Just Cool It
Athletes, and patients, know that overheating hurts a body’s performance. Biologists H. Craig Heller and Dennis Grahn—using a vacuum and the palm—have learned how to chill out efficiently.
http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2005/julaug/features/cool.html
Thanks to Erik for pointing this out!
Because this appears to provide such a substantial increase in performance (or rather, recovery, which allows for better training) it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the anti doping agencies try to ban the practice. I know they were interested in baning the use of hybobaric chambers (they simulate being at high altitude, something that is quite valuable to endurance athletes).
It would be challenging to do a double blind study to attempt to winkle out the placebo effects (it is my opinion that in most cases the alleged performance enhancement that comes from a lot of the presumed PEDs (Performance Enhancing Drugs) is from the placebo effect, perhaps coupled with extra training to justify the risk). Since it is clear that the athletes being tested are using a gizmo that is supposed to help them the data they have collected so far would seem a bit dubious from an analysis point of view.
