Effects of Acute Cool Water Immersion on Time Trial Performance and Exercised- Induced Oxidative Stress among Endurance Cyclists in the Heat

Effects of Acute Cool Water Immersion on Time Trial Performance and Exercised- Induced Oxidative Stress among Endurance Cyclists in the Heat

Cold water immersion has been used as a modality for recovery among elite athletes. This study investigated the effects of acute cool water immersion (CWI) at 25°C following prolonged submaximal cycling on time trial (TT) performance and oxidative stress.Nine trained male cyclists performed a randomized crossover trial comprising of 60 minutes of cycling at 70% VO2max, followed by 30 minutes of CWI and subsequently a 20 km cycling time trial. Environmental conditions were maintained at 31.2 ± 0.3 °C and relative humidity of 72.0 ± 0.7%.CWI at 25°C lowers core body temperature effectively and improves TT performance of endurance cyclists in a hot and humid condition compared to normal air cooling.