A heat acclimation protocol for team sports

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Sunderland, C. ORCID: 0000-0001-7484-1345, Morris, J.G. and Nevill, M.E. ORCID: 0000-0003-2498-9493, 2008. A heat acclimation protocol for team sports. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 42, pp. 327-333. ISSN 0306-3674

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Official URL: http://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2006.034207

Abstract

Background: It is well documented that heat acclimation of 6 or more sessions of at least 60 min duration prolongs the time to exhaustion during endurance walking, cycling and running in the heat. However, this type of acclimation is not specific to team sport activity and the effect of acclimation on prolonged high intensity intermittent running has not yet been investigated.

Objective: To assess the impact of an intermittent acclimation protocol on distance run during team sport activity.

Methods: The impact of 4 short heat acclimation sessions (30 – 45 min of the Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle Test; LIST) on high-intensity intermittent running capacity (LIST) in the heat (30oC, 27% RH), was examined. Seventeen female welltrained games players were split into 3 groups; an acclimation group (30oC, 24% RH), a moderate training group (18oC, 41% RH), and a control group who did not complete any training between the main trials (pre- and post-acclimation). The pre- (A) and post-acclimation (B) trials were separated by 28 days to control for menstrual phase and verified using hormonal analysis. The 4 acclimation or moderate training sessions utilising the LIST were completed with one or two rest days interspersed between each session in a 10-day period prior to the post-acclimation trial (B).

Results: In the post-acclimation trial distance run was increased by 33% in the acclimation group (A: 7703 ± 1401 vs B: 10215 ± 1746m; interaction group x trial P<0.05), but was unchanged in the moderate and control groups. The acclimation group had a lower rectal temperature (interaction group x trial x time P<0.01) due to a lower rate of rise, and an increase in thermal comfort [1] after acclimation (End A: 7 ± 2 vs 6 ± 2; interaction group x trial P<0.01). There was no difference in serum 3 progesterone, aldosterone or cortisol concentrations following acclimation or between groups.

Conclusion: Four 30-45 min sessions of intermittent exercise induced acclimation, and resulted in an improvement in intermittent running exercise capacity in female games players. A lower rectal temperature and a concomitant rise in thermal comfort may be partly responsible for the improvement in exercise capacity.

Item Type:

Journal article

Alternative Title:

Heat acclimation and team sports [running title]

Publication Title:

British Journal of Sports Medicine

Creators:

Sunderland, C., Morris, J.G. and Nevill, M.E.

Publisher:

Elsevier (not including Cell Press)

Date:

2008