Is our ability to erercise in extreme heat and humidity affected on HRT?

[warlockmaker]

I have always been an endurance athlete and take pride in my ability to perform under 90F and humidity in the 80%. I have noticed recently, that my ability to perform in this heat, has diminished considerably. I have no problems in cooler conditions. I looked thru the internet and cannot find much on this. Has anyone noticed this change or is it unique to me?

[Heather]

I have always been an endurance athlete and take pride in my ability to perform under 90F and humidity in the 80%. I have noticed recently, that my ability to perform in this heat, has diminished considerably. I have no problems in cooler conditions. I looked thru the internet and cannot find much on this. Has anyone noticed this change or is it unique to me?

Most definitely! You want even catch me out in this heat no more. I used to be able to run three miles outdoors through rough terrain in near 100f weather no problem I tried to do that two weeks back and there is no way I would be able to do that now. This girl is sticking to her climate controlled gym! No more outdoor workouts for this girl well at least till winter.   

[Dreams2014]

I don't understand this. Why would HRT mean you're unable to exercise in extreme heat? This seems like a huge disadvantage.

[MariaMx]

For about 8 years I was on a high dose of EE, then I was switched to a low dose of Progynova. After that I've had almost chronic menopause symptoms like hot-flashes. Especially when it get warm. I don't exercise much, but just a simple walk outside in warm weather is enough to give me claustrophobia. Seems like I don't get to sleep at all during the summer months. To hot all the time.

[Nicolette]

Perhaps it's the layer of fat that you have gained on HRT that insulates better?

[Sammy]

I can pretty much provide my recent experience in this.
Before I started HRT and during the initial steps I did 8-10 km runs 4-5 times per week. I continued to do so after I started HRT and apart of some days when my energy was just down, I did not notice that much difference. Then I realised that I am really overdoing this and burning down all the fat which I had consumed and thus HRT was not having any effect in terms of fat redistribution. So, I paused and overdid with that too . I got A cup bewbs and some adjustments in other parts to the extent that I realised that I MUST resume my exercises.
We had increased humidity and temperature during the last days, so I took my chances
The first day was terrible – I barely finished my distance and my legs hurt for days, and I had to take 4-5 pauses (I usually take one or none). Saturday was OK – apparently, I had gotten back into shape, my legs did not hurt, I finished the distance and took no stops. BUT... I realised that I am running slower. My output had dropped, my endurance and stamina remains the same, but I cant run as fast as I could. I also cannot dash anymore, when I want to outpace someone or increase the distance between me and someone else. I feel like I do not have enough energy for this and just keep going on my slower pace.  On a brighter note - when someone outpaces me, I just dont care anymore

I don't understand this. Why would HRT mean you're unable to exercise in extreme heat? This seems like a huge disadvantage.

Well, that is one of the consequences of being a woman . We can exercise, but it will be harder and performance will decrease as a consequences of the HRT. Men and women are pretty much the same when it concerns endurance and stamina – in fact women are even better – but anything which requires strenght, speed, energy bursts – those effects are granted by testosterone and we all aim to suppress it

[warlockmaker]

I can relate to the prickly sensation in my skin when its hot - Is that hot flashes are? Never had them before... Then there is the loss of strength, and that, I knew would happen. My stamina has stayed the same, but under a hot humid day, I just dont handle the heat well and that used to be my forte.  Maybe its to do with the fat under the skin. I thought at first that this heat issue was a one off, but now I know its not as it happened every week in this summer heat.

[Sammy]

I can relate to the prickly sensation in my skin when its hot - Is that hot flashes are? Never had them before...

No, those are not flashes, as I have read their description. I would say that Your skin needs to be moisturised and it needs it now .

[MariaMx]

I can relate to the prickly sensation in my skin when its hot - Is that hot flashes are? Never had them before... Then there is the loss of strength, and that, I knew would happen. My stamina has stayed the same, but under a hot humid day, I just dont handle the heat well and that used to be my forte.  Maybe its to do with the fat under the skin. I thought at first that this heat issue was a one off, but now I know its not as it happened every week in this summer heat.

A hot-flash feels like acute overheating. Imagine being tied up in a thick sleeping bag and stuffed into a parked in July. To me it's a cross between the sensation of claustrophobia and suffocation. Also you get really hot and sweat comes squirting out of the pores in your skin. During summer I have a hot-flash every 30-45 minutes and they last from 30 to 90 seconds each time.

[Dreams2014]

I can pretty much provide my recent experience in this.
Before I started HRT and during the initial steps I did 8-10 km runs 4-5 times per week. I continued to do so after I started HRT and apart of some days when my energy was just down, I did not notice that much difference. Then I realised that I am really overdoing this and burning down all the fat which I had consumed and thus HRT was not having any effect in terms of fat redistribution. So, I paused and overdid with that too . I got A cup bewbs and some adjustments in other parts to the extent that I realised that I MUST resume my exercises.
We had increased humidity and temperature during the last days, so I took my chances
The first day was terrible – I barely finished my distance and my legs hurt for days, and I had to take 4-5 pauses (I usually take one or none). Saturday was OK – apparently, I had gotten back into shape, my legs did not hurt, I finished the distance and took no stops. BUT... I realised that I am running slower. My output had dropped, my endurance and stamina remains the same, but I cant run as fast as I could. I also cannot dash anymore, when I want to outpace someone or increase the distance between me and someone else. I feel like I do not have enough energy for this and just keep going on my slower pace.  On a brighter note - when someone outpaces me, I just dont care anymore

Well, that is one of the consequences of being a woman . We can exercise, but it will be harder and performance will decrease as a consequences of the HRT. Men and women are pretty much the same when it concerns endurance and stamina – in fact women are even better – but anything which requires strenght, speed, energy bursts – those effects are granted by testosterone and we all aim to suppress it

But, but...female athletes?!

[Sammy]

But they do not compete against male athletes Sure, You can exercise, but Your results before and after the HRT would be quite (or just a bit) different.

[Dreams2014]

But they do not compete against male athletes Sure, You can exercise, but Your results before and after the HRT would be quite (or just a bit) different.

Granted. But I had no idea women were that disadvantaged. I mean women perform in hot conditions. Think of all the various marathons etc.

[Sammy]

Of course they do, and they perform well But from the perspective of an MtF, Your results are most probably bound to decrease - like when we have the starting point with male physiology and then another testing point with female hormonal level.

[kathyk]

Yes ability drops as we loose muscle mass, but many of us have a natural tendency to think we can still do something in the same way, or with the same difficulty as before HRT.  And we sometimes ignore the fact that Spiro is a diaretic, and dehidration can increase the chance of heat stroke.

But through it all you'll be fine if you keep track of your endurance and strength.     So have fun in the sun, and just don't ignoring obvious signs of fatigue. 

[JennX]

IMHE... No.

I live in Miami, FL... Today it'll be 95F with 90% humidity. I've trained and competed in triathlons pre/post SRS... and today I'll be be running 5 miles, which I do 5 times per week. I also bike 60 miles per week and swim 10 miles per week... And if anything my endurance has increased after SRS and HRT... While my overall muscle mass and brute strength has greatly decreased.

Age, diet, exercise routine have far more impact on endurance and stamina vs. HRT IMHO.

[Dreams2014]

IMHE... No.

I live in Miami, FL... Today it'll be 95F with 90% humidity. I've trained and competed in triathlons pre/post SRS... and today I'll be be running 5 miles, which I do 5 times per week. I also bike 60 miles per week and swim 10 miles per week... And if anything my endurance has increased after SRS and HRT... While my overall muscle mass and brute strength has greatly decreased.

Age, diet, exercise routine have far more impact on endurance and stamina vs. HRT IMHO.

I've got to ask, doesn't it suck living in that constant heat? Miami sounds like a year round furnace.

[Sammy]

JennX - but are You sure You are just as fast as You were? I have read many (not countless lol) statements, that when MtF runners start their HRT, at certain point their performance will drops - it becomes especially apparent if they write down their results over time.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1198744/3/
"There is no published medical data on precisely how long it takes to negate the athletic advantages of a lifetime of testosterone exposure. But one athlete has tackled the question in a personal way. Medical physicist Joanna Harper, 55, who was born male, began hormone therapy in order to transition to female in August '04. Harper had been competing as a male age-group distance runner for years, and she carefully documented the impact that suppressing testosterone and taking estrogen had on her running. "I thought I would get slower gradually," Harper says. Instead she started losing speed and strength within three weeks. "I felt the same when I ran," she says. "I just couldn't go as fast." In February, Harper won the 55-to-59 age group at the women's national cross-country championship in St. Louis, but she is a shadow of her former athletic self. As a man in 2003, Harper ran the Helvetia Half-Marathon in Portland in 1:23:11; in '05, as a woman, she finished the same race in 1:34:01, a difference of nearly 50 seconds per mile.

Factoring in age and gender-graded performance standards, though, Harper is almost exactly as good a female runner as she was as a male—and it took less than a year of hormone therapy to get that way. Data that Harper has collected from a half dozen other male-to-female runners tell a similar story. "It doesn't answer definitively the question of whether I have an advantage or not," she says. "But it's certainly strong evidence that my performances in both genders are approximately equal."

[JennX]

I've got to ask, doesn't it suck living in that constant heat? Miami sounds like a year round furnace.

Sometimes. But waking up, walking down to the beach, surfing/swimming whenever I want, and lots of cute, muscular, hot guys everywhere helps out a bit. There's an up/downside to everything.

[warlockmaker]

'A hot-flash feels like acute overheating. Imagine being tied up in a thick sleeping bag and stuffed into a parked in July. To me it's a cross between the sensation of claustrophobia and suffocation. Also you get really hot and sweat comes squirting out of the pores in your skin. During summer I have a hot-flash every 30-45 minutes and they last from 30 to 90 seconds each time.'

Thats exactly what happens when I overheat. I prespire normally initially but then it stats pouring out and  I mean pouring out. When that happens I know to slow down and even to just stop. I tried going on a few weeks ago and was totally exhausted. Saw my Doc. just to be sure I had no heart issues - all clear in that front.

The spiro could add to the cause. I was really an outstanding performer in the heat and now I cant do it.

[Dreams2014]

Sometimes. But waking up, walking down to the beach, surfing/swimming whenever I want, and lots of cute, muscular, hot guys everywhere helps out a bit. There's an up/downside to everything.

I think having lived my whole life (so far) in rainy Britain, it's hard to imagine myself truly enjoying the fun in the sun. I'd look very out of place there with my reluctance to flash off my skin, and my love for black and grey clothing xD