Palmar Cooling Part 2 | Testing the Theory Myself

[@albertmaturanasteinbrugge5678]

Not to be THAT GUY, but I would highly suggest you start using proper form instead of the partial ROM (you should know that there are performance benefits to letting the muscle stretch before engaging in the concentric phase; if your shoulders hurt when letting the bar touch the sternum, then I´d recommend you experiment with changes on your grip both width and hand rotation concurrently with some degree of lumbar arching). Also, you must know that, for the purpose of cooling in the experimental setting, the water was recirculated with a device so that it remained at a constant temperature. You should tell your buddy there to actually monitor the water temperature each set, also get a well isolated ice pack and dump it in the cooler once temperature reaches the threshold above 15°C as described in Dr. Heller's paper.

[@dleonardo3238]

How do you want to get more reps than 5 if your first set was already to failure?

[@lukej7758]

I think you went too cold with the water. From what I've read below 10 C (50 F) and it causes vasoconstriction - constricting the blood vessels and preventing the cooler blood from reaching the rest of the body

[@pleiku887]

You are skipping the part of the movement that builds pectoral strength. Touch your sternum lightly.

[@rogerdane3253]

Think your water was TOO cold. Note the original Humberman discussion WARNS against too cold~

[@mooinabc1]

Maybe a one litre water bottle for drinking one. 3/4 fill and into freezer till it freezes. Excellent workout.

[@LifeandLiesSyra]

as some others pointed water should be around 14/16 degrees. You should not feel any pain in the hands while cooling. Still, 6% is a MASSIVE gain but it is obviously overshadowed by the fact you only have 2 dataset points. I think you should run this experiment with 2 sessions a week with 60/70% of 1rep max so you can assess the improvement rate.

[@mooinabc1]

With creatine maybe 3 grams?

[@robcordes4162]

That was interesting. A few questions: Should your spotter be counting with you so you do not miss a rep? As with the original study by Kwon, Robergs etc all did you abstain from caffeine each of the two days? Is a 6% variation in total weight lifted within a normal variation for your workouts? How did you keep the cooling water at 20C? It does not appear you used negative pressure to counter the vasoconstrictive effects of the cold water. Can you repeat this trial with an esophageal probe to see if you were able to cool your core temperature?

[@daynedoesfitness5791]

- I can't speak to his ability to count to 4... - I didn't abstain, since I've built up a physical dependence and I didn't want to deal with the withdrawal headaches and fatigue while attempting a 1 rep max. I did, however, only consume a single cup of coffee at the same time the morning of the tests. Despite me straying from the strict protocol of the study, I did my best to minimize variable between my own tests. - I don't have enough experience training at this intensity to say whether or not a 6% increase is significant or falls under the umbrella of normal variation. I'd have to increase my sample size. - Ice packs. - That is an astute observation. - If I had one, or if I had access to one, I would. While I'm curious, I'm not $100+ curious.

[@robcordes4162]

@@daynedoesfitness5791 my take away from the study was that cooling the palms leads to core temperature cooling and that increases work ability. You could check your oral temperature which would be better than no temp check. A rectal temp would be more accurate if you are that dedicated to finding the answer.

[@daynedoesfitness5791]

Hmmmm.. tempting...

[@carlevarts9986]

I bet your water was too cold. Should not be hurting you as you described.

[@rubensonorio8805]

I also tried bench pressing holding 2 small frozen water bottles for 2 minute interval between sets but it didn’t work for me. Will try with biceps curls 😇

[@gstlynx]

I find that Palmar Cooling works great for recovery, allowing me to do more sets in one day and reduces DOMS.

[@integritytreecare4794]

try freezing water bottles and just grab them and hold them , maybe it wont freeze you entire hand