TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

Pre-cooling technology
for endurance events
Introduction
he Olympic and Paralympics Games
in Beijing 2008 represented a significant performance challenge to those
competing in the endurance events. The Beijing meteorological Service Centre provided
mean environmental data to all nations in
2007. For the month of August, this data indicated that:
Mean daily maximum air temperature
would be between 29 and 30C;
Average wind speeds of approximately
2.0m/s;
Air humidity averaging around 74 - 79%

At a high ambient temperature and humidity, there is a general consensus that the
environment is likely to have a detrimental
effect on performance when compared to
less thermally stressful conditions. One intervention used to help reduce the impact of
such a scenario is a pre-cooling strategy
with the aim of increasing heat storage
capacity and greater work capacity during
the event.
Options for pre-cooling
There are numerous methods to assist in
the development of a pre-cooling strategy.
The available options include cold water body
immersion, the use of various cooling / ice
jackets (fluid conditioned systems or phase
change systems), use of evaporation fluids on
the skin, or use of fans, among many others
(for a more detailed discussion see QUOD et
al., 2006). The key driver for the selection of
the right methods and strategy often come
down to the practicalities of the environment
you are operating in and the athletes personal preference.

by IAAF
23:4; 119-120, 2008

More recently, there have been some

technological breakthroughs in assisting
pre-cooling strategies. The CoreControl
(www.avacore.com) system was developed under the premise that blood flow
naturally increases through skin regions in
the hands to dissipate heat through specialised blood vessels.
CoreControl
enhances heat extraction through these
blood vessels by amplifying local blood
flow using a proprietary combination of
controlled temperature settings and a
slight vacuum. It has since been shown to
provide a beneficial effect on exercise
endurance at various workloads (GRAHN
et al., 2005), see Figure 1.
Training gain
Interestingly, the use of the CoreControl
unit has also been shown to provide some
training benefits as reported by the manufacturers, some users and from personal
communications. Some interesting data
emerging suggest that the use of the CoreControl unit can increase total work capacity
in intensive training bouts. There is also
some further data, which has taken this on
to show that the use of the unit provides a
chronic training gain through constant use
above and beyond normal training scenarios. However, evidence of any mechanisms
for these effects has not been presented in
the individual case studies.
It would seem that there is enough insight
to warrant a systematic investigation, using
tight controls and highly trained individuals
with long training histories, to further
assess and understand the underpinning
science and confirm the performance possibilities.

New Studies in Athletics no. 4/2008

119

Pre-cooling technology for endurance events

Figure 1: The CoreControl cooling unit (www.avacore.com)

Summary
In thermally stressful environments, such as
those we have witnessed at the recent summer Olympic Games, pre-cooling has been
suggested as a potential strategy to help
manage decrements in performance. There
are a number of potential methods to support
this concept ranging in cost and practicality.
One of the more technologically focused and
advanced method is the CoreControl system.
In addition to its potential in this situation,
there may also be the potential for use as a
novel training device to enhance return from

training effort and consequent training gain

through the same process.
Please note: The author has no commercial
involvement with any of the companies or
products mentioned in this article.
Reported by Scott Drawer
Scott Drawer, PhD, is a consultant to the
Research & Innovation Unit at UK Sport in
Great Britain. He can be contacted at
scott.drawer@uksport.gov.uk

REFERENCES
GRAHN, D.A.; CAO, V.H. & HELLER, C.H. (2005). Heat
extraction through the palm of one hand improves aerobic
exercise endurance in a hot environment, JAP, 99, 972978

120

QUOD, M.J.; MARTIN, D.T. & LAURSEN, B. (2006). Cooling athletes before competition in the heat: comparison of
techniques and practical considerations. Sports Medicine,
36 (8), 671-682.

New Studies in Athletics no. 4/2008