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.
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.
QUOINOA
It looks like a grain and cooks like a grain, but it's in the spinach family and has 8 grams of protein per cup. It's one of few foods to contain all nine essential amino acids that are needed to build lean muscle and to recover from workouts.
Replace your oatmeal with Quoinoa in the morning, or use it in place of rice at dinner.
BERRIES
Bluer, purpler, and redder are better. Or better said, the darker the berry, the better the nutrients. They are the best sources of Vitamins A, C, and E, and are what's needed to protect against oxidative stress and the free radicals that form during strenuous activity. Lots and lots of antioxidents help preserve muscle strength as you age.
SALMON
Pink, oily, and loaded with Omega-3 fatty acids. Like mackerel and trout, Salmon is an excellent source of lean protein and omega-3 fatty acids, which help reduce inflammation that can hamper athletic performance and contribute to chronic conditions like heart disease.
Wild salmon generally contains fewer cancer-causing chemical contaminants than farmed, and is generally more expensive and difficult to find. Use canned wild salmon for salmon burgers, or in salads and with pasta dishes. Eight ounces a week is enough to benefit from Salmon's anti-inflammatory benefits. Pass on the pills, which are still controversial, and stick with the fish.
BEANS
Plant-based sources of protein are a must for vegetarians; especially vegetarian athletes. One cup of black beans, for example, has 15 grams of protein and enough fiber to keep you feeling fuller for longer. Soybeans (in the form of tofu as well), lentils, peas, and all variety of bean: black, cannellini, kidney, garbanzo, you name it. Add to salads, make a three-bean chili, even hummus is a tried-and-true way to keep up your protein intake.
PASTA
Protein for muscle, carbohydrates for fuel. We can burn fat and protein for fuel as well, but they first have to be converted into carbs, which creates more work for the body. Whole-grain carbs have more fiber and typically less added sugar than refined white flours. But the night before a competition, it's best to skip the high fiber and go for the pasta. Fiber takes longer to pass through your system, which can mean gastrointestinal drama when you least need it.
BANANAS
A great source of easy-to-digest sugar, natural electrolytes, and only 100 calories. Not as convenient as a bar or gel, but banana's are a good option and less-processed alternative that basically does the same thing. Also a great recovery food, one banana has 422 mg of potassium, which helps regulate fluids and prevent muscle cramps. Potassium is sweated out during exertional activity, so it’s important to replenish afterwards.
CRUCIFEROUS
All vegetables are good for providing the vitamins and minerals your body needs for maximum performance. But it's our gassy friends broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and kale that have higher concentrations of antioxidants, fiber, and other important nutrients. Like berries, the darker the green, the better. Cauliflower, however, is the only exception to the color rule.
NUTS and NUT BUTTER
A natural combination of protein and good-for-you fats, nuts should be a staple in every athlete's diet. They’re easy to digest, and can help balance blood sugar when eaten with carbs. The best example is a bagel with peanut butter. Eaten alone, the bagel would turn to sugar right away. When peanut butter is added, the protein and fat can help sustain the carbs over a longer period of time.
CHOCOLATE MILK
It's often assumed that massive amounts of protein are needed after a workout. What's best for recovery, however, are simple carbs with a little bit of protein—approximately a four or five to one ratio. A glass of low-fat chocolate milk can provide the same benefits as a recovery beverage. An added benefit is that the caffeine in chocolate dilates and relaxes blood vessels, helping oxygen-rich blood reach your muscles more quickly.
TART CHERRY JUICE
Tart cherry juice has been shown to help prevent inflammation and reduce muscle soreness.
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Last year was the hottest on record, and experts agree that 2024 will be even hotter. Because schools are not prepared for the extreme heat, everybody suffers. You may be surprised just how much the heat is affecting your student's grades, mood, and health.
Cognitive function decreases during excessive heat, leading to slower reaction times on assessments. Students learn less and perform worse on tests in hot classrooms. It can also make them irritable, edgy and unable to control emotions.
Learn from the Groundhog. Trust what the weather tells you.
With summer comes a high sun, high heat, and high expectations for personal gains. You'll go outside and give it your all. You'll test new kinds of hydration, new forms of nutrition, and you'll deny your body the one simple protocol that can actually improve your performance from Day 1: Thermoregulation
When your body temperature rises -- and it will -- your muscles will fight you. You will sweat, you will dehydrate. And eventually your body will refuse to perform.
When you push beyond your body's ability to regulate its body temperature, something is going to give -- and that something is you. Your overheated brain can no longer send signals to move muscle. Within only minutes, heat stress can turn into life-threatening heat stroke.
So which performance piece comes first – hydration or performance cooling? Once overheated, it will be extremely difficult to cool your body to a safe temperature without an immersion ice tub or paramedics. Cool your body before you start exerting body heat.
Say goodbye to brain fog and muscle fatigue by incorporating a cooling vest into your training.
]]>Health care providers are not required to report heat-related deaths, so there are no real numbers on how many people have died from organ failure or cardiac arrest due to the heat. The CDC reported 1,600 deaths in 2021, but the numbers are estimated to be significantly higher.
Consider warehouses. Sheet metal buildings with no windows or circulating air. Fans, when present, do little more than move the the stifling air, rendering the "solution" useless. As one former Amazon warehouse worker explained, "I have been nauseous, dizzy, and my shirt is soaked in sweat three to four times during my shift."
Sadly, companies are arguing that 87º is a fair threshold of indoor heat. There's only one problem with that -- it isn't!
Mix 87º environmental heat with the exertional heat of the industrial athlete, and you've got a recipe for a life-threatening disaster called heat stroke. In fact, exertional heat alone can incite heat stress. Workers reports nosebleeds, nausea and dizziness.
Thankfully, California is fighting the fight for the rest of us. The state is fighting to lower heat thresholds while also holding companies accountable to heat-safety regulations. As California goes, so goes the nation -- let's do whatever we can to support the changes that will affect us all -- even if it's just to make some noise.
In rare cases, the cart truly does appear before the horse -- and when it comes to the topic of hydration, this has been the case for 58 years.
The word "hydration" became a part of our lexicon in 1965, when Gatorade was invented at Florida State University. Gatorade was introduced as the horse that would pull the human performance cart when, in fact, hydration was always the cart.
So who, or what, is the horse in this equation?
The answer is Thermoregulation -- the regulation of body temperature, which can prevent dehydration in the first place. Thermoregulation is the horse. Yet for 58 years it's been the Who in Whoville, holding all the cards.
The Oro Sports brand puts thermoregulation front and center, where it belongs. Hydration cannot be maintained without FIRST regulating body temperature.
Simply put: If you can help prevent your body from overheating, you can then maintain hydration. And muscle movement. And cognitive function. The two are interconnected and useless without each other.
For those who have doubts about the importance of thermoregulation, consider this -- you can succumb to heat stroke even when fully hydrated!
Thermoregulate. Hydrate. Two sides of the same coin, no matter which way it lands.
]]>With climate change awareness reaching a global crescendo, a move towards adaptive clothing -- particularly clothing that assists with thermoregulation -- is not only inevitable, but necessary.
Fashion, style, and trends are all predicated on a variety of motivations. Style is inherent and without boundary. Trend is transitional and can span multiple seasons or multiple years. But when trend is dictated by a dominant global influence, a trend can become a new standard.
Climate change is a global crisis that will directly affect how we dress. Sustainable, antimicrobial, breathable, and temperature-regulating apparel is fast-approaching “new standard” status. We are facing a future that can no longer succumb to fashion for fashion’s sake. Going forward, personal health will play a role in how we see fashion.
As Katriona Flynn, fashion trend expert states: “Streetwear is now more of a cultural phenomenon than a fashion trend."
Whether on the streets, on the job, or on the playground, clothing that directly affects human performance will win the day.
©Luanne DiBernardo 2020
]]>Electrolytes maintain fluid balance, muscle contractions and healthy nerve signals. I thought it might be interesting to dig around to learn what the experts think. Evaluation teams at Sports Illustrated reported different results than the experts at Rolling Stone Magazine.
The hit list I put together is copied below. When reviewing the content, keep in mind that not all criteria is valued equally. What may be important to you in a sports drink, may be irrelevant to somebody else.
Simply identify your level of need (endurance sports, low impact, weights and resistance, other) you can quickly identify which powder will give you what your body needs to perform at its best.
In one week, Babe Didrikson won three Olympic medals and set three world records in three different sports. Her achievement was unprecedented, and remains unmatched to this day.
Babe won Gold for both the javelin throw and the high jump; and Silver for the 80m hurdles -- though in truth she tied for 1st place with a leap of 1.65m. Her technique was considered "invalid", which dropped her to Silver.
Recognized by the Associated Press as the Best Athlete of the 20th Century, Mildred "Babe" Didrikson competed in the 1932 Olympics. She qualfied for 8 events, but was elgible to compete for only three events, which was the limit for women at that time.
But Babe was unbeatable in many sports! She was All American in Basketball, and played competitive baseball, tennis, diving, bowling, tennis, swimming, boxing, and volleyball.
She was the first female to compete in PGA against men. She was a founding member of LPGA, won 41 tournaments; 13 of them in a row.
After a diagnosis with cancer in 1953, she won the U.S. Open, her 10th major. She was still #1 when she died on September 1956 at 45 years of age.
Does any modern-day athlete come close to this athletic phenom?
]]>Cheap running shoes have been shown to lower your risk of injury. There, we said it. But the words are not our own.
The University of Bern in Switzerland conducted research among almost 5,000 runners that proved that runners who wore shoes priced at under $40 resulted in 50% fewer injuries than those who wore running shoes costing upwards of $95.
Medicine + Science in Sports and Exercise reported similar results to their own study
Luxurious cushioning might feel great to stand in, but when running, the feet lose the relationship to the ground that keeps the runner stable.
Information below credited to Jens Jakob Anderson @ "Run Repeat"
Runners can, and many do, run alone. In fact, 55% of the running population prefers to run alone. With 56M estimated runners in the United States, 55% is an impressive number, and one that's about to grow.
It's our belief that not only will former runners return to running; but never-before runners and frustrated athletes will give the activity serious consideration.
If you're concerned about losing your usual workout routine, it might be time to pound the pavement. If you're new to the game, studies have shown that slow and steady wins the day.
Some surprising running facts:
Elite and competitive athletes participate in rigorous training loads and multiple competitions. The development of an equally rigorous recovery process is required to prevent overtraining and injury. Some strategies, such as hydration, cold water immersion, nutrition, and sleep are effective in their ability to counteract the fatigue mechanisms. Sleep quality is the most vulnerable prior to major competitive events, during periods of high-intensity training, and when exposed to the travel demands of competitions.
Slow-wave, or deep sleep, is believed to be essential for optimal recovery in athletes. Growth hormones are secreted during this phase, creating the optimum environment for anabolism. Anabolism is one of the processes in metabolism.
"When athletes experience sleep deprivation, this reduces their slow-wave sleep, makes them feel sleepier during the day and starts to adversely affect their performance.” (1)
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine did a study, where they cooled the brains of 12 insomniacs to cool the prefrontal cortex. This cooling of the brain helped the insomniacs fall asleep —and stay asleep about as long—as adults without insomnia.
Oro Sports Cooling Headband cools the brain; for anxiety, heat safety, and insomnia.
(1).Halson S (2014). Sleep in Elite Athletes and Nutritional Interventions to Enhance Sleep. Sports Med. 44 (Suppl 1):13-23.
]]>]]>In a move we should be hearing more about, Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey passed a Heat Participation Policy to protect athletes in Grades 6 through 12 from heat stroke and other injuries.“Heat stroke from practicing or playing in hot weather can bring on sudden cardiac arrest, causing otherwise healthy student athletes to suffer,” said Assemblywoman Pinkin. “By enacting this legislation, we are arming schools with the appropriate tools and guidelines for safe and responsible action.”Governor Phil Murphy should be commended for his timely response to a growing nationwide concern. The State of Florida records more incidents of fatal heat stroke on high school fields than any other state in the nation. We look forward to similar announcements coming from the South and Midwest, where record-breaking heat waves are on the rise in recent years.“Too often we hear of tragedies occurring on sports fields that could have been avoided if the adults were properly trained to quickly address the situation,” said Dr. Lamont O. Repollet, Commissioner of Education. “The steps that we’re taking today will help provide greater levels of preparedness and protection, which will create a safer environment for student athletes throughout the state.”