Is heat a factor?

LivyJo
LivyJo Posts: 355 Member
edited September 19 in Fitness and Exercise
Just curious if the temp of the environment you are in when you work out factors into your calories burned. Like going for a bike ride outside in 90 degree heat as compared to working out inside in an airconditioned gym. Thoughts?

P.S. My head feels like its going to explode after my bike ride. I pushed myself to climb a hill that I did not expect to even attempt! Didn't rest once! yay me :drinker:

Replies

  • SaraAnne
    SaraAnne Posts: 53
    I'm glad you asked, I've always wondered that too. I just finished cutting the lawn: it's hot, humid, and I'm waaaaay more tired than usual... It'd be great if heat did factor in and equaled more calories burned! (:
  • acrylicrocks
    acrylicrocks Posts: 33
    It always makes me feel better that you sweat more when its hot. If it doesn't have any added calorie burning advantage I do feel like it helps get more toxins out. Who knows?
  • cdwinters
    cdwinters Posts: 48 Member
    My trainer told me that heat is not a factor. She said that the amount you sweat has no bearing on how hard you are working out or how many calories you have burned. Sweating is just your body's way of keeping itself cool:(
  • Cindysunshine
    Cindysunshine Posts: 1,188 Member
    I live in Odessa Texas. We have 100 + degree days quite often. I have a heart rate monitor. A Polar F6. I burn more calories on a 100 + degree day walking my miles than I do when I walk after the sun sets . I walk the exact same distance in the exact same time allotment. I also wondered about this. It seems to me that my body has to work harder during the heat thus burning more calories. I'm curious to see all the answers. Cindy :heart:
  • Alafia22
    Alafia22 Posts: 112
    OMG you read my mind.... I was gonna ask the same thing today. I sweat up a storm when I work out, but I wanted to know how to tell the difference between "working hard sweating" and "it's too damn hot in here sweating"

    Thanks for asking....
  • LivyJo
    LivyJo Posts: 355 Member
    is there a dr in the house? lol.

    i can't wait until fall....working out outside is sooooo much more enjoyable then!
  • j4nash
    j4nash Posts: 1,719 Member
    yes but not that much to make really big difference.
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    "Although exercising in hot weather can be uncomfortable for some, it does appear to increase calorie burn. When it's hot outside, your heart has to pump harder to cool off the hard working muscles along with the rest of the body. It does this by pumping more blood to the extremities so that the heat can be released in the form of sweat. If you stop to check your heart rate when exercising in hot weather, you'll usually find that it's higher than when you do the same routine under cooler conditions. Since exercising in the heat also places additional stress on the heart, it provides additional cardiovascular and fat burning benefits. Some well trained athletes take advantage of this fact by putting on a sweatshirt or other heavy clothing at the gym to make their workout harder and burn more calories and fat."

    http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1815702/do_you_burn_more_calories_exercising.html?cat=50

    __

    I've also read that working out in the heat suppresses your post-workout appetite.
  • isadoraworkman
    isadoraworkman Posts: 205 Member
    It has always been my understanding that you burn more in cold weather...for example...if you are running in -10degrees celcius, your body is working to keep warm as well as working to run...so ergo, you burn more calories.
    Cheers,
    A
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    "Although exercising in hot weather can be uncomfortable for some, it does appear to increase calorie burn. When it's hot outside, your heart has to pump harder to cool off the hard working muscles along with the rest of the body. It does this by pumping more blood to the extremities so that the heat can be released in the form of sweat. If you stop to check your heart rate when exercising in hot weather, you'll usually find that it's higher than when you do the same routine under cooler conditions. Since exercising in the heat also places additional stress on the heart, it provides additional cardiovascular and fat burning benefits. Some well trained athletes take advantage of this fact by putting on a sweatshirt or other heavy clothing at the gym to make their workout harder and burn more calories and fat."

    http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1815702/do_you_burn_more_calories_exercising.html?cat=50

    __

    I've also read that working out in the heat suppresses your post-workout appetite.

    The increased heart rate that occurs when exercising in the heat does not necessarily represent an increase in aerobic intensity. It is important to remember that heart rate is only an indirect measurement of exercise intensity. It is only reliable when it accurately reflects changes in oxygen uptake (the real measure of intensity). The increase in heart rate that occurs during exercising in hot weather (assuming equal exercise workloads) is due primarily to increases in core body temperature and decreases in plasma volume due to dehydration. So the heart may be working harder, but not necessarily the rest of the body.

    Therefore any increase in calorie expenditure that occurs from exercising in the heat is going to be modest at best. And, in reality, even if the rate of calorie burn is modestly increased, the total calories expended during the exercise session will most likely be significantly reduced, since heat is much more likely to significantly affect intensity and duration.

    In other words, you may burn a tiny fraction more calories per minute for the same given workload by exercising in the heat, but if the temperature is hot enough to result in any noticeable increase, your total calories for the workout will almost certainly be dramatically decreased because you cannot work out as hard or as long.

    I read the article you cited and I was kind of stunned that someone claiming to have medical training would write something like that. A statement such as this:

    "Some well trained athletes take advantage of this fact by putting on a sweatshirt or other heavy clothing at the gym to make their workout harder and burn more calories and fat."

    is so irresponsible, it borders on malpractice, IMO.
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    "Although exercising in hot weather can be uncomfortable for some, it does appear to increase calorie burn. When it's hot outside, your heart has to pump harder to cool off the hard working muscles along with the rest of the body. It does this by pumping more blood to the extremities so that the heat can be released in the form of sweat. If you stop to check your heart rate when exercising in hot weather, you'll usually find that it's higher than when you do the same routine under cooler conditions. Since exercising in the heat also places additional stress on the heart, it provides additional cardiovascular and fat burning benefits. Some well trained athletes take advantage of this fact by putting on a sweatshirt or other heavy clothing at the gym to make their workout harder and burn more calories and fat."

    http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1815702/do_you_burn_more_calories_exercising.html?cat=50

    __

    I've also read that working out in the heat suppresses your post-workout appetite.

    The increased heart rate that occurs when exercising in the heat does not necessarily represent an increase in aerobic intensity. It is important to remember that heart rate is only an indirect measurement of exercise intensity. It is only reliable when it accurately reflects changes in oxygen uptake (the real measure of intensity). The increase in heart rate that occurs during exercising in hot weather (assuming equal exercise workloads) is due primarily to increases in core body temperature and decreases in plasma volume due to dehydration. So the heart may be working harder, but not necessarily the rest of the body.

    Therefore any increase in calorie expenditure that occurs from exercising in the heat is going to be modest at best. And, in reality, even if the rate of calorie burn is modestly increased, the total calories expended during the exercise session will most likely be significantly reduced, since heat is much more likely to significantly affect intensity and duration.

    In other words, you may burn a tiny fraction more calories per minute for the same given workload by exercising in the heat, but if the temperature is hot enough to result in any noticeable increase, your total calories for the workout will almost certainly be dramatically decreased because you cannot work out as hard or as long.

    I read the article you cited and I was kind of stunned that someone claiming to have medical training would write something like that. A statement such as this:

    "Some well trained athletes take advantage of this fact by putting on a sweatshirt or other heavy clothing at the gym to make their workout harder and burn more calories and fat."

    is so irresponsible, it borders on malpractice, IMO.

    Eeek. lol
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