Warm Weather Training. Is it worth it?

Around this time of year, many British athletes are out the country on holiday....sorry, I mean warm weather training. It is fashionable to go away training and add photos of you training in less clothing than normal to your Instagram feed. I often wonder whether or not these trips are all that beneficial, and if there are ways they could help the athlete more.

My understanding is that warm weather training allows you to carry out training sessions that cannot be done in cold - and possibly wet - weather.

Twenty years ago in the UK, the concept of an indoor training venue was an unrealistic dream for most, if not all, athletes. There was no escape to training in the evenings from November to February, and it could be pretty miserable. Conditions are often cold, wet, dark, sometimes icy and occasionally snowy in the UK at that time of year, sometimes forcing tracks to be closed. Given these conditions, a getaway to a warmer climate for training makes absolute sense to me. Swap -5 degrees for 25 degrees, and swap the three layers of lycra for a pair of shorts, and allow yourself enough recovery between reps to get some quality training done without risking frostbite.

Around the turn of the century, indoor facilities started popping up in various places around the country allowing sprinters to train in the dry year round. Whilst the facilities are not what you would describe as hot, they are certainly warm enough to allow high intensity sprint sessions off long recoveries to take place. Therefore, my belief is that warm weather training is largely unnecessary for athletes with access to an indoor training facility. For athletes not based at an indoor track, there are now enough of those facilities to allow most athletes to visit one weekly, if they are prepared to drive for up to an hour to get there, which isn't too tall an order if the athlete is as committed as they would like people to believe from their tweets about how hard they are training at their warm weather venue.

I could be convinced that  a 200 metre or 400 metre athlete would see more benefit, as it would allow high quality runs off longer recoveries around the bends of a 400 metre track, which of course competitions would be held on in the summer season. However, for a 100 metre athlete, who has access to a 110 metre straight in an indoor facility, then any required training can be done so at home, or if not, the variations are extremely subtle (replacing 120 metre reps with 110 metre reps won't destroy a season).

So far, I haven't even factored in the cost of the trip. Florida seems to be a popular destination for these camps. A quick google search has indicated that flights from London to Orlando range between 300 and 500 GBP (my Arabic keyboard has no 'pound' emblem). Add in accommodation, transport and living expenses, and factor in the fact that you may have to take unpaid leave from work (unless you receive holiday pay or are able to work remotely) and it becomes a very expensive endeavour. 

I'm not completely against the idea of warm weather training, and I don't believe it has too many negative impacts on performance (although I have heard athletes complain that it was too hot for training and that they were unable to follow their usual diet). My question is more along the lines of, 'is it worth it?'. I believe there are some benefits to warm weather training, such as removing the stresses and strains of everyday life. For example, often the food is prepared for you, the rooms are cleaned for you, so it can make for a more relaxing day to day life away from training, which can potentially have a positive impact on mood and recovery. Additionally, in the case of The World Athletics Center in Arizona who offer a coach education scheme, camps can allow coaches and athletes to learn from various experts, which could positively impact their training whilst away, and continue to do some once they return home. Considering all this, if you are on a funded programme that offers expenses to cover such a trip, then I would probably recommend taking up the offer.  However, I have not heard of Jamaican groups, or groups based in the southern states of the US going away on a training camp (please let me know if I am incorrect), yet sprinters from these regions tend to dominate the global scene. Therefore, if the benefits of a change of an environment are large, then it would be interesting to see how they could perform if they did go away! Or, in my opinion, the more likely scenario is that these benefits are marginal at best.

I attended a university with an indoor training facility, and my best performances over the three years took place in the only year I did not go away on a training trip. So for me, there was no huge gain to be had from going away in terms of performance, but I did enjoy it. As a recreational athlete, the trip can be an enjoyable experience, which in itself is a good enough reason to go, although I'm not sure how many athletes would admit they are going away training simply because they enjoy the experience, as opposed to them needing to go away in order to have a good season.

I question whether or not April is the best month to go away on a training trip. The argument for it could be that there are competitions taking place at the destination at that time of year, so there's a chance to compete. However, in April in the UK, the worst of the weather has passed, so it becomes far easier to do the aforementioned high quality sprints outside. Would it make more sense to go away earlier in the year (depending on whether or not an indoor season features in your plans) to avoid a period of time in the UK when outside it is not possible to perform 'speed work'?

My advice to those contemplating a warm weather training trip would be to carefully consider their reasons for going, is it for pleasure or performance? If it is for performance, is the athlete's performance improvement likely to be able to justify the hundreds or possibly thousands of pounds spent. Could that money be spent more effectively elsewhere? Possibly medical support? If after all this, warm weather training still seems like a good choice, I would carefully choose when would be the most effective time to plan this trip.

For those of you that have been away training and disagree with me, please let me know your thoughts and reasons. Whatever your opinion, I hope your 2015 season starts, or has started, well!