Fatigue Cutting Your Workout Short? This Palm Cooling Device Enhances Athletic Performance
Pubblicazione:
Authors: Therabody Scientists: Tim Roberts, MSc; Rachelle Reed, PhD, MS, ACSM-EP
Expert contributor: Robin Thorpe, PhD, Therabody Advisory Board
Every athlete knows the feeling. You're deep into a set, a drill, or the second half of a match, and your output starts to decline. Fatigue is a performance tax — and rising core body temperature is one of its drivers. As heat builds during high-intensity exercise, muscles fatigue faster, perceived effort climbs, and performance can take a hit.
Palm cooling is a tool that can help counter fatigue when used in later sets. Cooling the palms — one of the body's most efficient heat-exchange points — helps reduce core body temperature between efforts, delays fatigue, and helps athletes sustain output later into a workout or competition.
CryoTherm™ Palm is Therabody's science-backed approach to palm cooling. Designed for athletes who push hard and need to recover fast between efforts, CryoTherm Palm delivers precise, therapeutic-grade cooling in seconds — no ice, water, or setup required.
Here's everything you need to know. 
What is palm cooling?
Palm cooling is a targeted method of regulating body temperature by applying controlled cooling to the palms of the hands. [1]
Why the palms?
“The palms have specialized vascular structures called arteriovenous anastomoses (AVAs), which allow large volumes of blood to pass close to the skin surface,” explains Dr. Robin Thorpe, performance scientist and member of Therabody’s Scientific Advisory Board. Because that skin is glabrous (hairless), heat escapes quickly, making the palms one of the body's most efficient heat exchange points. [1]
This mechanism helps explain why wearing gloves in the winter can keep your hands (and your body) so warm. Insulating one of the body's primary heat-loss pathways is like covering a radiator so that it stays warm.
The inverse is also true: When you cool the palms, you're effectively cooling the radiator, which can decrease core body temperature faster than cooling other areas of skin.
Cooling the body has science-backed benefits for athletic performance — reducing fatigue and perceived effort so athletes can push harder, for longer. [1]
Does palm cooling improve athletic performance?
Yes, palm cooling during a workout has science-backed benefits across endurance, resistance, and interval-based exercises. [1]
When used during exercise, palm cooling has several performance benefits:
- Lowers core body temperature: Palm cooling helps facilitate heat transfer from circulating blood, which can reduce heat strain during exercise. [2]
- Limits fatigue during exercise: Palm cooling between strength training sets consistently increases the number of reps performed until failure by delaying fatigue. [3]
- Reduces perceived effort: Palm cooling reduces perceived exertion, or how hard a workout feels, delaying fatigue and contributing to performance. [3, 4]
- Supports grip strength: Palm cooling during a workout (think: while lifting weights) helps preserve grip strength, contributing to increases in reps performed. [5]
- Improves endurance performance: Performance improves across sprints, rowing, and cycling workouts when palm cooling is used. [6, 7, 8, 9]
- Helps increase strength and power: When palm cooling is used consistently, benefits compound to improvements in overall strength and power. [10]
Check out this article for more on the scientific studies behind palm cooling.
CryoTherm cooling technology is science-backed to enhance athletic performance
Studies using Cryothermal cooling (the technology found in Therabody’s CryoTherm Palm and RecoveryTherm Cube) show it improves athletic performance.
In a randomized crossover study with Division I athletes at USC, using Cryothermal cooling technology between sets of upper body resistance training led to a 28% increase in total work volume and 58% more reps in the final set. Athletes also reported lower perceived effort in later sets and maintained better neuromuscular function, including improvements in grip strength post-session.
A randomized crossover study in 22 elite male youth soccer players at IMG Academy evaluated whether CryoTherm Palm improved performance in team sport settings.
Participants performed 2 sets of 6 x 30m sprints, using the CryoTherm Palm device between sprints while in the intervention condition.
Compared to control condition, palm cooling in between sprints improved:
- Top speed by 2.45% during repeated all-out efforts
- Sprint velocity by 4.7% across repeated all-out efforts
- Perception of heat, with athletes reportedly feeling 60% cooler
How does CryoTherm Palm work?
CryoTherm Palm is a cordless, portable palm cooling device designed to lower core body temperature between high-intensity efforts — no ice, water, or setup required. Its dual-sided design cools both the top and bottom of the hand simultaneously, maximizing contact with the palm's dense network of heat-dissipating blood vessels.
“Palm cooling is an effective and underutilized strategy for sustaining athletic performance, and we’ve made it portable, precise, and accessible for the first time,” says Tim Roberts, Chief Science Officer, Therabody.
Other cooling methods like ice packs and gels are inconsistent, lose temperature quickly, and are impractical to use when they're most effective, during a workout or competition. The device reaches scientifically calibrated, therapeutic temperatures (8°, 12°, and 16° Celsius) in seconds and maintains them for the full treatment time.
“In elite sport, the most effective interventions are often the ones that realistically fit into training and competition environments without disrupting the athlete or coaching process,” adds Thorpe.
In addition to palm cooling, CryoTherm Palm offers hand warming and cold, heat, and contrast therapy that can be used on other parts of the body to reduce stiffness and soreness.
Who should use CryoTherm Palm?
Everyone can benefit from using CryoTherm Palm. The device is specifically designed for athletes’ fast, effective use during workouts or competitions.
Here are specific use cases for CryoTherm Palm.
Athletes in season or during training
Who it’s for: CryoTherm Palm is designed for competitive athletes in intermittent sports where performance degrades as core temperature rises across a match. “Short recovery windows are often where thermal strain continues to build despite the athlete briefly stopping exercise,” explains Thorpe. “Applying cooling during these periods may help athletes better manage heat load without disrupting preparation or training flow.”
When to use: Use during natural game breaks, halftime, timeouts, water breaks, changes of possession, or during repeated sets or intervals, to lower core temperature and sustain speed, especially later in the competition when fatigue tends to set in.
How it works: Palm cooling has been shown to help athletes feel cooler, translating to performance improvements. [1]
Runners, cyclists, and endurance athletes
Who it’s for: Distance runners, cyclists, and other athletes who incorporate structured endurance interval training and want to sustain intensity across repeated training efforts.
When to use: Palm cooling can be used during treadmill sessions, bike intervals, or track repeats to reduce thermal strain and perceived effort, helping maintain pace and power across the full training session.
How it works: Palm cooling helps athletes feel cooler and has benefits across performance metrics. [8]
CryoTherm Palm: Questions and answers
How do I use CryoTherm Palm for palm cooling?
Turn on the device and select your desired temperature settings. Once the device reaches its target temperature, place your entire palm flat against each treatment surface, ensuring maximum contact across the whole palm. Rest your fingers naturally in the divots for a secure, comfortable grip.
How long should I use CryoTherm Palm between sets or efforts?
Studies show that palm cooling for even 1-3 minutes during rest periods can meaningfully improve heat strain and performance outcomes. For indoor and strength training, use the device for 1-3 minutes between sets or efforts. For outdoor training or game use, 3 minutes is recommended. [1]
When should I use palm cooling during training or competition?
- For sports, use palm cooling during natural rest periods — between sets while training, at halftime, during timeouts, water breaks, or changes of possession to sustain speed, power, and repeat-effort capacity.
- For strength training, use between sets or intervals to maintain strength, power, and movement quality deeper into the session.
- For endurance training, use during structured interval work to reduce thermal strain and sustain pace.
How is CryoTherm Palm different from ice, gel packs, or water-based cooling?
Ice and gel packs lose temperature quickly, and they cannot maintain a consistent therapeutic temperature range. CryoTherm Palm is portable, cordless, and ready to use anywhere, no freezing required.
Why does the device’s precise temperature matter?
Temperature precision is critical. If the surface is too cold (like ice), it causes vasoconstriction — blood vessels narrow and heat exchange becomes less efficient. CryoThermal Technology delivers scientifically calibrated temperatures that reach and maintain the therapeutic range in seconds, ensuring consistent and effective heat exchange for the full duration of treatment.
Are there any side effects from using CryoTherm Palm?
Heating and cooling treatments may cause temporary redness or skin sensitivity in some individuals. If you experience discomfort, discontinue use and allow the area to return to normal temperature. Refer to Therabody’s precaution page for more information.
Who should NOT use CryoTherm Palm?
Individuals with certain medical conditions should consult a healthcare professional before use. For a full list of precautions and contraindications, refer to Therabody’s precaution page.
Key takeaways:
- What is palm cooling? Palm cooling reduces core body temperature by targeting the palms — the body's most efficient heat-exchange points — to delay fatigue and sustain athletic performance during high-intensity exercise.
- Does palm cooling improve athletic performance? Yes. Research shows palm cooling during exercise increases total work volume, reduces perceived effort, preserves grip strength, and improves performance across strength, interval, and endurance training.
- What is CryoTherm Palm? CryoTherm Palm is Therabody's cordless, portable palm cooling device that reaches scientifically calibrated, therapeutic temperatures in seconds — no ice, water, or setup required — with heat and contrast therapy built in.
- Who should use CryoTherm Palm? CryoTherm Palm is designed for competitive and intermittent sport athletes, strength and hybrid athletes, and endurance athletes who train with intervals and want to sustain output across repeated efforts.
- When should you use palm cooling during a workout or competition? Use palm cooling for 1–3 minutes during natural rest periods — between sets, at halftime, during timeouts, or between intervals — when it's most effective for reducing heat strain and sustaining performance.
References:
- Cold water immersion of the hand and forearm during half-time improves intermittent exercise performance in the heat
- Heat extraction through the palm of one hand improves aerobic exercise endurance in a hot environment
- Palm cooling delays fatigue during high-intensity bench press exercise
- Palm Cooling and Heating Delays Fatigue During Resistance Exercise in Women
- The influence of cooling forearm/hand and gender on estimation of handgrip strength
- Use of Gloves to Examine Intermittent Palm Cooling's Impact on Rowing Ergometry
- Ergogenic and Physiological Outcomes Derived From a Novel Skin Cooling Device
- The Effects of Palmar Cooling on Repeated Sprinting Ability: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
- The Effects of Palm Cooling on Repeat Sprint Ability Following a Fatigue Inducing Protocol in Collegiate Female Athletes
- Work volume and strength training responses to resistive exercise improve with periodic heat extraction from the palm
