Objectives:The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that cooling the upper body during a warm-up enhances performance during a subsequent 16.1-km simulated cycling time trial in a hot environment. Design: Counterbalanced, repeated measures design. Methods: Eight trained, male cyclists (peak oxygen uptake = 57.8 ± 5.0 mL kg-1 min-1) completed two simulated 16.1-km time trials in a hot environment (35.0 ± 0.5 °C, 43.8 ± 2.0% relative humidity) each separated by 72 h. Treatments were counterbalanced; participants warmed up for 20 min while either wearing head and neck ice wraps and an ice vest (COOLING) or no cooling apparatus (CONTROL). Results: Following the warm-up mean skin temperature (sk), mean body temperature (b) and rating of thermal comfort were significantly lower than baseline following the COOLING trial (all P < 0.05); however, rectal temperature was unaffected (P = 0.35). Because the effects of precooling on sk and b were not sustained during exercise, values for COOLING and CONTROL were not different throughout the time trial (P = 0.38). Nonetheless, time to completion was significantly faster following the COOLING intervention when compared to the CONTROL (29.3 ± 3.6 min, vs. 30.3 ± 3.1 min; P = 0.04). Conclusions: These data suggest that in short distance time trials in hot conditions cyclists may benefit from utilizing a cooling modality during the warm-up.
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