Question: Have you got an idea of what the optimum temperature or conditions are for the human body to work in? Also do we work better in extremely hot conditions or extremely cold conditions better? What effect does excersising at high altitudes have on your body? Do people from different nationalities or people who origionate from different types of places cope better in extreme conditions? Thanks

Alan Richardson answered on 18 Jun 2013:

Lots of questions there!

1. The body has evolved to worked in ‘normal’ temperatures, studies have suggested a temperature of between 10 and 13C are the optimum temperatures to play field sports. Sprint activities would be slightly warmer conditions.
2. The cold has less of an impact on the body than heat in regards to fatigue, although sprint activity is reduced more in the cold than the hot.
3. Exercise at altitude is physically harder due to the need to get more oxygen to the working muscles. As there is less oxygen per breath at altitude the body has to increase heart rate, stroke volume and respiratory rate just to get the same amount of oxygen to the cells. If you exercise at altitude, over time you will start to create more red blood cells and haemoglobin to help you carry the oxygen, while longer stays at altitude will cause you to create more capillaries and mitochondria.
4. High altitude residents such as Sherpas are well know to be able to cope far better at altitude. However, the reasons for this are not fully understood.

Hope this helps
Alan