Top Endurance

Environmental conditions can influence the performance of even well-trained and prepared athletes. The environment can dramatically increase the physiological stresses encountered during endurance activity. Extremes in temperature and humidity can result in less-than-optimal performance from even elite athletes. In all environmental conditions, athletes should strive to maintain core temperature, fluid balance, and blood glucose levels while maximizing performance. The combination of exercise stresses and environmental stresses does not allow maintenance of homeostasis, but ideally, the athlete’s body can maintain a steady state, or a constant internal environment. Environmental extremes, especially for athletes traveling to unfamiliar environments, make it difficult to maintain a steady state. In response to the heat produced by exercise and the environmental temperature, an athlete’s body works to maintain a constant internal environment by attempting to regulate body temperature.