Does wearing clothing made of a synthetic "cooling" fabric improve indoor cycle exercise endurance in trained athletes?
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 O2 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.
Clinical Exercise & Respiratory Physiology Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology & Physical Education, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.
Sara J
SJ
Abdallah
Clinical Exercise & Respiratory Physiology Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology & Physical Education, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.
Robin
R
Krug
Clinical Exercise & Respiratory Physiology Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology & Physical Education, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada McGill Research Centre for Physical Activity and Health, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada Respiratory Epidemiology & Clinical Research Unit, Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine, McGill University and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center, Montréal, QC, Canada dennis.jensen@mcgill.ca.
Dennis
D
Jensen
Cycling; V˙o2max; performance; thermoregulation