Cooling Fabrics and Exercise Performance in Endurance Athletes
Condition: Cooling Fabrics; Exercise Performance; Thermoregulation
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      In humans, the primary means of cooling the body during exercise is through the evaporation
      of sweat from the skin surface. Clothing represents a layer of insulation that hinders the
      evaporation of sweat from the surface of the skin. It follows that clothing that imposes the
      least amount of resistance to evaporative heat loss may prove beneficial to the
      thermoregulatory, physiological and perceptual response to exercise, particularly in elite
      endurance-trained athletes. Thus, the purpose on this study is to examine the influence of
      wearing a sportswear garment made of a fabric (100% nylon) with superior evaporative
      characteristics on detailed thermoregulatory, cardiorespiratory, metabolic and perceptual
      responses to maximal exercise testing at normal room temperature and relatively humidity in a
      group of 25 endurance-trained cyclists and triathletes aged 20-60 years. It is hypothesized
      that wearing a garment made of 100% nylon will improve exercise performance (e.g., exercise
      endurance time) and that this improvement will reflect improvements in thermoregulatory,
      cardiorespiratory, metabolic and perceptual responses to exercise. Athletes will be recruited
      via contact with coaches of the McGill University Cycling and Triathlon teams as well as
      through contact with coaches of competitive cycling and triathlon teams/training groups in
      the Montreal and surrounding area. Initial contact will consist of a thorough explanation of
      the study procedures and pre-screening for the inclusion/exclusion criteria prior to study
      consent by the Principal Investigator and/or his delegate, either in person or by telephone
      or email. Eligible participants will visit McGill's Clinical Exercise & Respiratory
      Physiology Laboratory on 3 separate occasions over a period of 10-14 days. Visit 1 will
      include a maximal incremental bicycle exercise test for familiarization purposes and to
      determine maximal power output (MPO). Visits 2 and 3 will include a constant-power-output
      bicycle exercise test at 85% MPO under one of two conditions, in randomized order: (1) while
      wearing a garment made of 100% polyester, i.e., placebo; and (2) while wearing a garment made
      of 100% nylon, i.e., cooling fabric. At rest and during exercise at visits 2 and 3, detailed
      assessments of core body temperature will be made using a temperature sensor placed into the
      esophagus, while skin temperature and other physiological and perceptual parameters will be
      measured using standard techniques.
    


Intervention name(s): Cooling Fabric; Placebo Garment
Intervention type(s): Other; Other
Intervention description(s): Garment made of 100% nylon and consisting of long sleeved shirt and full trouser.; Garment made of 100% polyester consisting of long sleeved shirt and full trouser
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Crossover Assignment
Masking: Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Exercise; Clothing; Core body temperature; Skin Temperature; Performance