Huberman Lab

Supercharge Exercise Performance & Recovery with Cooling | Huberman Lab Essentials

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 Watch more Huberman Lab Essentials episodes: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPNW_gerXa4OGNy1yE-W9IX-tPu-tJa7S *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

AHAndrew Hubermanhost

Mar 20, 2025·29m·Watch on YouTube ↗

📖 CHAPTERS

1. 1
   0:00 – 4:20

   Introduction: From Hormones to Physical Performance and Temperature

   Huberman introduces the Huberman Lab Essentials format and frames this episode as a pivot from hormones to physical performance and skill learning. He lists core performance variables—sleep, hydration, nutrition, breathing, mindset, drugs, supplements—and singles out temperature as one of the most powerful yet underused tools.

2. 2
   4:20 – 6:55

   Thermal Physiology Basics: Homeostasis, Heat, and Cold

   Huberman reviews how the body maintains temperature homeostasis and why overheating is dangerous. He explains vasoconstriction and vasodilation, sweating, and fluid conservation, emphasizing that core overheating rapidly disrupts cellular function and overall performance.

3. 3
   6:55 – 11:10

   Heat, Muscle Contraction, and the Performance Ceiling

   Here he connects temperature directly to muscular output. Above a narrow temperature window, enzymes like pyruvate kinase and ATP-dependent processes can’t support contraction, causing involuntary performance drop-offs even when motivation feels intact.

4. 4
   11:10 – 14:50

   Three Temperature Compartments and the Power of Glabrous Skin

   Huberman outlines the body’s three main temperature compartments: core, periphery, and specialized glabrous skin on palms, soles, and face. He introduces AVAs—arteriovenous anastomoses—as high-capacity heat exchangers that make these regions uniquely effective for rapid heating and cooling.

5. 5
   14:50 – 22:00

   Palmar Cooling Research: Doubling Work Output in the Lab

   Drawing on Craig Heller’s Stanford research, Huberman describes experiments where cooling the palms between sets nearly doubled total pull-ups. He explains why the cooling surface must be moderately cool, not ice-cold, to avoid vasoconstriction and ensure effective heat transfer.

6. 6
   22:00 – 27:20

   Heat, Cardiac Drift, and the Physiology of Quitting

   This section explains cardiac drift—how heat alone raises heart rate at a constant running workload. Huberman shows how the brain integrates heat load and effort into a limit that triggers quitting, and how palmar cooling counteracts this by lowering thermal contribution to heart rate.

7. 7
   27:20 – 31:40

   Practical Cooling Protocols During Training

   Huberman translates lab findings into accessible methods using sinks, buckets, and cold cans. He stresses using cool (not icy) water and focusing on palms, soles, and face for both performance boosts and comfort in hot or cold environments.

8. 8
   31:40 – 34:10

   Huberman’s Personal Experiment: Cooling Hands and Feet for Strength

   He shares his own experience applying these principles to dips using a simple bucket of cool water. By cooling both hands and feet between efforts, he achieved about a 60% increase in total dips during a session.

9. 9
   34:10 – 38:40

   Cold for Recovery: When and How to Use It

   Huberman distinguishes short-term, in-competition recovery from session-to-session recovery and warns against post-training whole-body ice baths for strength adaptations. He recommends using palmar/sole/face cooling post-exercise to normalize temperature quickly without blunting growth pathways like mTOR.

10. 10
    38:40 – 43:00

    NSAIDs vs. Mechanical Cooling: Risks and Flexibility

    He addresses the use of NSAIDs like ibuprofen and naproxen by endurance athletes to control temperature, outlining their benefits and drawbacks. Huberman argues that mechanical cooling via glabrous skin provides a safer, adjustable alternative and lets individuals ‘play scientist’ with their own protocols.

11. 11
    43:00

    Conclusion and Future Directions on Performance and Temperature

    Huberman recaps key insights on heat, cooling, and performance and emphasizes that individual environments and daily temperature rhythms affect implementation. He previews future discussions on fat loss, muscle growth, flexibility, and other performance facets tightly linked to temperature and neurophysiology.