Athletes training in extreme heat: ‘It gets to us, no matter how fit we are’
Singaporean athletes at the SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, competed in 36 deg C heat. Back home, temperatures hit a joint all-time high of 37 deg C. B.N.B. Diviyadhaarshini, Christine Siow and Rebekah Chia find out how athletes can train safely under such conditions.
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Singapore's Ashriq Zul'Kepli in action during the SEA Games hockey final against Malaysia in Phnom Penh on May 16.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Although SEA Games hockey silver medallist Hariraj Naidu was up against more experienced competitors, the bigger challenge was competing in the blazing heat.
Like him, many athletes struggled with the 36 deg C heat in Phnom Penh
Mr Hari, 23, a member of the Singapore national hockey team, said the final against Malaysia, where Singapore lost 0-3,
He added: “Even before the game started, my skin felt prickly. The heat gets to us, no matter how fit we are.”
In Singapore, temperatures reached 37 deg C on May 13 in Ang Mo Kio,
Dr Dinesh Sirisena, consultant in sports and exercise medicine at Auspicium Orthopaedic Centre in Irrawaddy Road, near Novena, said common signs of heat stress are headache, fatigue and thirst.
He added: “Look out for the following signs of heat stress: blurred vision, loss of consciousness and body temperatures rising above 40 deg C.
“In such an event, immediately get out of the heat, remove any compression attire and aggressively apply cold treatment. Consume cool fluids, and apply ice or cold packs around the neck, groin and under the armpits.”
Mr Mark Onderwater, head of performance at Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors, said: “Our players have struggled to keep up to the training intensity required during extremely hot days. The human body is capable of a lot, but there are limits to what it can take when it comes to heat.”
A Lion City Sailors training session on May 18.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
He added that measures the club has put in place include properly hydrating players before training sessions, providing first-team players with electrolytes, and post-training cold baths to help lower their core temperature.
During the National School Games A Division girls hockey final on Friday,
VJC beat Eunoia Junior College 2-0.
He added that the players now hydrate themselves and stretch more, and have increased their fitness.
He said: “If they are not fit, they may get cramps in this weather.”
Associate Professor Jason Lee Kai Wei, director of the Heat Resilience and Performance Centre at the National University of Singapore’s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, said not all symptoms caused by heat require medical attention.
He added: “Heat cramps, fainting and heat exhaustion are symptoms of heat stress with varying severity. However, heat exhaustion has no long-term medical consequences.”
Prof Lee also warned against consuming too much fluid in an attempt to beat the heat.
“This could lead to low blood sodium levels, and can have dangerous effects in extreme cases. These include rapid brain swelling, which can result in a coma and death.”
The National Environment Agency forecasts temperatures ranging from 33 deg C to 35 deg C for the rest of May.
Prof Lee added: “We must condition ourselves to train in the heat, not reduce training load or avoid the heat. Complete heat acclimatisation occurs over about two weeks, so training in the heat will build your body’s resilience to high heat stress.”
Additional reporting by Kolette Lim
