Exercise training in sweat clothing in cool conditions to improve heat tolerance.

Abstract

Training in sweat clothing in cool conditions has appeal as the most practical and exercise-specific method of improving heat tolerance when athletes cannot achieve natural acclimation to hot conditions prior to competition. However, both early and more recent studies have not provided sufficient evidence to allow a conclusive endorsement of this method. Despite this, it is apparent that training in sweat clothing in cool conditions can induce levels of thermal strain in trained individuals which are very similar to those experienced when the same exercise is performed in hot-humid conditions. Certainly, training in sweat clothing in cool conditions is preferable to attempting no artificial acclimation measures, although statistically significant improvements in heat tolerance beyond those induced by the training itself are rare.