Roussey, G, Bernard, T, Fontanari, P and Louis, J (2021) Heat acclimation training with intermittent and self-regulated intensity may be used as an alternative to traditional steady state and power-regulated intensity in endurance cyclists. Journal of Thermal Biology, 98. ISSN 0306-4565

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Abstract

The study aimed to determine the effects of self-regulated and variable intensities sustained during short-term heat acclimation training on cycling performance. Seventeen competitive-level male athletes performed a twenty-kilometre cycling time trial before (TT-PRE), immediately after (TT-POST1) and one week after (TT-POST2) a 5-day acclimation training program, including either RPE-regulated intermittent (HA-HIT, N=9) or fixed and low-intensity (HA-LOW, N=8) training sessions in the heat (39 °C; 40 % relative humidity). Total training volume was 23 % lower in HA-HIT compared to HA-LOW. Physiological responses were evaluated during a forty-minute fixed-RPE cycling exercise performed before (HST-PRE) and immediately after (HST-POST) heat acclimation. All participants in HA-LOW group tended to improve mean power output from TT-PRE to TT-POST1 (+8.1 ± 5.2 %; ES = 0.55 ± 0.23), as well as eight of the nine athletes in HA-HIT group (+4.3 ± 2.0 %; ES = 0.29 ± 0.31) without difference between groups, but TT-POST2 results showed that improvements were dissipated one week after. Similar improvements in thermal sensation and lower elevations of core temperature in HST-POST following HA-LOW and HA-HIT training protocols suggest that high intensity and RPE regulated bouts could be an efficient strategy for short term heat acclimation protocols, for example prior to the competition. Furthermore, the modest impact of lowered thermal sensation on cycling performance confirms that perceptual responses of acclimated athletes are dissociated from physiological stress when exercising in the heat.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	06 Biological Sciences
Subjects:	R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC1200 Sports Medicine
Divisions:	Sport & Exercise Sciences
Publisher:	Elsevier
Date Deposited:	01 Apr 2021 09:38
Last Modified:	03 Apr 2022 00:50
DOI or ID number:	10.1016/j.jtherbio.2021.102935
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/14731

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