Body core temperature, in the context of endurance sports, refers to the internal temperature of an athlete’s body. It plays a critical role in regulating various physiological processes during exercise. During endurance activities, the body generates heat as a result of metabolic processes and muscle contractions. To maintain optimal performance and prevent overheating, the body relies on mechanisms such as sweating and heat dissipation through the skin. Monitoring core temperature is crucial because excessively high temperatures can lead to heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
Athletes often establish a critical core temperature, a threshold beyond which performance can be compromised and health risks increase. It varies from person to person. Athletes use various methods to measure core temperature, such as ingestible temperature capsules or wearable sensors.
Heat training, also known as heat acclimatization or heat adaptation, involves exposing athletes to hot and humid conditions during training. This practice helps the body become more efficient at dissipating heat, improving endurance performance in hot environments. It increases sweat rate, reduces core temperature during exercise, and enhances overall heat tolerance.
With MATS you can visualize the recorded data of your CORE sensor and identify correlations to other parameters, e.g. performance.
In summary, monitoring body core temperature is essential in endurance sports to optimize performance and ensure athlete safety. Establishing a critical core temperature threshold helps athletes gauge their limits, while heat training improves their ability to perform in hot conditions by enhancing heat dissipation mechanisms.