Latest news with #athleticperformance
WIRED
3 days ago
- Health
- WIRED
This Palm-Cooling Device Helps You Recharge During Workouts
When I ran track in college (10 years ago, sigh), my team's physical therapists were always pushing us to utilize any and all recovery tools, no matter how ridiculous they seemed to us college kids. We'd leave practice with protein shakes in each hand, our shins bulging with ice bags that were plastic-wrapped to our legs as we waddled on our way to the dining hall. We dutifully visited the training room three times a day to take an ice bath or get an ultrasound, transcutaneous electrical muscle stimulation, or the simultaneously loved and dreaded Graston massage. Foam rolling and mini-band work were staples. Ever since then, I've been fascinated by how trainers and coaches can use recovery methods to make people better athletes, or simply bounce back from marathon training faster. When the Nice Rocc, a new handheld palm-cooling device that claims to improve athletic performance by rapidly speeding up muscle recovery, came onto my radar, I was intrigued. Even better, the Rocc is manufactured in Boulder, Colorado, close to where I live in Denver. I got to drop by the Nice headquarters myself to see how this thing is made. Super Fast Cooling Photograph: Kristin Canning Palm-cooling, also called palmar cooling or vasocooling, uses the glabrous, or hairless, skin that humans have on the palms of their hands and the soles of their feet. This skin contains special blood vessels called arteriovenous anastomoses that contract quickly and widely, making them a great area to target if you want to cool core temperature. That aids in muscle recovery and helps athletes go harder for longer. When you hold a palm-cooling device, it sucks heat from the body and sends cooled blood back into the circulatory system, dropping core body temperature fast. Athletes can take advantage of these tools during rest periods in games or between reps in practice. These devices are even being used to help firefighters and military personnel fight heat stress. As a performance tool, palm cooling is research-backed. Today, professional coaches and players in the NBA, NHL, MLB, and NFL, as well as tennis, soccer, and Olympic athletes, are using these products to get an edge in games and during training. Nice has already established itself as an iceless recovery-tool maker with the Nice1, a portable cooling and compression device, but the Rocc is its first foray into cooling for performance instead of injury recovery. It's a dense, rounded cylinder that weighs 5.3 pounds, but it has several factors that set it apart from other options on the market. While most palm-cooling devices, like the CoolMitt, require some setup (usually in the form of adding cold packs or water to the vessel), the Rocc utilizes solid-state electronic cooling, similar to that found in mini fridges. Small squares inside the machine contain two different conductor metals that meet at a junction. Sending electricity to the junction triggers the Peltier effect, causing the outward side of the squares to feel cool, white the internal side of the squares heats up. (This heat is released through fans in the middle of the Rocc.) All this means that you only have to make sure the Rocc is charged before you can use it. It can run for two hours on a single charge. Once you turn it on, it only takes about two minutes for it to reach the proper cooling temperature (50-60 degrees Fahrenheit). Dropping down to a lower temp causes those glabrous skin blood vessels to constrict, sending your cooled blood on its way through your body. Lights on the device let you know when it's ready to go and the charge status. Pushing It Nice recommends the Rocc for anyone looking to amp up their training or competition performance, but you're supposed to hold onto it for at least two minutes to get the best results. (A haptic timer vibrates every thirty seconds to help you keep track.)
Zawya
26-05-2025
- Health
- Zawya
Egypt launches ‘Sports Genome' phase of national DNA project
Egypt has launched the latest phase of its National Genome Project, turning its focus to athletes as part of a broader effort to harness genetic science for health improvement and sports development, officials announced Sunday. The announcement came during a high-level event marking the conclusion of the Sports Genome Project and the start of the 'Gene-Next' testing phase. Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Health Khaled Abdel Ghaffar said the initiative represents a leap forward in preventive healthcare and personalized athletic training. 'By decoding the genetic blueprint of Egyptians, we can not only enhance athletic performance but also improve public health and reduce the burden of disease,' Abdel Ghaffar said. He was joined by the ministers of youth and sports, higher education, and senior representatives from the presidency and armed forces. The Sports Genome Program, he added, marks a strategic shift in how Egypt approaches health and human development—leveraging DNA analysis to tailor training, nutrition, and recovery programs based on an individual's unique physiological traits. Youth and Sports Minister Ashraf Sobhy said the 'NEXT GENE' initiative opens a new chapter in Egypt's athletic development. 'It allows for the creation of personalized training plans aligned with each athlete's genetic potential, helping to prevent injuries and optimize performance from an early age,' he said. Higher Education Minister Ayman Ashour described the project as the first of its kind in Africa and the Middle East, with government funding of EGP 2 billion. He called it a milestone in Egypt's transition to a knowledge-based economy and a cornerstone of the country's Vision 2030 strategy. Presidential Health Advisor Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din emphasized the national genome project's broader scientific significance, especially in the fight against diseases such as cancer. 'We are conducting this work with precision in collaboration with Egypt's leading universities and research institutions,' he said. Major General Mohamed El-Gohary, Director of the Armed Forces Center for Medical Research and Regenerative Medicine, reaffirmed the military's support for the project and its ongoing role in the implementation phase of the sports genome initiative. The event was attended by former ministers, university leaders, senior military officials, and prominent sports divs, including the president of Egypt's Paralympic Committee and the former president of Zamalek SC. The Sports Genome Project forms a core component of Egypt's broader National Genome Initiative, which aims to build a comprehensive genetic database to support early disease detection, personalized healthcare, and performance optimization. Officials say the initiative reflects a growing shift toward data-driven, individualized approaches in both medicine and elite sport.
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Psychology Of Preparation: Why Professionals Skip What Matters Most
Roy Ward, President/CEO of PREGAME®. During my two decades in medical device sales, I witnessed a stark reality that fundamentally changed my perspective on human behavior. Day after day, I observed patients receiving treatments for conditions that could have been mitigated, or even prevented entirely, with proper preparation and preventative care. Even more striking was how universal this pattern appeared, regardless of patients' education, income or awareness of risks. I also realized this observation isn't limited to healthcare. When my company began researching athletic performance, we discovered that even elite athletes—professionals whose livelihoods depend entirely on their bodies—don't always have as many convenient options or time to spend on warmup protocols as they do on recovery and rehabilitation. In business, I see the same pattern. Companies often invest millions in crisis management while underinvesting in strategic preparation. The paradox is clear: We consistently underinvest in preparation and a proactive mindset, despite overwhelming evidence of its importance. I think understanding the psychology behind this tendency is the first step toward creating meaningful change, whether in healthcare, athletics or business leadership. In athletics, research indicates that over 30% of injuries treated in sports medicine clinics are skeletal muscle injuries, many of which can be prevented through proper warmup and stretching routines. Yet, up to 24% of professional athletes retire due to injuries rather than age or performance decline. This highlights that in many cases, despite proper warmup routines administered by coaches and teams, there's still a psychological factor that's contributing to the gap in preparation. This pattern mirrors what we see in business, too. Let's look at startups: CB Insights found that 35% of startups fail because they simply don't have product-market fit. They found that's the second biggest reason startups crash and burn. And the frustrating part? This kind of obstacle could be avoided with proper research and preparation up front. Yet so many founders rush ahead without taking the time to really understand who they're building for. This repeated behavior across domains suggests deeper psychological factors at work. Factors we must understand to create lasting change. We often prioritize immediate rewards over delayed benefits, a phenomenon psychologists call "temporal discounting." This made perfect evolutionary sense when immediate threats dominated our ancestors' lives, but it can create a significant barrier to preparation in modern contexts. When an athlete faces the choice between jumping straight into performance (immediate gratification) or spending 20 minutes on a proper warmup (delayed benefit), they often naturally gravitate toward the immediate option. The same mechanism can affect business leaders who choose to address urgent emails rather than engage in strategic planning. Perhaps the most insidious barrier to preparation is the invisibility of its benefits. When preparation works perfectly, the result often looks like "nothing happened." The athlete who doesn't get injured receives no celebration. The business initiative that unfolds smoothly generates no dramatic stories. Contrast this with the visible, measurable outcomes of recovery or crisis management. The athlete who returns from injury gets praised for their comeback. The executive who saves a failing project becomes the hero. Our brains often struggle to attribute positive outcomes to preparation because the causal relationship is less obvious. When you think about it, we've created a weird reward system here—a system where the heroes are the ones who swoop in and fix problems, not those who quietly prevent them from happening in the first place. Reactive measures get all the glory and recognition, while proactive work often goes completely unnoticed. It's backwards, right? We're celebrating the more expensive, less efficient approach while ignoring the smarter, more cost-effective one. Perhaps most surprising is how experience can often exacerbate rather than mitigate preparation avoidance. Past success can create a dangerous form of overconfidence. The executive who has successfully led projects thinks, "I know how to do this," just as the veteran athlete believes, "My body knows what to do." This can create a dangerous zone where skill meets complacency, and often with costly consequences. Understanding these psychological barriers allows us to design more effective approaches to preparation. Rather than relying on willpower or awareness, we may need to redesign the preparation experience itself. The key insight from my work with athletes is that preparation must become appealing rather than obligatory. That's why I'm focused on transforming warmup from a clinical, tedious requirement into an engaging, confidence-boosting experience that athletes actually want to do. This approach translates directly to business settings. Forward-thinking organizations can build preparation into their cultures and encourage practices that trigger positive emotions rather than feelings of obligation. I've noticed some companies have created pre-project planning phases designed to make strategic thinking more appealing than reactive tasking. So here's the challenge: What's the one area in your career or business where you know you should be preparing more, but aren't? Take a minute to identify it, then ask yourself which of these psychological barriers is holding you back. Is it the allure of immediate rewards? The invisible benefits? Or maybe past success has made you overconfident? Rather than relying solely on willpower, consider how you might redesign your approach. How could you transform preparation from a draining obligation into something that actually energizes and motivates you? I think the future belongs to those who prepare for it effectively—not just because preparation is logically sound, but because it unleashes a competitive advantage and significant confidence that can enable you to hit your peak performance. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Wall Street Journal
13-05-2025
- Health
- Wall Street Journal
Creatine Is All the Rage. Should You Take It?
Creatine: It's what's hot and not just among the bodybuilder set. The popular supplement may do more than boost athletic performance and muscle mass, scientists say. It is being studied—with good preliminary results—to improve bone health, cognition and sleep and reduce depression and anxiety symptoms.
