Indoor Cycling and Heat

Training
1

Hi there

I do all my indoor training at the local gym. They have two Watt Bikes but in a corner with no air con anywhere near them so I sweat buckets when I train (I actually sweat buckets even when I cycle outside in 3 degrees as my body temperature runs hot all the time).

I have seen a lot of people note that you lose power when you train indoors without a fan but how big an impact on (for example, a ramp test) will this have please?
I can’t change where the bikes are positioned in the gym so I don’t have a choice but just wondering how hard the heat I’m creating is affecting my workouts.

Thanks in advance

2

The effect is significant.

Very difficult to quantify because everyone’s different and every situation is different, but if you’re “sweating buckets”, there’s no question you’re not getting the full benefit of your efforts.

You are probably getting very well heat adapted, but that won’t help you if your competitors aren’t burning up in a race.

Is there a 110v outlet nearby? I’d bring a fan. Highly doubt anybody would object to that.

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3

Bugger…no plug socket near the bikes.
Heat adaption would be great if it wasn’t 3 degrees outside (before wind chill makes it colder)…despite that I still sweat within about 10 minutes of going out.

I guess if I only test inside, my ramp tests are at least comparable to each other although guess not to useful for outside training
;-/

4

I think you’d be way off with no one objecting. Bringing in an electrical item and plugging in would very much cause alarm.

5

Cordless fan??

Doesn’t say how much air it moves…

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6

I used to work in a gym and I think you would need to get permission and for the fan to be inspected by the gym before they would allow one in. If you plug it in it needs something like a PAC test/certificate and if you bring something that isnt plugged in, the Ops Manager will need to do a safety check on it and then know exactly where it will be positioned in case someone trips over it.
In the meantime I’ll just keep cycling the best I can in my hot n sweaty corner of the gym

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8

I’ll easily step out on the limb and say the fan has nothing to do with any sickness you had training at home or the gym. That is most likely do to any number of factors other than the fan.

Use of a fan for core temp cooling has been shown to increase power and decrease RPE in repeated studies. Accepting that, there can also be a benefit to heat training without a fan. Choose what best suits your personal preference and goals.

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