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In the realm of sports preparation, we often prioritize nutrition, hydration, and mobility work. Yet, an overlooked factor that can significantly impact performance is how we utilize our time during rest breaks and internal core temperature regulation. One innovative approach gaining attention is palm cooling, a simple yet effective method with profound implications for athletes.

A couple years ago, I came across intriguing podcasts featuring Stanford scientist Andrew Huberman discussing the performance benefits of palmar cooling on workouts. He cited research from his colleague Dr. Craig Heller, demonstrating that athletes using palm cooling during rest periods showed improvements ranging from 40% to 60% in terms of exercise output and this was even true to professional athletes.

As a high level athlete deeply invested in human performance, discovering this phenomenon was both surprising and intriguing. The physiology behind palm cooling involves leveraging our body's natural temperature regulation mechanisms. Our brain's hypothalamus centrally controls body temperature, utilizing signals from specialized skin areas known as glabrous skin, found on the palms, soles, and certain facial regions. These areas feature arteriovenous anastomoses (AVAs), direct artery-vein connections that facilitate efficient heat exchange. This physiological setup allows for effective cooling or heating of blood flow, crucial for temperature regulation.

Intrigued by these findings, I embarked on my own experimentation with palm cooling devices. Initial tests using various cooling devices showed promising results, with performance improvements ranging from 15-30% under controlled conditions. Encouraged by these outcomes, I integrated palm cooling into training sessions with training partners, consistently observing enhanced training volumes and reduced fatigue.

This article explores what palmar cooling entails, its effects on athletic performance, my personal experiences and how it can benefit athletes across various disciplines.

Understanding Palmar Cooling

Palmar cooling involves the strategic application of cold temperatures to the palms of the hands. This area is chosen due to its glabrous (hairless) skin, rich network of blood vessels and high sensitivity to temperature changes, which makes it an effective point for regulating overall body heat. By cooling the palms, athletes can efficiently manage their core body temperature, enhancing their performance and recovery.

During physical exertion, especially in warm conditions, body and muscle temperatures rise, adversely affecting performance. Elevated temperatures can impair muscle cell enzymes responsible for sustained contractions and diminish mental motivation, a protective mechanism to prevent overheating injuries. Recognizing these challenges scientists have explored how palm cooling could mitigate these effects. By strategically cooling the palms, athletes can delay fatigue onset and sustain performance levels longer. Glabrous skin, found on palms, soles, and parts of the face, contains arteriovenous anastomoses (AVAs)—specialized blood vessel networks that help regulate heat exchange. These AVAs allow for efficient cooling or warming of blood, aiding in temperature control without impacting oxygen transport or CO2 removal.

Mechanism and Benefits

The primary mechanism behind palmar cooling lies in its ability to influence the body's thermoregulatory system. Palm cooling leverages our body's temperature regulation system, which is centrally controlled by the hypothalamus in the brain. This system orchestrates responses like sweating or shivering to maintain optimal temperature.

As athletes engage in intense physical activities, their bodies generate heat, which can lead to increased core temperatures. Elevated core temperatures can impair performance by causing fatigue and reducing endurance. Palmar cooling counteracts this by promoting heat dissipation through the hands, thereby maintaining a more optimal core temperature.

Effective palm cooling requires moderation in temperature—between 45-60 degrees Fahrenheit—not excessively cold like ice, which can constrict blood vessels. Cooling both palms simultaneously maximizes surface area contact for efficient heat exchange, facilitated by AVAs.

The scientific rationale behind why this straightforward technique works is somewhat debated, but it's widely accepted that increasing muscle temperature impairs muscular performance. During activities like pull-ups, the muscles being used demand more energy, leading to increased heat production. In animal models (and likely in humans, too), this elevated heat inhibits pyruvate kinase, an enzyme crucial for generating ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is essential for muscle contraction.

To summarize:
Exercise leads to increased muscle heat → reduction in pyruvate kinase activity → decrease in ATP production

As heat dissipates and muscles cool, ATP production resumes, enabling muscles to perform optimally again. In essence, cooling the palms within the specified temperature range (colder temperatures would cause blood vessel constriction and hinder heat dissipation) assists the body in lowering core and muscle temperatures, resulting in significantly improved exercise performance for some individuals. This improvement can be quite substantial, comparable to or even exceeding the performance enhancements observed with anabolic steroids in some cases.

Essentially, placing cool water or another cooling substance with a temperature between 10 to 16 degrees Celsius (50 to 61 degrees Fahrenheit) on your palms for 2 to 3 minutes between sets can significantly boost your capacity for work, strength output, and performance in subsequent workout sessions. Cold tap water is typically suitable for achieving this effect. When it comes to aerobic capacity, maintaining this temperature on your palms during training delays the onset of fatigue, likely increasing endurance.

Scientific Evidence and Systems Improved

Several studies have investigated the effects of palmar cooling on athletic performance, providing compelling statistics:

• A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research demonstrated that athletes using palmar cooling techniques showed an average improvement of 12% in endurance performance compared to control groups.
• Research from the American Journal of Sports Medicine indicated that cooling the palms to a temperature of 15°C (59°F) effectively reduced core body temperature by 0.5-1.0°C, resulting in a 15% increase in time to exhaustion during high-intensity exercise sessions.

These findings highlight the significant performance gains that can be achieved through targeted temperature management via palmar cooling techniques seen in these systems:

1. Endurance and Stamina: By preventing overheating, athletes can sustain higher levels of endurance and stamina during prolonged activities such as distance running or obstacle course racing.
2. Recovery Time: Cooling the palms between intervals or after workouts accelerates recovery by aiding in the removal of metabolic waste products and reducing inflammation.
3. Cognitive Function: Heat stress can impair cognitive function. Palmar cooling helps maintain mental acuity and decision-making abilities during competitions.
4. Motivation and Focus: By keeping core temperatures in check, athletes experience improved motivation and mental focus, crucial for maintaining peak performance throughout their athletic endeavors.

Implementation Strategies

Effective implementation of palmar cooling involves a couple key factors:

1. Cooling Temperature: Maintaining an optimal cooling temperature around 10-15°C (45-59°F) is recommended to effectively lower core body temperature without causing discomfort. Colder is NOT BETTER! Too cold and it will cause vasoconstriction of the blood vessels resulting in the opposite effect of decreasing rate of temperature exchange!
2. Duration and Timing: Athletes can benefit from using palmar cooling before, during, and after training sessions or competitions. Short intervals of 3-5 minutes between intense bouts of exercise can help maintain performance levels. All it takes is 60 seconds of cooling to have a major impact on fatigue levels as a minimum effective dose. Longer cooling times may dissipate heat at a faster rate.

Benefits Across Athletic Disciplines

For different athletic disciplines such as CrossFit or endurance training, palm cooling proves beneficial during intervals or breaks between efforts. In competitions with built-in rest periods or timeouts, athletes can capitalize on palm cooling to maintain performance consistency.

Palmar cooling offers advantages to a diverse range of athletes:

• Fitness Athletes: Those involved in CrossFit, HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training), or weightlifting can sustain higher workout intensities and recover faster between sets. Simply cooling during any set programmed interval rest period will allow work/power output to be maintained for a longer period of time. This will result in more reps for AMRAP workouts, or faster times for task priority workouts
• Sports and Strength Training: Palmar cooling can enhance endurance during competitive sports seasons like track and field or soccer, Notably helping young athletes avoid heat exhaustion during summer training and help perform at their best. Employ palm cooling between intervals, water breaks, player substitutions or time out breaks to maintain optimal performance levels and manage body temperature.
• Competitive Runners: Marathoners and sprinters alike benefit from improved heat dissipation, allowing for sustained pace and reduced risk of heat-related exhaustion. Employ palm cooling between intervals to maintain optimal performance levels and manage body temperature. It may be difficult to cool during a long run or endurance bout, so you could try palm cooling for 5-10 minutes before starting to help delay the onset of heat stress by starting the core temperature at a slightly lower level, or immediately after to lower heart rate and cool back to baseline, thus speeding up recovery.
• Garage Gym Weekend Warriors: Enthusiasts pursuing fitness goals in home settings can leverage palmar cooling to maximize workout efficiency by getting more work done in the same amount of time and recovery, even without access to sophisticated cooling facilities.

In each of these fitness applications, palmar cooling emerges as a versatile tool that not only improves performance but also enhances the overall experience by mitigating the effects of heat stress. Whether in professional sports or recreational fitness pursuits, the ability to manage hand temperature effectively can make a substantial difference in an athlete's ability to achieve and surpass their goals which makes choosing an efficient cooling device important. While various DIY methods exist, such as simply holding two cool bottles of water, practicality and effectiveness are key considerations. Devices that circulate cooled water, various cooling gloves, or something like the AF Charge Bar ( https://www.avacooling.com/?ref=DujfPzHo ) are specifically designed for sports settings, offering ease of use, reusability, and affordability.

Effects on Sleep and Recovery

Beyond training, palm cooling can also aid in post-activity recovery or even assist in sleep initiation after late practices or games, helping athletes manage post-exertion arousal levels effectively.

Palmar cooling before bed can significantly aid in falling asleep quicker and feeling more rested by effectively lowering core body temperature. Research indicates that a decrease in core body temperature of just a few degrees Fahrenheit can facilitate the onset of sleep and improve sleep quality, particularly by promoting the transition to deeper stages of sleep.

During the evening, our body naturally begins to cool down as part of the circadian rhythm, which prepares us for sleep. Palmar cooling accelerates this process. By using palmar cooling devices before bedtime, individuals can enhance this natural cooling process, facilitating a quicker drop in core body temperature.

The optimal temperature range for initiating and maintaining sleep typically falls within slightly cooler conditions than daytime levels. Palmar cooling can help achieve this ideal temperature zone more efficiently, thereby signaling the body that it's time to rest. As core body temperature decreases, physiological changes occur that promote relaxation and encourage the brain to enter sleep-promoting states. This includes the release of melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles, which is facilitated by cooler temperatures.

To quantify the effect, studies suggest that a decrease in core body temperature of about 1-2 degrees Fahrenheit (0.5-1 degree Celsius) can enhance sleep onset and improve sleep quality by promoting deeper, more restorative stages of sleep. By leveraging palmar cooling to facilitate this cooling process, individuals can potentially reduce the time it takes to fall asleep and experience more refreshing sleep cycles throughout the night. Thus, palmar cooling represents a promising non-pharmacological approach to optimizing sleep patterns and overall well-being.

Two-Test Personal Experiment: Evaluating Palmar Cooling

My personal experiments with palm cooling devices underscored its potential to improve performance metrics across various exercises, validating its role as a practical enhancement tool in sports and fitness. I wanted to test it out for myself and have hard evidence and more insight how my body would respond and how I could add it into my training. The two-test experiment I conducted recently aimed to evaluate the impact of palm cooling on performance during different exercise protocols. In choosing these tests I researched and copied protocols from other scientists/labs however adjusted the movements to stay on track with my training for upcoming events while maintaining the test structure.

Test 1: Max Set of Push-Ups

Protocol: Gearing up for my upcoming bench press competition I performed 7 sets of maximum push-ups with 3 minutes of rest between sets on two separate days during the same week. On day 1, no palm cooling was used, while on day 2, palm cooling was implemented during the rest breaks.

Results:

• Without Palm Cooling (Day 1): 150 reps over 7 sets.
• With Palm Cooling (Day 2): 179 reps over 7 sets.
• Performance Improvement: 19% improvement in the number of reps performed with palm cooling.

Test 2: Seated Row with 10 Calories Fan Bike Sprints

Protocol: This test involved performing 20 reps of seated rows followed immediately by 10 calories fan bike sprints to elevate heart rate. Resting for 1 minute between rounds and repeated until form fatigue prevented further reps.

Results:

• With Palm Cooling: 210 reps of the seated row before reaching form fatigue.
• Without Palm Cooling: 160 reps before reaching form fatigue.
• Performance Improvement: 31% improvement in the number of reps completed with palm cooling.

Interpretation of Results

Test 1 Interpretation: The first test with maximum push-ups demonstrated a significant but moderate improvement of 19% in performance when using palm cooling. This indicates that even in exercises with longer rest intervals (3 minutes), palm cooling can delay the onset of fatigue and allow for more reps to be completed. This test also illustrates how improvements could compound over a year of training!

Test 2 Interpretation: The second test, involving a more intense protocol with shorter rest intervals (1 minute), showed a substantial 31% improvement in performance with palm cooling. This suggests that palm cooling is particularly effective in exercises involving higher intensity and shorter recovery times, where maintaining performance over multiple rounds is crucial.

Key Take-Aways

Both tests consistently demonstrated that palm cooling effectively delays the onset of fatigue and improves overall performance metrics. The results highlight the practical benefits of using palm cooling devices during exercise, supporting its application across different training protocols and athletic disciplines to optimize performance outcomes. These findings underscore the potential of palm cooling as a valuable tool for athletes seeking to enhance their training efficiency and endurance capacity.

Conclusion

Palmar cooling represents a groundbreaking approach to enhancing athletic performance through targeted temperature management. By leveraging the body's natural cooling mechanisms via the palms, athletes can mitigate the adverse effects of heat stress, leading to improved endurance, faster recovery, and heightened mental focus. As scientific research continues to validate its efficacy, palmar cooling stands poised to revolutionize how athletes prepare, perform, and recover across various sports and fitness disciplines.

As athletes, we invest significant time and resources into optimizing our performance through mobility exercises, nutrition plans, and specialized workouts. We often spend considerable amounts financially on treatments like chiropractic care and massages to enhance recovery and performance. However, palmar cooling offers a remarkably simple yet effective way to amplify all these efforts, requiring virtually no additional time. You are already resting 2 minutes between lifting sets anyway, cooling your palms during this downtime can help maintain peak performance throughout your session. Likewise, during 800m repeats or timeouts in a basketball game, cooling your palms can ensure you recover quicker and perform consistently at your best. And why not utilize palmar cooling during your nightly wind-down time, such as during your 15 minutes of Netflix before bed, to enhance relaxation and optimize sleep quality?

Even a modest improvement of 3-10% in work output and efficiency per workout session can translate into significant gainz over a year, simply by cooling your palms during the natural breaks you already take. With little to no downside, you can give palmar cooling a try by doing the same workout on two different days within a weeks span, by holding cool water bottles between sets and intervals to see if it works for you!

Palm cooling represents a scientifically-backed method to enhance athletic performance by managing internal core temperature effectively. By leveraging the body's natural cooling mechanisms, athletes can sustain higher performance levels, delay fatigue, and optimize training outcomes. Integrating palm cooling into sports preparation routines can unlock significant performance gains across various disciplines, offering athletes a competitive edge in their pursuits. As awareness and adoption of palmar cooling grow, it promises to redefine how athletes manage and optimize their performance capabilities effectively.

About the Author

Taylor Jones is a versatile fitness enthusiast being a jack of all trades.  Having initially excelled as a D-2 soccer player during her collegiate years, she transitioned her passion for sports into functional fitness, obstacle course racing, and a deep affection for outdoor adventures. Despite her demanding profession as a nurse, where she tirelessly works 12-hour shifts, Taylor manages to dedicate herself to rigorous training for competitions while finding solace in the company of her husband and two beloved dogs. With a keen focus on her athletic pursuits, Taylor's primary objective has revolved around participating in the RF Challenges over the past two years. In both 2023 and 2022, her dedication bore fruit as she clinched the 2nd place title for the overall scoring.

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