Interesting article from Stanford on using a cooling device for enhanced recovery:
http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2005/julaug/features/cool.html
I guess a poor man’s version would be to put the hands in a bucket of ice… no vacuum though.
i was kinda intrigued by that article, and since i dont have four grand to buy one of those devices, i’ve started experimenting with hmillroth’s ‘poor mans version’… we’ll see what happens
How about ice + a kitchen glove of some kind to prevent adverse effects on the skin? Perhaps Aluminium foil might be a better conductor?
I have actually used this in summer to keep cool while i am reading for a number of years but never thought it might help with gym work. We will soon find out.
I’ve just thought that nike wre actually onto something with thier cool vest thing, though obviously they didn’t read thier research that well.
How serious are the adverse effects on the skin?
Probably not that bad if the ice isn’t that cold (hummm that sounds very unscientific 
) Off the top of my head I don’t know the scientific wording to describe it but basically you don’t want to give yourself frost bite. Probably just a flask of ice plus a water would do fine - because it will be cold but not so cold you will stick to the ice.
I was reading thier patents and they talk about making sure the blood supply isn’t impeded so it might be useful to think about taking deeper breaths for the duration your hand is in the ice. If you are familiar with quigong or other deep breathing exercises they might help.
I wonder what the difference is between their device and just a bucket of ice plus water? I can see a research project emerging.
Tried this today at the gym. Held a prechilled aluminium bottle filled with ice + a little water in between sets of bench and squats.
I upped the weights and managed 3 sets of 3 with a weight I will usually only get 2 sets 1 rep with. It felt easy. Perhaps it is placebo. I am going to try it again next week. I’ll keep you posted.
I’m going to try it with chin-ups. I’ve been on a mission with those for the past several weeks.
I’ll try it with both weighted chins and a high rep session.
TNT
Another PR today. 3 sets of 3 again. I must admit I don’t feel fatigued on the 2nd and 3rd set any more. Thats an 8% improvement in 2 sessions having been stuck for 3 months. I’ll post again in 2 weeks by then I should know either way.
I did a little experiment with chin-ups. All sets to failure (ugh). 5 min. rest between sets and 48 hrs. between sessions. Icing was done by simply holding a frozen bottle of water.
Mon.
set 1 - 24 reps
- 5 min. rest
2 - 16
5 min. rest
3 - 15
- 5 min. ice
4 - 14
- 5 min. ice
5 - 14
- 5 min. ice
6 - 14
Wed.
set 1 - 24
- 5 min rest
2 - 16
- 5 min. rest
3 - 15
- 5 min. rest
4 - 13
- 5 min. rest
5 - 14
- 5 min. rest
6 - 10 (This set was a real struggle.)
Fri.
set 1 - 22
- 5 min ice
2 - 18
5 min. ice
3 - 16
5 min. ice
4 - 15
5 min. ice
5 - 14
5 min. ice
6 - 12
I had no muscle soreness after any of the sessions, but at the end of Wed. session I was toast. I shouldn’t have counted the last chin from sets 5 and 6 on Wed. They were only to about nose level. I’m going to try weighted chins next time, maybe with cooling the feet.
Should this be moved to the Recovery section??
TNT