Abstract
Pre-conditioning strategies to potentiate performance are a common feature of pre-competition routines. The elevation of muscle temperature is seen as a vital component of preparing for physical performance, while pre-cooling strategies have been adopted to offset fatigue during repeated efforts. We investigated the individual and combined effects of a passive heat maintenance strategy and the ingestion of an ice-water slurry on repeated sprint performance. In a random cross-over design, 12 professional male athletes performed 5 × 40 m maximal running sprints under one of four conditions following a standardized warm-up: 15-min passive rest (Control); wearing a lower-body survival garment (HEAT); consuming a 500 mL ice slushy (COLD); or wearing the survival garment and consuming the slushy (H+C). Measures of sprint speed, fatigue, heart rate, and rectal temperature were collected. Compared to COLD: HEAT improved Sprint 1 (ES: 0.84; p = 0.05), but negatively impacted Sprint 4 (ES: -0.87; p = 0.08), and Sprint 5 (ES: -1.57; p = 0.002). H+C was faster than Control for every sprint (ES: 0.28 to 0.66), clearly faster than COLD on Sprints 1–3 (ES: 0.73 to 0.54), and clearly faster than HEAT on Sprints 4 and 5 (ES: 1.31 and 1.87). Fatigue was greatest after the HEAT intervention with a large correlation between fatigue and rectal temperature (r = 0.66; p = 0.0204). While there are undoubtedly peripheral effects of cooling and heating on various aspects of muscle function and fatigue, understanding the integration of psychophysiological homeostatic feedback loops relating to a combined warming and cooling intervention may benefit sports in which repeat sprints are performed.
Highlights
Interventions to acutely enhance athletic performance have been termed pre-conditioning strategies (Kilduff et al, 2013a), and appropriately implemented warm-up combined with passive heat maintenance has been demonstrated to elicit positive performance outcomes (Kilduff et al, 2013b)
There were no differences between the two control sessions at any time point for any of the outcome measures; the average of these data are presented for clarity
COLD intervention compared to the H+C (1.4%; every sprint (ES): 0.24 ± 0.18; p = 0.0293), control sessions (CON) (3.2%; ES: 0.58 ± 0.27; p = 0.0015), and HEAT (8.8%; ES: 1.57; p = 1.22 × 10−6; see Figure 3)
Summary
Interventions to acutely enhance athletic performance have been termed pre-conditioning strategies (Kilduff et al, 2013a), and appropriately implemented warm-up combined with passive heat maintenance has been demonstrated to elicit positive performance outcomes (Kilduff et al, 2013b). The ingestion of an ice slurry avoids direct cooling on the musculature and has been demonstrated to have positive effects on exercise performance analogous to those seen with cold water immersion (Siegel et al, 2012). It apparent that elevated muscle temperature (via active or passive heating and/or maintenance) can enhance explosive muscle actions but may have negative implications for fatigue and repeated efforts. It was further hypothesized that a combination of the warm-up and pre-cooling interventions would improve both early sprint performance and fatigue resistance compared to a control where no additional preconditioning strategies were performed after warm-up
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
