Open AccessDoes wearing clothing made of a synthetic “cooling” fabric improve indoor cycle exercise endurance in trained athletes?
Author(s) -
Abdallah Sara J.,
Krug Robin,
Jensen Dennis
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
physiological reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.918
H-Index - 39
ISSN - 2051-817X
DOI - 10.14814/phy2.12505
Subject(s) - athletes , clothing , physical therapy , endurance training , medicine , time trial , physical medicine and rehabilitation , heart rate , archaeology , history , blood pressure
This randomized, double‐blind, crossover study examined the effects of a clothing ensemble made of a synthetic fabric promoted as having superior cooling properties ( COOL ) on exercise performance and its physiological and perceptual determinants during cycle exercise in ambient laboratory conditions that mimic environmental conditions of indoor training/sporting facilities. Twenty athletes (15 men:5 women) aged 25.8 ± 1.2 years (mean ± SEM ) with a maximal rate of O 2 consumption of 63.7 ± 1.5 mL ·kg −1 ·min −1 completed cycle exercise testing at 85% of their maximal incremental power output to exhaustion while wearing an ensemble consisting of a fitted long‐sleeved shirt and full trousers made of either COOL or a synthetic control fabric ( CTRL ). Exercise endurance time was not different under COOL versus CTRL conditions: 12.38 ± 0.98 versus 11.75 ± 1.10 min, respectively ( P > 0.05). Similarly, COOL had no effect on detailed thermoregulatory (skin and esophageal temperatures), cardiometabolic, ventilatory, and perceptual responses to exercise (all P > 0.05). In conclusion, clothing made of a synthetic fabric with purported “cooling” properties did not improve high‐intensity cycle exercise endurance in trained athletes under ambient laboratory conditions that mimic the environmental conditions of indoor training/sporting facilities.