Supercharge Exercise Performance & Recovery with Cooling | Huberman Lab Essentials

Andrew Huberman

Mar 20, 2025

Episode description

In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I discuss the critical role of temperature regulation in optimizing athletic and physical performance.

I explain why overheating can hinder performance and endurance and how techniques like palmar cooling can help extend physical effort by aiding temperature regulation. I also highlight how specific body areas, such as the palms and face, are key targets for regulating temperature, allowing heat to dissipate efficiently. Lastly, I discuss how temperature can support training recovery while cautioning that extreme cold, such as ice baths immediately after training, can block adaptations.

Episode show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/ZYC4CTc

Huberman Lab Essentials are short episodes focused on essential science and protocol takeaways from past full-length Huberman Lab episodes. Watch or listen to the full-length episode: https://youtu.be/xaE9XyMMAHY

*Timestamps*
00:00:00 Huberman Lab Essentials; Physical Performance & Skills, Temperature
00:03:03 Temperature Homeostasis, Vasoconstriction & Vasodilation
00:05:38 Elevated Heat & Performance Barrier
00:07:21 Regulating Temperature, Glabrous Skin, “AVAs”
00:11:16 Strength Training & Heat Effects, Tool: Palmar Cooling
00:14:47 Endurance, Temperature & Willpower
00:18:21 Tool: Resistance Training, Running, Palmar Cooling & Water Temperature
00:21:49 Ice Bath & Blocking Training Adaptations; Tool: Glabrous Skin & Recovery
00:25:10 NSAIDs (Tylenol) & Training
00:27:35 Recap & Key Takeaways

Disclaimer & Disclosures: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

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.

#cold-therapy

#muscle

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.

#body-temperature

#exercise

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.

#temperature

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.

#cold-therapy

#recovery

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.

#liver

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.

#exercise

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.