"Cool" Studies for Athletes

Cooling during exercise has a positive effect on exercise performance and capacity. Keeping your body’s core temperature down while you exercise allows you to exert yourself more, for a longer period of time, before feeling the negative effects of heat from your internal body temperature.

The Study: Runners were tested while running for 90 minutes at a self-selected pace on a treadmill. First they were wearing no cooling neck collar, then a cooling neck collar and finally, a cooling neck collar that was refreshed every 30 minutes.

The Results: Athletes wearing just a cooling neck collar while running increased their performance by up to 7.3%.  After 90 minutes, the athletes wearing a cooling neck collar were performing at a higher level than those without any cooling. The athletes with a cooling neck collar ran further and their selected pace was higher at the end of the trials than those not wearing a neck collar. 

Deluxe Cooling Neck Wrap with Kool Max® Pack

Cooling the body helps with recovery after a workout or event (also known as "post-cooling")

BENEFITS OF POST-COOLING: 

• Slows nerve impulses 
• Constricts blood vessels which helps to treat pain and swelling 
• Speeds up heart rate which helps to clear waste products like lactic acid 
• Decreases recovery time for acute injuries 
• Reduces pain after intense activity or workouts 
• Increased energy

A 2003 study found that over the 15-minute post-exercise period during which cooling was applied to athletes, the Respiratory Exchange Ratios were lower in the athletes being cooled vs. the ones who weren’t cooled.

Conclusion: Athletes who were being cooled after exercise recovered their muscle’s oxidative capacity to regain energy faster than those who weren’t. 

Cool Comfort® Performance Vest, Neck Wrap and Polar Cooler 

Polar's Recommendation for Athletes: Our Cool Comfort® Performance Vest and Neck Wrap can be activated and then frozen prior to an athletic event. The frozen garments can be transported to the event in a Polar Cooler and put on immediately after activity for immediate full body cooling. 

Sources: 

1. Tyler, Christopher James and Sunderland, Caroline. “Neck Cooling and Running Performance in the Heat: Single versus Repeated Application.” 2011.
2. http://titintech.com/physical-effects-icing-workout/ 
3. Tenforde, Adam. “The Effects of Cooling Core Body Temperature on Overall Strength Gains and Post-Exercise Recovery.” 2003.

Don't let the heat slow you down!

Many of us enjoy exercising outside on warm and sunny days, but it's important to remember that extreme heat (or overexerting yourself during hot days) can pose serious health risks. It is important to listen to your body during the heat! Heat exhaustion is a common reaction when the temperature goes up. It can cause dizziness, headaches, body stresses, fainting and cardiac problems.

The following are tips to heed to when preparing for an outdoor workout:

1) First (and most important!), don't forget to drink plenty of fluids well before your workout. Your body is about 60% water so plan accordingly. Drink before, during and after exercise.

Cool Comfort® Performance Half Vest

2) Dressing appropriately is also an important factor, so be sure to wear lightweight clothing so your body can release sweat. If you are exercising for more than an hour, be sure to change wet clothes to allow your body to continue to sweat naturally.

3) Avoid working out directly in the sun.

Take a hike in the woods,
and wear a cooling hat!

4) It's a good idea to take a 10 minute break for each 30 minutes of working out.  If you start to feel dizzy, have a headache, or experience muscle cramps, you should stop, rest, rehydrate and cool down.

Cool Comfort® Performance Vest

5) Cooling the body before, during and after exercise can help mitigate the dangers of overheating. Check out Polar's full line of Cool Comfort® cooling apparel for athletes, and learn more about pre-cooling, post-cooling and cooling after activity.

Improved performance can be an added benefit of pre-cooling!  Check out this article: "Exercising in the heat? Cool down for better performance"

Stay safe and be cool as you workout in the heat!

Polar Life Pod®

Did you know? Ice water immersion is the most effective way to quickly cool an overheated athlete. The Polar Life Pod® is a patent pending, portable, collapsible immersion system to facilitate the rapid cooling of athletes experiencing heat related illness, heat exhaustion, heat stress and heat stroke. Visit www.polarlifepod.com to see a graph showing the effectiveness of various cooling techniques.

Body Cooling + Athletic Performance

Cooling the body BEFORE, DURING and AFTER exercise can improve performance and help mitigate the dangers of overheating! 

HEAT IS THE ATHLETE’S ENEMY 

Athletes have always looked to gain any possible edge as they strive to run faster, jump higher and throw further. Outside heat as well as excessive core heat inside the body can reduce physical and mental performance.

Even King James can get overheated

THE BASICS OF HEAT FATIGUE 

As the body’s core temperature rises, the body’s performance begins to decrease. The body has a critical limit around 102-104° F (39-40° C) at which severe fatigue begins to set in. When the body reaches these temperatures you’re beginning to feel symptoms of heat stress or exhaustion. At temperatures beyond this you have entered the realm of heat stroke. 

COOL COMFORT® SPORTS KIT

COOLING BEFORE ACTIVITY (PRECOOLING)

Lowering the core temperature of the body prior to activity reduces the amount of energy the body needs to stay cool; therefore, the body has more energy for the exercise itself.

NEW! COOLFIT® PERFORMANCE HALF VEST

COOLING DURING ACTIVITY

Reduce the danger of heat stress with cooling garments! There are many options that are lightweight, fit snug to the body and target key arteries, making them ideal for wearing during running, cycling, practice and more.

NEW! COOLFIT® PERFORMANCE VEST

COOLING AFTER ACTIVITY (POST-COOLING)

Cooling garments help bring an athlete’s body temperature down quickly during recovery.

Learn more about body cooling and its effect on athletic performance this month as we share research studies, cool tips and product recommendations for pre-cooling, post-cooling and cooling during exercise. 

Stay tuned next week for the launch of COOLFIT®, our new line of performance vests and accessories for athletes!