Ergogenic Effects of Intermittent Hand Cooling on High-Intensity Resistance Exercise Performance: A Placebo-Controlled Crossover Study
Wang, A., Fu, W., Shen, B., & Hurr, C. (2026). Ergogenic Effects of Intermittent Hand Cooling on High-Intensity Resistance Exercise Performance: A Placebo-Controlled Crossover Study. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 10.1519/JSC.0000000000005384. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000005384
Introduction: Intermittent peripheral cooling has been proposed as an ergogenic strategy to enhance resistance exercise performance. However, the contribution of placebo effects to its benefits remains unclear.
Methods: This study examined the effects of hand cooling on exercise performance, neuromuscular activation, and perceived exertion during high-intensity biceps curl exercise, using a placebo-controlled design. Fourteen recreationally trained men (27.4 ± 2.3 years) completed 4 sets of bilateral biceps curl exercise to failure at 70% one-repetition maximum under 3 randomized conditions: full-hand cold-water immersion (10° C, COOL), thermoneutral immersion with placebo induction (SHAM), and thermoneutral control (CON). Cooling or thermoneutral immersion was applied for 60 seconds during each 90-second interset rest period.
Results: Total exercise volume was significantly greater in the COOL condition (1,092.3 ± 238.1 kg) compared with CON (892.2 ± 221.2 kg, p = 0.002) and SHAM (946.3 ± 226.7 kg, p = 0.013). The SHAM condition also improved volume compared with CON (p = 0.003). The COOL condition enhanced mean and peak electromyography amplitude during sets 2‒4, and resulted in significantly lower rating of perceived exertion from set 2 onward (p < 0.05). Palm temperature was significantly reduced with COOL; no group differences were observed for barbell velocity or heart rate.
Conclusions: Hand cooling enhanced resistance exercise performance and neuromuscular activation without increasing perceived exertion. The SHAM condition also improved performance, indicating a partial placebo effect. These findings suggest that both physiological and psychological mechanisms contribute to the ergogenic benefits of hand cooling during resistance training.
Keywords: biceps curl; exercise volume; fatigue; neuromuscular activation; temperature.
In Simple Terms:
Hand cooling helped people do more biceps curls before failure, and the benefit was bigger than both no cooling and placebo. The placebo version also improved performance a little, meaning hand cooling likely works through both real physical cooling effects and psychological expectation. Cooling also made the exercise feel easier and increased muscle activation without changing heart rate or bar speed.
Uploaded by Braeden Ostepchuk, creator of the CEU-approved course 0th Law of Physiology, co-founder of Kuhler Technologies, and inventor of Kühler.