On the gym air temperature supporting exercise and comfort

Abstract

Increasing activities and cultivating exercise habits have become a central aspect of healthy life for modern people. The thermal environment is essential for achieving good performance and comfort during exercise. In this study, 40 young individuals were tested during their routine exercises in a gym during summer, under the common gym temperatures of 22 °C, 24 °C, and 26 °C in effective temperature (ET*). Both the aerobic exercises and strength training performances were measured in a less intrusive way, together with their thermal comfort responses during exercise. The results on exercise performance show that compared to ET*24, although the high temperature condition of ET*26 increased the aerobic exercise intensity to some extent, it maintained the same volumes of aerobic exercise and strength training for the participants. Although the low temperature condition of ET*22 maintained the same exercise performance among men, it significantly degraded women's exercise performance. The thermal comfort results show that the ET*22 and ET*24 conditions were preferred, while the ET*26 condition was more uncomfortable and unacceptable to people during exercise. The ET*24 condition is recommended for practices in gyms to support exercise performance, thermal comfort and energy conservation, which can be converted into the air temperature of 24 °C, with moderate RH, low air speed, and weak radiation. This study enhances the understanding of the effects of the thermal environment on people during exercise in a new situation of physical activities performed by people in gyms, and provides useful references to gym air temperature design, control, and regulations.