We all tend to have preferred temperatures for our cycling, but is there a best temperature physiologically for exercise? And might there be a difference between men and women?Snow, rain, cold wind, grey skies…. Just no!We all have our weather Kryptonite when it comes to cycling – that set of conditions that makes your ride feel absolutely dreadful. For me, my Kryptonite are those days of 2-4C, grey skies with no sun to warm me, and howling cold winds that seem to cut right through me no matter how I bundle up. I actually rather ride in a sunny but sub-freezing day.A lot of this preference or dislike comes down to personal experience and cultural background. But is there a physiological component too? Does your physical capacity change depending on temperature?Click on the video below!ReferencesSandsund M et al. Effect of ambient temperature on endurance performance while wearing cross-country skiing clothing. Eur J Appl Physiol. 112(12):3939-3947, 2012.Renberg J et al. Effect of ambient temperature on female endurance performance. J Thermal Biol. 45:9-14, 2014.TranscriptLike the baby bear in the fairy tale The Three Bears, we generally like things at a happy medium, and that applies to many of us having a favourite temperatures to exercise in. But does our physiology and actual performance work best at a certain ambient temperature?In todays episode, well look at two studies that tested men and women exercising at a wide range of temperatures. Was there an optimal temperature for exercise, and was that temperature similar for…
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