Effects of temperature on muscle performance
Discussion
I rememeber when I jogged an awful lot that it was tiring in very cold condidtions because you are using extra energy just to warm up, let alone the energy to jog.
I'd imagine that muscles work better being warm, but it could just be the denser air, and you fighting to keep warm that's sapping your energy.
What sort of distance are you riding?
I'd imagine that muscles work better being warm, but it could just be the denser air, and you fighting to keep warm that's sapping your energy.
What sort of distance are you riding?
Denser air? Seriously?
Once you're warmed up and assuming we're not talking extremes of temperature here it's actually easier to exercise in the cold. Because of the metabolic heat generated during exercise cold temps do not create anywhere near the same problems when exercising as hot, humid conditions.
Once you're warmed up and assuming we're not talking extremes of temperature here it's actually easier to exercise in the cold. Because of the metabolic heat generated during exercise cold temps do not create anywhere near the same problems when exercising as hot, humid conditions.
pilchardthecat said:
Regiment said:
Muscles perform better when it's hot and recover faster when it's cold.
ThisDon't the phrases 'Muscles perform better when it's hot' and 'Muscles .. recover faster when it's cold.' Mean muscles perform just as well in either temp?
goldblum said:
pilchardthecat said:
Regiment said:
Muscles perform better when it's hot and recover faster when it's cold.
ThisDon't the phrases 'Muscles perform better when it's hot' and 'Muscles .. recover faster when it's cold.' Mean muscles perform just as well in either temp?
It suggests that muscles will do more out of the gate when it's hot, but will be ready to stick in another performance out of the gate more rapidly when it's cold. Not the same thing at all.
Kermit power said:
goldblum said:
pilchardthecat said:
Regiment said:
Muscles perform better when it's hot and recover faster when it's cold.
ThisDon't the phrases 'Muscles perform better when it's hot' and 'Muscles .. recover faster when it's cold.' Mean muscles perform just as well in either temp?
It suggests that muscles will do more out of the gate when it's hot, but will be ready to stick in another performance out of the gate more rapidly when it's cold. Not the same thing at all.
Tell me Mr 'Not to me,no' what effect do cold temperatures have on the re-synthesis/hydrolysis of ATP during sub-maximal aerobic exercise? Do you know? ..Thought not. I do and it has feck all to do with gates or recovery. In fact it's summed up nicely in a previous post..
goldblum said:
Once you're warmed up and assuming we're not talking extremes of temperature here it's actually easier to exercise in the cold. Because of the metabolic heat generated during exercise cold temps do not create anywhere near the same problems when exercising as hot, humid conditions.
Interesting. I thought it was mostly psychological.
I'd have thought: Aren't core, muscle and ambient temperatures different things? Once a muscle is warm it's warm. Doesn't matter what the ambient temperature is. It's only a problem if core temperature starts to get too high, which affects your brain (and motor control) before your muscles.
And doesn't your body just climatise to the environment anyway with the usual reponses from sweating and vasodilation to vasoconstriction and shivering etc. Train continually in the cold and eventually it has no effect (psychologically).
btw, I found my pace on my bike lacking in the cold too, but then I remembered to check my tyre pressures which have dropped in the colder weather too... hey presto, my pace returned!
I'd have thought: Aren't core, muscle and ambient temperatures different things? Once a muscle is warm it's warm. Doesn't matter what the ambient temperature is. It's only a problem if core temperature starts to get too high, which affects your brain (and motor control) before your muscles.
And doesn't your body just climatise to the environment anyway with the usual reponses from sweating and vasodilation to vasoconstriction and shivering etc. Train continually in the cold and eventually it has no effect (psychologically).
btw, I found my pace on my bike lacking in the cold too, but then I remembered to check my tyre pressures which have dropped in the colder weather too... hey presto, my pace returned!
I love it when a poster comes accross as a complete arse.
OP, i find in the cold it takes me far longer to get into it, first 5-6 miles I just have no get up and go in the cold. I notice it especially on big hills.
Once hot, I love riding in the cold - I become a slightly less sweaty mess at the top of big hills =)
OP, i find in the cold it takes me far longer to get into it, first 5-6 miles I just have no get up and go in the cold. I notice it especially on big hills.
Once hot, I love riding in the cold - I become a slightly less sweaty mess at the top of big hills =)
mattikake said:
Interesting. I thought it was mostly psychological.
I'd have thought: Aren't core, muscle and ambient temperatures different things? Once a muscle is warm it's warm.
Well,yes.I'd have thought: Aren't core, muscle and ambient temperatures different things? Once a muscle is warm it's warm.
Unless we're dealing extreme cold/heat then core temps don't really figure in the answer to this post, ie you'd be hypothermic or hyperthermic. But..
mattikake said:
Doesn't matter what the ambient temperature is. It's only a problem if core temperature starts to get too high, which affects your brain (and motor control) before your muscles.
Again yes, if the ambient temperature is high the body can struggle to lose heat. Especially on a humid, windless day. The effects on a body of overheating are many, including the symptoms you've mentioned above.mattikake said:
And doesn't your body just climatise to the environment anyway with the usual reponses from sweating and vasodilation to vasoconstriction and shivering etc. Train continually in the cold and eventually it has no effect (psychologically).
The body's regulatory system, the hypothalmus, adapts to an extent. However when an athlete is cold they simply put more clothes on..when an athlete is too hot and the ambient temperature is high the body struggles to self regulate and heat stroke can be the result if sweating is comprised by lack of breeze/wind to allow for heat exchange. Very dangerous. mattikake said:
I found my pace on my bike lacking in the cold too, but then I remembered to check my tyre pressures which have dropped in the colder weather too... hey presto, my pace returned!
Haha yes. Muscle tissue itself..It used to be thought that the resynthesis of ATP was slowed down by cold temps in the same water molecules gradually do and that this would result in decreased performance, however tests showed that although resynthesis/hydrolysis slowed,there were no changes in metabolic power output. To explain this, it is thought that the fraction of active muscle mass at any given time could increase in the cold, thus compensating for the reduced ATP splitting rate. This means that the aerobic ATP resynthesis in the cold may be carried out at a slower rate by a greater activated muscle mass. This compensation cannot be operational when maximal power is attained, for in this case the instantaneously activated muscle mass is constant and limited. In fact the maximal aerobic power and the maximal instantaneous anaerobic power decrease with decreasing muscle temperature.It's possible a reduction in maximal aerobic power in the cold may be the consequence particularly of a decrease in O2 supply associated with reduced maximal cardiac output and muscle blood flow. On the other hand, it could depend on the reduced rate of ATP hydrolysis.
In summary..If you allow your muscles to get cold by exercising in non appropriate clothing/over-exposure to the elements your maximal aerobic and anaerobic power decreases..but for everyday sub maximal aerobic work the cold will make no difference. On the other hand if you allow yourself to overheat the rate of ATP resynthesis in muscle tissue will be unaffected until you collapse from heatstroke and they body tries and fails to rid excess heat from the vital organs.
goldblum said:
Kermit power said:
goldblum said:
pilchardthecat said:
Regiment said:
Muscles perform better when it's hot and recover faster when it's cold.
ThisDon't the phrases 'Muscles perform better when it's hot' and 'Muscles .. recover faster when it's cold.' Mean muscles perform just as well in either temp?
It suggests that muscles will do more out of the gate when it's hot, but will be ready to stick in another performance out of the gate more rapidly when it's cold. Not the same thing at all.
Tell me Mr 'Not to me,no' what effect do cold temperatures have on the re-synthesis/hydrolysis of ATP during sub-maximal aerobic exercise? Do you know? ..Thought not. I do and it has feck all to do with gates or recovery. In fact it's summed up nicely in a previous post..
goldblum said:
Once you're warmed up and assuming we're not talking extremes of temperature here it's actually easier to exercise in the cold. Because of the metabolic heat generated during exercise cold temps do not create anywhere near the same problems when exercising as hot, humid conditions.
You might know everything there is to know about re-synthesis/hydrolysis of ATP during sub-maximal aerobic exercise, but it doesn't mean you are able to express yourself properly in English if you actually think the phrases 'Muscles perform better when it's hot' and 'Muscles .. recover faster when it's cold.' mean muscles perform just as well in either temp, as quite clearly they don't mean the same thing.
The phrase "muscles perform better when it's hot" would suggest that I'd be better off carrying out a sustained exercise in hot weather, whereas "muscles recover faster when it's cold" suggests that I'd be better off doing short, repetitive tasks spaced over time in cold weather. Either of those statements might be true, or they might be false - I didn't know, which is why I started the thread - but they definitely don't both say "muscles perform just as well in either temperature".
Let me rephrase what I said. The common thinking is that if you're doing a physical activity I.e. running, you're muscles will perform better in warmer weather than in colder weather. The Velodrome during the Olympics was kept at a constant and quite warm temperature because it'd allow cyclists to perform better and make it more likely to get a world record.
When you're muscles are recovering, they'll recover quicker after you've finished exercising when it's very cold I.e. bathing in ice so you'll be able to get back to training quicker. So for example, you finish a heavy couple of hours of boxing, lots of bag work, sparring, etc, you go back to the changing rooms and jump straight into an ice bath. There was also a special glove that I saw a couple of years back that someone had come up with, when you do a set of weights at the gym, you put the glove on which is refrigerated and cools down your blood for a minute and then take it off and do another set, it was supposedly proven that you could do more reps the second set doing this than if you didn't wear the glove.
Edit:
BBC article explaining the science behind ice baths.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/treatment...
Been trying to find an article explaining performing better in hot weather and all I can find is that the body generally sits at 37C, performs best at 39C and then heat stroke hits at 40C but that people not acclimatised to the warmer weather will feel sluggish as ther body will hit the higher temperature of 40 to quick and will try to regulate itself by slowing your down. From personal experience though, i feel more comfortable training in a warm gym than a cold gym.
When you're muscles are recovering, they'll recover quicker after you've finished exercising when it's very cold I.e. bathing in ice so you'll be able to get back to training quicker. So for example, you finish a heavy couple of hours of boxing, lots of bag work, sparring, etc, you go back to the changing rooms and jump straight into an ice bath. There was also a special glove that I saw a couple of years back that someone had come up with, when you do a set of weights at the gym, you put the glove on which is refrigerated and cools down your blood for a minute and then take it off and do another set, it was supposedly proven that you could do more reps the second set doing this than if you didn't wear the glove.
Edit:
BBC article explaining the science behind ice baths.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/treatment...
Been trying to find an article explaining performing better in hot weather and all I can find is that the body generally sits at 37C, performs best at 39C and then heat stroke hits at 40C but that people not acclimatised to the warmer weather will feel sluggish as ther body will hit the higher temperature of 40 to quick and will try to regulate itself by slowing your down. From personal experience though, i feel more comfortable training in a warm gym than a cold gym.
Edited by Regiment on Tuesday 22 January 13:05
Regiment said:
The common thinking is that if you're doing a physical activity I.e. running, you're muscles will perform better in warmer weather than in colder weather. The Velodrome during the Olympics was kept at a constant and quite warm temperature because it'd allow cyclists to perform better and make it more likely to get a world record.
There is an optimal working temperature for muscles, certainly. However if you wear the correct clothing when it's cold, and heat exchange is allowed to occur when it's warm the physiology and chemical reactions in the muscles doesn't change and they work in exactly the same way. Regiment said:
When your muscles are recovering, .. Bathing in ice
Yes ice has an acknowledged anti-inflammatory effect. Most beneficial to athletes involved in endurance sports such as running or cycling, contact sports etc. It would be interesting to see the effects of ice on DOMS: I'm sure any inflammation would be eased but as the tearing and healing of muscle fibres during weight training takes approx. 48hrs anyway to complete it's cycle I'm not sure the effort and unpleasantness would be worth it.Kermit power said:
Blimey. Who flicked your "condescending bellend" switch?
I have no idea what you're talking about, don't be so sensitive I'm just pulling your leg a bit..Anyway, Because you seem to have trouble understanding long words/grown up concepts I'll answer your OP in as succinct a manner as possible..
Kermit power said:
Simple question... How does temperature affect muscle performance?
I can't figure out if I'm so slow on my bike at the moment because I was off it for 4 weeks until last week, because it's so damned cold, or a mixture of the two?
Assuming you were dressed correctly for the conditions ..It's because you were off for 4 weeks. I can't figure out if I'm so slow on my bike at the moment because I was off it for 4 weeks until last week, because it's so damned cold, or a mixture of the two?
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