High Intensity Interval Training in the heat is a simple means to elicit beneficial thermoregulatory and cardiovascular adaptations in Paralympic athletes. Such training should be used two-three weeks prior to competition in hot and humid environments. There is paucity around the effect of heat acclimatisation on amputee or Cerebral Palsy Paralympic athletes. In this study the effects of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) in the heat with permissive dehydration upon thermoregulatory and cardiovascular adaptations in Paralympic athletes was examined. Six members of the New Zealand Paralympic team completed 6 x 4-minute intervals on a cycle ergometer or arm crank, aiming for 90% ± 5bpm age predicted maximum HR, with 4 minutes rest between each interval. Exercise sessions were performed once a day for four consecutive days, in an environmental chamber set to 35°C and 65% relative humidity. Participant`s plasma volume significantly increased from 49.8 ± 3.4% to 61.8 ± 10.6% (95% CI = 3.5-30.7, p = 0.04), resting heart rate significantly decreased from 85 ± 15 bpm to 56 ± 10 bpm (95% CI = 21-36, p = 0.00074), while skin temperature at the end of the sixth bout of exercise increased by 0.3 ± 0.1°C (95% CI = 0.2-0.4, p = 0.02). Participant`s sweat rate increased although with limited significance (0.78 ± 0.22 L/hr to 1.13 ± 0.46 L/hr, 95% CI = 0.08-0.62, p = 0.06), while no change in core temperature at rest or at the end of the sixth bout of exercise was seen. The results of the current study support the use of heat acclimatisation as an effective training tool for amputee or Cerebral Palsy Paralympic athletes. Such periods of training could be utilised prior to entering a competition phase where heat is going to have a major impact on an athlete`s performance.
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