The next-gen CORE 2 sensor is out now – the latest tiny gadget developed to make you a faster cyclist. While this one doesn’t require a huge amount of extra effort, it will add a new heat stress dimension to your home workouts that certainly doesn’t make them easier. But really, if you are already building fitness at home on a trainer, you’ll only have to ride in this silly heat suit and keep track of the heat strain on your body to get even stronger. Or even simply sitting and sweating in a sauna after you finish a training ride is apparently an option now too!
By acclimating your body to heat in advance, you’ll make your own engine more efficient, and suffer less when hot weather riding & racing comes…
Core 2 on-body thermal sensor is smaller, lighter & smarter
We’ve covered the key tech of the Core 2 body temperature sensor just a couple of months ago, when the Swiss company teased us with their latest gen2 update. But now having more time to chat with the Core team and play with the little sensor in my own hands, I have a better sense of why it might become a useful training tool, in addition to whatever you already are doing.
From the first time I wrote about CORE body temperature tracking more than four years ago, the general idea seemed to make sense. Most cyclists have experienced the reduced ability to push hard once your body overheats. Core helps you track that. But also proposes how training hot will help your body adapt to heat, not only so you don’t overheat, but also so you actually boost your performance at any temperature.
How does it work?
Up to now I’ve been talking about Core sensors as a Core Body Temperature sensor. But that’s really only part of the equation. Really only scratching the surface of why you will use this thing. The Core 2 is a sensor tracking your rate of heat loss. It tracks your body temperature. But more importantly, it analyzes how well your body reacts to heat stress – that is how well you shed excess heat during intense activity. That’s how Core tracks how well you are adapting to heat, and can inform ongoing training plans.
Like most training tech, Core describes it like this… ‘Suffer now in the comfort of your home, so you can boost your performance and even suffer less at your next race or important event.’
The Core principle is that by adding extra heat to training, your body will adapt, producing more plasma and hemoglobin in your blood to better carry oxygen to your muscles.
Just don’t turn the fan on or open the window to cool off while on the trainer.
Then, when race day comes, you will be able to push harder, longer. And your body will simply be better able to deal with heat.
Gains backed by actual science
Scientific study shows a similar performance boost as high-altitude training, but all you have to do is slip on a heat-retaining jumpsuit while you train. (You can read more about that in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, here.)
The trick seems to be that regular training in the Core jumpsuit, with its added heat stress, significantly boosts your hemoglobin levels, and relatively quickly. Then, a dialed-back maintenance training regime can still easily keep those blood levels high to retain those performance gains by simply riding in the heat suit at home on your trainer.
No complicated hypoxia tents, hypoxicator masks, or travel expenses to worry about. Just riding hot.
Core claims heat adaptation training has shown:
- a 4–6% increase in VO₂ max in sub-elite athletes
- an 8% time-trial improvement for cyclists after just 10 days of heat training
- a 2.5% increase in hemoglobin mass with sustained heat acclimation
So what does that mean for amateur cyclists like me?
The Core heat training concept until now has focused mostly on professional or even elite level athletes – those with detailed long-term training plans and a team to help them stick to that. It’s so much of a no-brainer, that it seems that pro cyclists on “nearly every UCI WorldTour team” are training with Core these days. But to me, as much more of a casual cyclist – but one interested in unique tech – I’m quite curious to see if I could benefit.
The Core team explained to me that it would be possible to see real Heat Adaptation benefits in as little as 2 weeks, either of intense or moderate daily training. That could mean this could be a solution for an amateur like me looking to perform well at one summer grand fondo, or say a particularly important enduro racing weekend in hot weather.
The obstacle until now had been that Core didn’t provide overly simple Heat Training plans. But now with a solid set of explainers on their website, and clear in-app feedback with a live-updated Heat Adaptation Score and Heat Training Load trackers, it seems much more accessible.
So, I’m a ‘Thermal Rookie’ for now. And while I’m not likely to magically develop into a dedicated, well-trained cyclist. But, I’m curious to see if I might be able to put in some small heat training effort and see any tangible results.
Stay tuned.
In the meantime…
What’s new?
The new Core 2 weighs just 11g, including its new TPU clip that will stay mounted to your heartrate monitor strap for a more secure setup. It is tiny at 45.1 x 32.6 x 9.6mm, quite a bit smaller than before, even if it is really only 1g lighter. Importantly, it will still run for 6 days of training in between charges, and still charges with the same proprietary interface. The new cable is USB-C on the other end, but compatible with the original USB-A cable, as well.
There’s also a new red LED on the bottom that flashes when you need to recharge, and lights up to confirm charging. Plus, the green LED up top tells you when it wakes up automatically with movement and starts tracking your core body temperature.
Smaller, lighter CORE 2 body thermal sensor is now available!
The sleek new Core 2 sensor is now available to buy. It costs the same 270 Swiss Francs as before, approximately $305/285€ at current exchange rates. Order one today, and Core will start shipping the sensors globally within the next three weeks. Then, you’ll connect it to your cycling computers, smart watches, and smartphones via Bluetooth LE & ANT+ for live temperature tracking and heat adaptation training.
If you have a current Core sensor already and want to upgrade, they will also give you a 30% discount off a new Core 2 if you trade your old one in between now and the end of June.
