>
Article snippet: There are many ways to cope with exercising in hot weather. But one of the most effective may be, surprisingly, to soak in long, hot baths in the days beforehand, according to a well-timed new study of how best to prepare for athletic competitions in the heat. Across the United States and much of the Northern hemisphere, summer temperatures are spiking, which can make outdoor exercise grueling. When it is hot, our hearts labor to shunt more blood to the skin, which allows internal heat to dissipate but also leaves us feeling fatigued and logy, and potentially at risk for heat illnesses, ranging from nausea to grievous heat stroke. Scientists and coaches have come up with many ways to help athletes cope with the heat. Some involve a process known as precooling, which entails drinking icy beverages or applying ice to the skin before exercise, on the assumption that we can better withstand high temperatures outside by lowering our body’s internal or skin temperature before we start. Other strategies emphasize heat acclimation, which is the slower process of adapting to high temperatures over the course of days or weeks. During heat acclimation, your body changes in many ways, including starting to sweat earlier and more profusely, which helps to reduce the buildup of internal heat and ease the demands on your heart. But while many past studies have looked at the impacts of either precooling or longer-term heat acclimation on exercise in the heat, fewer have compared... Link to the full article to read more