I understand the draw to classes like Hot yoga or Hot Pilates. You think, "Hey, my muscles will be warm. I'll burn more calories. I'll feel more flexible. What's there not to like?" Unfortunately, there's a VERY big difference between warming up your skin and muscles at a local/more peripheral level through simply contracting and relaxing your muscles and heating up your core/central temperature of your internal organs (like inducing fever) with hot rooms like hot yoga or hot Pilates classes. We do want our muscles to be warm, but we need our central temperature to stay within a more narrow window. Here are some reasons to consider if working out in a heated room could be hindering your progress, not helping it.
IT IS HARDER TO CONTRACT MUSCLES ADEQUATELY.
Neuromuscular function decreases as central/ core temperature increases. So, you are not able to connect mind to muscle as well because proprioception is hindered.
2. MORE SWEAT DOES NOT = A BETTER WORKOUT.
Sweat is your body's attempt to cool you down. But, if the room is too hot, sweat won't evaporate off your skin as effectively ie you just keep sweating which increases your core temperature and dehydrates you.
3. YOU COULD BE OVERLY STRESSING YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM.
Because your nervous system's #1 goal is to keep you safe, your body will prioritize regulating your internal temperature over producing higher quality muscle contractions. So, you're essentially spending more energy for less payout.
4. YOU HAVE A FALSE SENSE OF MOBILITY.
Having more flexibility in hot rooms is not often not a good thing because it gives people a false sense of mobility. Because you don't have the neuromuscular control around that bigger range of motion, it can lead to overstretching connective tissue and possible injury and chronic pain (especially true for hyper mobile individuals).
According to most experts, 68-72 degrees Farenheit is the optimal temperature for working out indoors. Of course, if you're a few degrees above that, don't panic. Just aim to keep the temperature comfortable (ie not too hot and not too cold).
Ultimately, if your goal with exercise is to build lean muscle, I would recommend focusing on stressing your muscles by adequately loading them WITHOUT overly stressing your overall system with heated workouts. For workouts like this that help you train smarter, not just harder, visit KORE | KINECT.
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