A home-based overdressing protocol helped trained women improve heat performance after 10 sessions, with further gains after three weeks of maintenance.
Heat resilience is built through repeated, deliberate exposure. This study asked a practical question for trained females: after an initial block of heat acclimation, can the adaptation be maintained, and can it continue to develop.
HA was induced with home‐based stationary cycling while overdressing.
The protocol was intentionally simple. The experimental group completed 10 heat acclimation sessions across two weeks using home-based stationary cycling while overdressed, creating a controlled heat stress without requiring a laboratory or climate chamber.
That matters because athletes need protocols they can sustain. Travel, training schedules, and access to specialist facilities often interrupt heat preparation; a home-based ritual gives the athlete more agency and a clearer path to consistency.
The control group trained differently. They completed heart-rate-matched sessions in thermoneutral conditions, which allowed the researchers to separate the effect of heat exposure from the effect of training load itself.
The distinction is central. Both groups worked, but only one group trained under added heat strain; the study tested whether that specific strain could create a durable adaptation, not whether cycling alone improves fitness.
Testing took place at three points: before the acclimation block, after the initial two weeks, and again after three weeks of maintenance. The researchers labeled these moments PRE, MID, and POST, giving the study a clear view of both short-term adaptation and what happened after the maintenance phase.
The performance tests were precise. Peak power output was measured in temperate 18°C conditions, then participants completed a 20 km time trial in heat set at 35°C with 45% relative humidity.
This design matters because performance has two faces. Temperate testing shows whether power improves outside the heat, while the hot time trial shows whether the body can protect output when thermal strain rises.
The researchers also tracked the body’s response during the time trial. Rectal temperature, mean skin temperature, heart rate, peak cardiac output, sweat rate, and hemoglobin mass gave a broad picture of thermal stress, cardiovascular demand, fluid loss, and blood-related adaptation.
The clearest performance signal appeared in the experimental group. Peak power output increased from PRE to MID and POST, and hot time-trial times decreased across the same points; the control group did not show the same change.
That result gives the protocol weight. Ten sessions of overdressed cycling at home produced meaningful heat acclimation in trained females, and the gains carried into both temperate power and hot-condition performance.
The maintenance phase did more than preserve what the first block created. After three additional weeks and nine maintenance sessions, the experimental group improved hot time-trial performance further, showing that heat adaptation can continue to mature when exposure remains deliberate.
This is the most useful insight for athletes preparing beyond a single event week. Heat work does not need to disappear after the initial acclimation phase; when placed with intention, maintenance can deepen the performance benefit.
Sweat rate also changed in a meaningful direction. It increased only in the experimental group from PRE to POST, which supports the idea that continued heat exposure improved the body’s practical ability to manage hot exercise.
Other physiological markers remained stable. Core temperature, skin temperature, heart rate, and peak cardiac output did not show disruptive rises across the study, suggesting the improved performance was not achieved by carrying greater strain.
Hemoglobin mass did not increase in the experimental group. That boundary is important: heat acclimation and maintenance supported thermal resistance and performance, but they did not create the blood-volume-related adaptation measured through hemoglobin mass.
The practical takeaway is refined, not exaggerated. For trained females, a home-based overdressing protocol can build heat acclimation in 10 sessions, and three weeks of maintenance can amplify performance in the heat.
HA M suffices to further develop thermal resistance
We value protocols that fit real training lives. This study points toward a clear one: deliberate heat exposure, repeated with consistency, can help you carry more composure and output into hot conditions.