ride that it was that hot?

It does get too hot to go running.  I've tried in the summer here and in the summer in Iraq.  It sux you have to take precautions, hydrate, wear light colored-clothes, etc.

Depends on the heat index, your body's tolerance and your fluid in take etc.  If you don't feel good under the heat, cut short your workout.  A heat stroke can be deadly. 
Only HTFU when it's safe. 

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I normally don't have any issues running in the middle of the day here when it is in the 80's.  But this week I pushed out my run on Monday and Tuesday, it was just too hot.  I couldn't take it any longer on Wednesday and went for a short run.  The first 3 miles was ok, the second 3 miles was just too hot and on several occasions I had to walk for short distances (I NEVER do this).

I plan on riding tonight, but it has cooled back down a little here and it doesn't feel quite so hot today as it did yesterday.

Michael

Not much outside of Michigan. A little running in Florida and some in Vegas. I just made those numbers up.
I did a sprint here in June it was 96 and humid, I had an advantage because most of the people were slowed by the weather.  The next sprint here in mid July was 68° I froze, yet most said it was a perfect day.

No highs for biking and running

You are just forced to slow down since the HR rises when the temps are creeping into the 115's. The weather station says it is 110 but 3 feet above the pavement with that sun blazing on yuh at 4pm, I bet it is a bit warmer than that. Myweekly 40-50 mile middle distance bike is done at that time. You get use to drinking 90 degree H20. Nothing is better then October/November when the temps start cooling and you run pace starts dropping, ain't that right fellow phoenicians.


There is a limit on swimming for me when it is too hot

I couldn't take it anymore, I broke down and got a fitness membership 2 weeks ago so the lap water is a nice 80 degrees. Before I always swam outdoors in a small 3 lane 3 feet lap pool and the water temp was usually around93- 95 degrees. I hated swimming when it was that hot.






Edited by Focker 2009-07-30 1:43 PM

Sure, there is *some* acclimatization to be found running in the heat and it could become more bearable for me in running and it does get better as the summer progresses.  I still tend to avoid 'high sun' times. I will go out in the morning .  The other big thing is if i do run in the heat but i will avoid running anything with intensity so no tempo or speed work. Frankly, running in the heat is a way to increase the amount of recovery time one needs.  No need to push so hard. If i have a hard workout that could be on the treadmill and i feel i need to get done and I can't get out in the morning I will go inside.  Same goes for the opposite with the snowy, slippery, icy conditions we get in winter but I really hate the treadmill.

I don't have enough time training on the bike yet to comment on that.

No limit for me so far. We had three weeks in June where the high temps were 100+ every day. I got out there... every day.

Like someone else said, you need to slow down, allow yourself to stop in the shade if needed, wear the right clothing, and hydrate.

I'm the wuss of the thread, I guess... it's never too COLD for me to go outside, but I don't deal with heat well to the point where I've gotten heatstroke a few times when I wasn't even doing anything particularly active.

I don't run if it's hotter than 85 degrees F outside, or I will vomit.  I haven't ever decided it was too hot for the bike, since it's been not that hot of a summer, but I don't think I would want to bike if it was above 95 or so.  

For me, I don't like to bike when it is above 95 degrees and I'm not much of a fan of running above 88 degrees. Generally speaking Colorado has large temperature swings between early morning and midafternoon so it is fairly easy to find a time to train outside those uncomfortable temperature ranges.

Anything between below 212F is fair game for working out.  I draw the line when my water bottle starts to boil.