Wu CM, Lee MH, Wang WY, Cai ZY. Acute Effects of Intermittent Foot Cooling on 1 RM Leg Press Strength in Resistance-Trained Men: A Pilot Study.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021;
18:ijerph18189594. [PMID:
34574518 PMCID:
PMC8465553 DOI:
10.3390/ijerph18189594]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Inter-set peripheral cooling can improve high-intensity resistance exercise performance. However, whether foot cooling (FC) would increase 1 repetition maximum (RM) lower-limb strength is unclear. This study investigated the effect of intermittent FC on 1 RM leg press strength. Ten recreational male lifters performed three attempts of 1 RM leg press with FC or non-cooling (NC) in a repeated-measures crossover design separated by 5 days. FC was applied by foot immersion in 10 °C water for 2.5 min before each attempt. During the 1 RM test, various physiological measures were recorded. The results showed that FC elicited higher 1 RM leg press strength (Δ [95% CI]; Cohen's d effect size [ES]; 13.6 [7.6-19.5] kg; ES = 1.631) and electromyography values in vastus lateralis (57.7 [8.1-107.4] μV; ES = 0.831) and gastrocnemius (15.1 [-3.1-33.2] μV; ES = 0.593) than in NC. Higher arousal levels (felt arousal scale) were found in FC (0.6 [0.1-1.2]; ES = 0.457) than in NC. In conclusion, the preliminary findings, although limited, suggest intermittent FC has a potential ergogenic role for recreational athletes to enhance maximal lower-limb strength and may partly benefit strength-based competition events.
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