"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.