Want to Exercise Longer? Try Cooling Your Hands
Exercise is often a test of your mettle and the more you persevere the greater the rewards are, like bigger muscles, longer lasting endurance and better overall health. But sometimes fatigue gets the better of us and even though we try our best to get past that hurdle sometimes we’re really just too tired to take another step further.
Fortunately, experts have discovered that a simple but effective method can improve your endurance and beat that feeling of fatigue and keep on exercising.
And one of those exercising tips is to keep your hands cool.
Simple yet effective
Researchers conducted an experiment wherein one group of obese women ran on a treadmill while their hands were placed on a cooling device. The other group did the same thing but their hands were placed on a lukewarm device. They discovered that the women who held onto the cooling device were able to run longer than those who held onto a lukewarm handle.
Dr. Stacy T. Sims, an exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist from Stanford University explained that when people exercise and their body temperature rises fatigue sets in and it could hinder them from pushing forward with their activity. But placing your hands on a cooling device can minimize the heat in your body and minimize your level of fatigue significantly.
They added that by simply having cool hands, the rest of the body will also cool down. And if your body’s temperature goes down, it will be more capable to endure any strenuous activity. It’s for this reason that those women who held onto a cooling device were able to last longer on the treadmill as compared to those who held onto a lukewarm handle.
The cooling device they used in the experiment cost $3,000, but scientists say that you don’t have to purchase something that expensive in order to achieve the same result. Experts say that you only need to hold onto something cold while you’re exercising and it can minimize fatigue, helping you push past your breaking point.
They say that simply holding onto a cold drinking bottle can already provide the same effect that those obese women showed. Scientists also say that drinking something cold while exercising can replicate the same results. That way could even be more effective because the cold water will go through your whole body cooling every inch of your internal organs.
So if you’re planning on running a marathon and you want to go the distance always keep your hands cool and drink cool water as often as you can. Just lowering your body temperature can help you fight off fatigue during your exercise, which will lead to better results in your quest for a healthier body.