scholarly journals Combining cooling or heating applications with exercise training to enhance performance and muscle adaptations

2020 ◽  
Vol 129 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert D. Hyldahl ◽  
Jonathan M. Peake

Athletes use cold water immersion, cryotherapy chambers, or icing in the belief that these strategies improve postexercise recovery and promote greater adaptations to training. A number of studies have systematically investigated how regular cold water immersion influences long-term performance and muscle adaptations. The effects of regular cold water immersion after endurance or high-intensity interval training on aerobic capacity, lactate threshold, power output, and time trial performance are equivocal. Evidence for changes in angiogenesis and mitochondrial biogenesis in muscle in response to regular cold water immersion is also mixed. More consistent evidence is available that regular cold water immersion after strength training attenuates gains in muscle mass and strength. These effects are attributable to reduced activation of satellite cells, ribosomal biogenesis, anabolic signaling, and muscle protein synthesis. Athletes use passive heating to warm up before competition or improve postexercise recovery. Emerging evidence indicates that regular exposure to ambient heat, wearing garments perfused with hot water, or microwave diathermy can mimic the effects of endurance training by stimulating angiogenesis and mitochondrial biogenesis in muscle. Some passive heating applications may also mitigate muscle atrophy through their effects on mitochondrial biogenesis and muscle fiber hypertrophy. More research is needed to consolidate these findings, however. Future research in this field should focus on 1) the optimal modality, temperature, duration, and frequency of cooling and heating to enhance long-term performance and muscle adaptations and 2) whether molecular and morphological changes in muscle in response to cooling and heating applications translate to improvements in exercise performance.

2017 ◽  
Vol 313 (4) ◽  
pp. R372-R384 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Broatch ◽  
Aaron Petersen ◽  
David J. Bishop

We investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms by which postexercise cold-water immersion (CWI) may alter key markers of mitochondrial biogenesis following both a single session and 6 wk of sprint interval training (SIT). Nineteen men performed a single SIT session, followed by one of two 15-min recovery conditions: cold-water immersion (10°C) or a passive room temperature control (23°C). Sixteen of these participants also completed 6 wk of SIT, each session followed immediately by their designated recovery condition. Four muscle biopsies were obtained in total, three during the single SIT session (preexercise, postrecovery, and 3 h postrecovery) and one 48 h after the last SIT session. After a single SIT session, phosphorylated (p-)AMPK, p-p38 MAPK, p-p53, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α ( PGC-1α) mRNA were all increased ( P < 0.05). Postexercise CWI had no effect on these responses. Consistent with the lack of a response after a single session, regular postexercise CWI had no effect on PGC-1α or p53 protein content. Six weeks of SIT increased peak aerobic power, maximal oxygen consumption, maximal uncoupled respiration (complexes I and II), and 2-km time trial performance ( P < 0.05). However, regular CWI had no effect on changes in these markers, consistent with the lack of response in the markers of mitochondrial biogenesis. Although these observations suggest that CWI is not detrimental to endurance adaptations following 6 wk of SIT, they question whether postexercise CWI is an effective strategy to promote mitochondrial biogenesis and improvements in endurance performance.


2015 ◽  
Vol 309 (4) ◽  
pp. R389-R398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Llion A. Roberts ◽  
Makii Muthalib ◽  
Jamie Stanley ◽  
Glen Lichtwark ◽  
Kazunori Nosaka ◽  
...  

Cold water immersion (CWI) and active recovery (ACT) are frequently used as postexercise recovery strategies. However, the physiological effects of CWI and ACT after resistance exercise are not well characterized. We examined the effects of CWI and ACT on cardiac output (Q̇), muscle oxygenation (SmO2), blood volume (tHb), muscle temperature (Tmuscle), and isometric strength after resistance exercise. On separate days, 10 men performed resistance exercise, followed by 10 min CWI at 10°C or 10 min ACT (low-intensity cycling). Q̇ (7.9 ± 2.7 l) and Tmuscle (2.2 ± 0.8°C) increased, whereas SmO2 (−21.5 ± 8.8%) and tHb (−10.1 ± 7.7 μM) decreased after exercise ( P < 0.05). During CWI, Q̇ (−1.1 ± 0.7 l) and Tmuscle (−6.6 ± 5.3°C) decreased, while tHb (121 ± 77 μM) increased ( P < 0.05). In the hour after CWI, Q̇ and Tmuscle remained low, while tHb also decreased ( P < 0.05). By contrast, during ACT, Q̇ (3.9 ± 2.3 l), Tmuscle (2.2 ± 0.5°C), SmO2 (17.1 ± 5.7%), and tHb (91 ± 66 μM) all increased ( P < 0.05). In the hour after ACT, Tmuscle, and tHb remained high ( P < 0.05). Peak isometric strength during 10-s maximum voluntary contractions (MVCs) did not change significantly after CWI, whereas it decreased after ACT (−30 to −45 Nm; P < 0.05). Muscle deoxygenation time during MVCs increased after ACT ( P < 0.05), but not after CWI. Muscle reoxygenation time after MVCs tended to increase after CWI ( P = 0.052). These findings suggest first that hemodynamics and muscle temperature after resistance exercise are dependent on ambient temperature and metabolic demands with skeletal muscle, and second, that recovery of strength after resistance exercise is independent of changes in hemodynamics and muscle temperature.


2015 ◽  
Vol 593 (18) ◽  
pp. 4285-4301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Llion A. Roberts ◽  
Truls Raastad ◽  
James F. Markworth ◽  
Vandre C. Figueiredo ◽  
Ingrid M. Egner ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 115 (9) ◽  
pp. 1324-1331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin De Pauw ◽  
Bart Roelands ◽  
Uroš Marušič ◽  
Helio Fernandez Tellez ◽  
Kristel Knaepen ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of prolonged intensive cycling and postexercise recovery in the heat on brain sources of altered brain oscillations. After a max test and familiarization trial, nine trained male subjects (23 ± 3 yr; maximal oxygen uptake = 62.1 ± 5.3 ml·min−1·kg−1) performed three experimental trials in the heat (30°C; relative humidity 43.7 ± 5.6%). Each trial consisted of two exercise tasks separated by 1 h. The first was a 60-min constant-load trial, followed by a 30-min simulated time trial (TT1). The second comprised a 12-min simulated time trial (TT2). After TT1, active recovery (AR), passive rest (PR), or cold water immersion (CWI) was applied for 15 min. Electroencephalography was measured at baseline and during postexercise recovery. Standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography was applied to accurately pinpoint and localize altered electrical neuronal activity. After CWI, PR and AR subjects completed TT2 in 761 ± 42, 791 ± 76, and 794 ± 62 s, respectively. A prolonged intensive cycling performance in the heat decreased β activity across the whole brain. Postexercise AR and PR elicited no significant electrocortical differences, whereas CWI induced significantly increased β3 activity in Brodmann areas (BA) 13 (posterior margin of insular cortex) and BA 40 (supramarginal gyrus). Self-paced prolonged exercise in the heat seems to decrease β activity, hence representing decreased arousal. Postexercise CWI increased β3 activity at BA 13 and 40, brain areas involved in somatosensory information processing.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica M. Stephens ◽  
Shona Halson ◽  
Joanna Miller ◽  
Gary J. Slater ◽  
Christopher D. Askew

The use of cold-water immersion (CWI) for postexercise recovery has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, but there is a dearth of strong scientific evidence to support the optimization of protocols for performance benefits. While the increase in practice and popularity of CWI has led to multiple studies and reviews in the area of water immersion, the research has predominantly focused on performance outcomes associated with postexercise CWI. Studies to date have generally shown positive results with enhanced recovery of performance. However, there are a small number of studies that have shown CWI to have either no effect or a detrimental effect on the recovery of performance. The rationale for such contradictory responses has received little attention but may be related to nuances associated with individuals that may need to be accounted for in optimizing prescription of protocols. To recommend optimal protocols to enhance athletic recovery, research must provide a greater understanding of the physiology underpinning performance change and the factors that may contribute to the varied responses currently observed. This review focuses specifically on why some of the current literature may show variability and disparity in the effectiveness of CWI for recovery of athletic performance by examining the body temperature and cardiovascular responses underpinning CWI and how they are related to performance benefits. This review also examines how individual characteristics (such as physique traits), differences in water-immersion protocol (depth, duration, temperature), and exercise type (endurance vs maximal) interact with these mechanisms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron C. Petersen ◽  
Jackson J. Fyfe

Post-exercise cold-water immersion (CWI) is a popular recovery modality aimed at minimizing fatigue and hastening recovery following exercise. In this regard, CWI has been shown to be beneficial for accelerating post-exercise recovery of various parameters including muscle strength, muscle soreness, inflammation, muscle damage, and perceptions of fatigue. Improved recovery following an exercise session facilitated by CWI is thought to enhance the quality and training load of subsequent training sessions, thereby providing a greater training stimulus for long-term physiological adaptations. However, studies investigating the long-term effects of repeated post-exercise CWI instead suggest CWI may attenuate physiological adaptations to exercise training in a mode-specific manner. Specifically, there is evidence post-exercise CWI can attenuate improvements in physiological adaptations to resistance training, including aspects of maximal strength, power, and skeletal muscle hypertrophy, without negatively influencing endurance training adaptations. Several studies have investigated the effects of CWI on the molecular responses to resistance exercise in an attempt to identify the mechanisms by which CWI attenuates physiological adaptations to resistance training. Although evidence is limited, it appears that CWI attenuates the activation of anabolic signaling pathways and the increase in muscle protein synthesis following acute and chronic resistance exercise, which may mediate the negative effects of CWI on long-term resistance training adaptations. There are, however, a number of methodological factors that must be considered when interpreting evidence for the effects of post-exercise CWI on physiological adaptations to resistance training and the potential underlying mechanisms. This review outlines and critiques the available evidence on the effects of CWI on long-term resistance training adaptations and the underlying molecular mechanisms in skeletal muscle, and suggests potential directions for future research to further elucidate the effects of CWI on resistance training adaptations.


2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-11
Author(s):  
Christina J. Lorete ◽  
Riley N. Fontaine ◽  
Lauren A. Welsch ◽  
Johanna M. Hoch

Clinical Question:Is there evidence to suggest continuous cold water immersion (CWI) as a postexercise recovery intervention is more effective at reducing perceived muscle fatigue or soreness as measured using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) when compared with passive rest in physically active adults?Summary of Key Findings:A systematic search of the literature produced 124 studies, with two randomized controlled trials and two cross-over studies meeting the inclusion criteria.Clinical Bottom Line:There is inconsistent, limited-quality evidence to support that the use of CWI postexercise is more effective at reducing perceived muscle fatigue or soreness in physically active adults when compared with passive rest. The results of the included studies were inconsistent regarding the application of continuous CWI for 10–14 min to reduce perceived muscle fatigue and soreness when compared with passive rest. The good-quality evidence found no difference between conditions and the three limited-quality studies identified differences between the conditions.


Author(s):  
Wen-Tsuen Wang ◽  
Lou Watkins

Syntactic foam, a composite material made by combining spherical fillers in a polymeric binder, has been used for over thirty years in the offshore oil industry. To date, the applications of this material have fallen into two categories: (1) buoyancy modules or floats to support drilling risers, or (2) thermal insulation for subsea equipment and flowlines. In the first category, the syntactic foam is exposed only to cold water (4° C). In the second category, the insulation may be subjected to temperatures as high as 150° C. The contrast of these two separate applications has led to two distinct classes of materials, each with its own properties and accepted standards and criteria. Now a new category of usage has arisen: Vertical production risers that require buoyant lift, and sometimes some degree of thermal insulation, for long-term service (20–25 years) in “warm” water that may be in the range of 40° C to 65° C. By combining the buoyancy requirement of lowest possible density with the insulation requirement of prolonged hydrothermal stability, this application poses new challenges for syntactic foam development and demands new directions in testing and analysis. Because of the increasingly large size of emerging offshore projects, the potential requirement here is for very large volumes. This paper describes the materials that have been identified as candidates for the new service, and outlines the testing philosophy that is being evolved to test and qualify them with confidence for very long periods of service. Preliminary test data is presented, along with predictions of long-term performance. Lessons learned during the project will have implications for all syntactic materials, and will be useful to any managers and technologists involved in marine engineering.


2014 ◽  
Vol 222 (3) ◽  
pp. 165-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew L. Geers ◽  
Jason P. Rose ◽  
Stephanie L. Fowler ◽  
Jill A. Brown

Experiments have found that choosing between placebo analgesics can reduce pain more than being assigned a placebo analgesic. Because earlier research has shown prior experience moderates choice effects in other contexts, we tested whether prior experience with a pain stimulus moderates this placebo-choice association. Before a cold water pain task, participants were either told that an inert cream would reduce their pain or they were not told this information. Additionally, participants chose between one of two inert creams for the task or they were not given choice. Importantly, we also measured prior experience with cold water immersion. Individuals with prior cold water immersion experience tended to display greater placebo analgesia when given choice, whereas participants without this experience tended to display greater placebo analgesia without choice. Prior stimulus experience appears to moderate the effect of choice on placebo analgesia.


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