1 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: Everyone, Welcome to another edition of Wisdom Wednesdays. Today we're 2 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:17,560 Speaker 1: going to unpack a pretty cool little hack that could 3 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:22,160 Speaker 1: significantly improve your workouts. It's not supplements, it's not drugs, 4 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: and it's not dodgy devices, just some pretty smart physiology 5 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: back by research out of Stamford University. Now, when most 6 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:35,600 Speaker 1: of us think about fatigue during strength training, particularly, we 7 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:39,159 Speaker 1: assume that it's muscle failure. But that's only part of 8 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: the story. What's emerged now is that your body might 9 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 1: be shutting down not because your muscles are done, but 10 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: because your internal temperature is too high. And that's what 11 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:54,760 Speaker 1: this paper out of Stanford by doctor Craig Heller and 12 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,960 Speaker 1: colleagues explorers. And this is the key idea. Fatigue is 13 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:03,160 Speaker 1: not just muscle failure, it's often heat failure. So let 14 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: me explain what that means. During intensive resistance exercise, your 15 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:13,319 Speaker 1: muscles generate a huge amount of heat inside them, up 16 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:16,960 Speaker 1: to one hundred times more than at rest. Now, this 17 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:20,959 Speaker 1: heat accumulates in your muscle and your core, and eventually 18 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 1: the brain says, hey, this is too hot. Let's shut 19 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,920 Speaker 1: the system down, or at least slow it down. Now, 20 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:31,480 Speaker 1: one of the key enzymes involved in muscle contraction is 21 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 1: called power of it kiny is, and that actually becomes 22 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: less efficient at higher body temperatures. And we've known about 23 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 1: this for years. It's linked to something called the central 24 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:47,040 Speaker 1: governor and theory of fatigue. But basically what happens is 25 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: that your performance drops off, not because your muscles can't go, 26 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: but because your body is protecting itself from overheating. So 27 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: here's a butt. The researchers asked, what happens if we 28 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: can extract heat from the body during workouts, can this 29 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,680 Speaker 1: delay the fatigue point? And that's what enters into this 30 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 1: equation something called the radiators of the body, and it's 31 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: known as the glabrous skin. And this is where it 32 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:18,800 Speaker 1: gets pretty cold, literally pretty cold. You've got special areas 33 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: of skin called glabrous skin. These are non hurry surfaces 34 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:26,919 Speaker 1: like your palms, although I know a couple of people 35 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:29,520 Speaker 1: with arry palms, but also the soles of your feet 36 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: and your face for some people. Now, these areas contain 37 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 1: unique blood vessels and they got a pretty tricky name. 38 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:44,079 Speaker 1: They're called ateriovenous anastemosis. Try saying that after a couple 39 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 1: of beers. They're called avas. Let's stick with avas for short. 40 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:50,080 Speaker 1: I want you to think of them as as like 41 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: high flow shunts between outeries and veins that kind of 42 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: act like radiators for your blood. Now, the Stamford team 43 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:04,320 Speaker 1: built a device that gently cooled one palm using circulating 44 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 1: water at fifteen to sixteen degrees centigrade. So it wasn't 45 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 1: ice cold. It's just cool enough to drop the temperature 46 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: of the blood returning to the core. And I've actually 47 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:16,840 Speaker 1: seen that device and it was maybe a year or 48 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 1: two when it was a prototype. And what actually happens 49 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:23,640 Speaker 1: with this device with the water running over it is 50 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:27,520 Speaker 1: really effective at cooling it. And then the cooled blood 51 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:33,400 Speaker 1: is then redistributed throughout the body, lowering core temperature and 52 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: also the muscle temperature, enabling the muscles to perform at 53 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 1: high intensity. Now, this is one of the results get really 54 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: really interesting. So the researchers tested three things. Firstly, does 55 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: heat stress reduce strength performance? Right, So this is trying 56 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: to prove the theory, and they found yes, when participants 57 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:57,640 Speaker 1: exercise in a hot environment without the palm cooling, they 58 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:01,320 Speaker 1: had significantly higher core tem They were around thirty nine 59 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 1: degree cent degree and they completed fewer reps. They were 60 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: doing bench presses, they could only do thirty six. When 61 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 1: their palms were cooled, their core temperature dropped from thirty 62 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:15,240 Speaker 1: nine to thirty eight point four, and they cranked out 63 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:17,760 Speaker 1: more reps. They got to forty two on average, which 64 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: is is six extra reps, which is quick back of 65 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: the five pack calculation. That's about sixteen percent. I think. 66 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: The second question I asked was can palm cooling palm 67 00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: the palms are your hands. Can palm cooling increase training 68 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: volume over time? They also find that the answer was yes. 69 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,039 Speaker 1: Participants doing the bench press training twice a week for 70 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:44,720 Speaker 1: three weeks increased their work volume by a whopping forty 71 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 1: percent with palm cooling, and without it they got a 72 00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:52,800 Speaker 1: natural thirteen percent increase in their volume just because they 73 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:57,359 Speaker 1: were training, right, So thirteen percent versus forty percent like 74 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:01,559 Speaker 1: that is that's pretty big. And in a longer pull 75 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 1: up training study, they're just focusing on one particular exercise 76 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,919 Speaker 1: so they can really isolate it. In the pull up study, 77 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: the experience participants improved one hundred and forty four percent 78 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 1: over six weeks with palm cooling and now just five 79 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,839 Speaker 1: percent improvement in experienced people who didn't have their palp cooling, 80 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 1: So like, this is really really significant, particularly when you're 81 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:30,159 Speaker 1: talking about experienced trainers, the beginners, and the ones who 82 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,719 Speaker 1: didn't use the cooling, they improved twenty percent over the 83 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 1: six weeks, and the ones who used the cooling improved 84 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:42,560 Speaker 1: eighty percent. And really that's a massive effects. That's almost 85 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:46,560 Speaker 1: like taking anabolic steroids but without the side effects. So 86 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:50,799 Speaker 1: the third question they asked was, can palm cooling improve 87 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,720 Speaker 1: your raw strength? The one repetition maximum that you may 88 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:57,440 Speaker 1: be aware of, right, that's how much that weight you 89 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:01,119 Speaker 1: can live just for one rep. And yes, as well, 90 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:05,560 Speaker 1: in a ten week pyramid style bench press program the 91 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:09,200 Speaker 1: four week spaceline six weeks with palm cooling, the one 92 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:13,600 Speaker 1: ram increased by twenty two percent during the palm cooling phase. Again, 93 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 1: that's pretty freaking massive for anybody who's been experienced trainer. 94 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:21,799 Speaker 1: So let's explore the mechanism a little bit. It really 95 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 1: comes back to this thermal regulation and that enzyme function 96 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:30,039 Speaker 1: that we talked about at the start. By reducing core 97 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 1: temperature and improving your blood cooling, muscles can continue to 98 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:41,680 Speaker 1: contract effectively and efficiently. These glabrous skin cooling works as 99 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: a thermal bypass to cool the blood without having to 100 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,360 Speaker 1: dunk yourself in an ice bath, and this allows you 101 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:55,560 Speaker 1: to chemically and physiologically reset fatigue between sets. Therefore you 102 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:59,039 Speaker 1: get more work done, therefore you get the improvements. Right now. 103 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:03,479 Speaker 1: They they have created one of these devices, and it's 104 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:06,240 Speaker 1: bloody expensive at the minute. But there is a little 105 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 1: bit of a DIY hack called the bottle method because 106 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 1: their original one I looked into. It is really really 107 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:21,240 Speaker 1: expensive and clunky. But here's what you can do. You 108 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,800 Speaker 1: get a bottle of water, probably a plastic bottle about 109 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:27,640 Speaker 1: half full, and freeze it and then you bring it 110 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 1: into the gym and you hold it in your palms 111 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: for sixty to ninety seconds between heavy sets, and that's 112 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:38,520 Speaker 1: pretty much it. You will cool your avas, you'll reduce 113 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 1: your core temperature and likely extend your performance, especially on 114 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:47,600 Speaker 1: big compound lifts like squatch bench presses, dead lifts, pull ups, 115 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: those sorts of things that are using lots of muscle 116 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 1: nerve for really increasing your core temperature and the temperature 117 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: within the muscles. So let's just do a quick recap. 118 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 1: Fatigue doing strength training is often driven by heat, not 119 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 1: just muscle exhaustion. It is those those two things, but 120 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:09,120 Speaker 1: our palms are one of the most efficient places to 121 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 1: extract body heat thanks to these abas, and then doing 122 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:17,920 Speaker 1: the palm cooling between sets improves both work capacity and 123 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 1: the volume you can get through and long term strength gains. 124 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 1: And you can try the bottle technique. It's cheap, teasy, 125 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 1: and it's based on pretty sound physiology. So to get 126 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:31,240 Speaker 1: strength improvements, you don't need steroids, you don't need fancy technology. 127 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:34,080 Speaker 1: You need something that's in play, insight and in this case, 128 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:36,320 Speaker 1: in the palm of your hands. So that's it for 129 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:38,319 Speaker 1: this week, folks, catch you next time.