Conference Paper Effect of competition-compatible precooling on distance running in humid heat
Title Effect of competition-compatible precooling on distance running in humid heat
Author Trösch, Severin; Grossmann, Fabian; Rueegg, Franziska; Schmid, Lucas; Heyer, Louis; Krebs, Ramon; Steiner, Thomas; Wehrlin, Jon Peter
EHSM Authors Wehrlin, Jon, jon.wehrlin@baspo.admin.ch
Year 2018
Herausgeber EHSM
Abstract Effect of competition-compatible precooling on distance running in humid heatTheoretical Background:The next two major competitions in athletics will be held in Doha, Qatar (World Championships 2019) and in Tokyo, Japan (Olympic Games 2020). On both occasions, extreme environmental conditions are expected: A wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of ~28°C in Doha and of ~30°C in Tokyo (Murata et al., 2016), indicating “high” and “excessive” temperatures, respectively (Racinais et al., 2015). High WBGT cause a fast increase of body core temperature (CT) during exercise and therefore impair endurance performance (Nybo et al., 2014).One commonly used means against the reduction of endurance performance induced by the rise of CT is “precooling”. It aims to delay the point where critically high CT is reached by lowering CT before the onset of exercise (Ross et al., 2013). Positive effects of precooling on endurance performance have been found, especially where different cooling modalities such as cold water immersion, cooling vests and ice slurries were combined (Racinais et al., 2015).However, most of the existing studies on precooling have executed precooling directly before exercise-onset. They are thus hardly compatible with the regulatory restrictions before major athletics competitions. For example, long distance runners competing in track events (most importantly the 5000 m event) are obliged to arrive in the “call-room” ~30 min before the start of their race. In the call-room, no personal precooling instruments like cooling vests or baths are allowed. Before entering the call room, athletes typically are transferred from their hotel to the competition stadium. Also during transfer and subsequent warm-up, precooling is not pos-sible without practical and regulatory restrictions. In order to implement precooling into the predetermined schedule, it would be necessary to extend the duration between precooling and the start of the race. This would likely reduce the chance of a performance benefit, as the effect of precooling could be “washed out” before the start. However, no study has investigated the effects of best-practice precooling compatible with the schedule before major athletics compe-titions on physiological parameters and on distance running performance so far.Research Question:What are the effects of competition-compatible precooling on A) body core temperature, B) heart rate, oxygen consumption and thermal perception as well as C) performance during dis-tance running in humid heat?....