If you’re trying to shave major seconds off of your race time, researchers may have found an incredibly simple trick: ice your legs before you run.
U.K scientists recently discovered that runners who wore frozen gel packs on their quads and hamstrings during a 30-minute warm-up ran a 5K—in hot and humid condition—on average, 85 seconds faster compared to when they didn’t pre-cool their legs.
The believed reason for this is that the ice packs blunts the negative side effects of heat strain, enabling the athletes to maintain a higher intensity during the race, especially during the final kilometer.
The study suggests this trick would also work for a shorter race, but scientists are still unsure if you would see similar results for longer races, such as a 10K or a marathon.
Relevant source:
http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/take-85-seconds-off-your-5k
Curated from Men’s Health
