If improving endurance and performance is of interest, and you aren't already practicing "Palmer Cooling", then today is the day you can start logging changes.
In one study, high-level athletes who incorporated palmer cooling into their workouts logged improvements of 40-60% over those athletes who did not cool between sets. The best part is that the change occurs from your very first use.
Your palms are covered with glabrous skin, which is also found on the soles of your feet and your face. This glabrous skin contains a special network of blood vessels that are direct connections of arteries-to-veins with no capillary beds in between. This means that the blood passing through this system is not intended for carrying oxygen to muscles or removing carbon dioxide from the body. What is intended is the cooling or heating of the blood circulating through them -- and then returning that blood to the body to either heat it or cool it.
Without even knowing, your body instinctively attempts to cool itself down through the areas of your body that are covered with glabrous skin.
- Do you wrap your hands around a mug of hot coffee? Warming through palms.
- Do you keep turning your pillow for the cold side? Cooling through face.
- Do you kick your foot from under the covers when you're hot? Cooling through feet.
If you're serious about not-so-marginal gains, check out Dr. Andrew Huberman, our favorite expert on cooling for improved human performance. This link will take you directly to Huberman's episode on Palmer Cooling.
Pictures feature the Oro Sports CoolHand Glove. Sold in pairs.
