Supercharge Exercise Performance & Recovery with Cooling | Huberman Lab Essentials
Andrew Huberman
Mar 20, 2025
Mindsip insights from this episode:
Avoid ice baths post-training to promote muscle growth
Immersing the body in an ice bath after training can block the mTOR pathway, which is a key signaling process for muscle growth and adaptation.
Manage body temperature to sustain willpower during exercise
Your willpower to continue exercising is physiologically linked to your body temperature, as a mechanism called 'cardiac drift' will make you quit when you get too hot.
Maintain optimal cooling to avoid vasoconstriction
The cooling surface should not be so cold that it causes vasoconstriction, which would trap heat in the body instead of releasing it.
Utilize targeted cooling for optimal recovery
For optimal recovery without blunting the training stimulus, it is better to cool the body's three portals (palms, feet, face) rather than using a full-body ice bath.
Avoid NSAIDs for temperature control to protect liver and kidneys
Some athletes use non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs like Advil or Tylenol to lower their core body temperature and enhance endurance, but this carries risks for the liver and kidneys.
Cool palms to double workout performance
By cooling the palms of the hands between sets, subjects were able to increase their total pull-up volume from 100 to 180 in a single session.
Utilize cooling portals on face, palms, and feet for body temperature regulation
Your face, the palms of your hands, and the bottoms of your feet are special portals that can cool your entire body far more effectively than other areas due to unique blood vessels called AVAs.
Leverage temperature to enhance physical performance and recovery
Temperature is the most powerful variable for improving physical performance and recovery, more so than many other factors.
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