Apex Cool Labs

Have you yet heard about #palmcooling for fitness? Here is a brief primer about this awesome protocol! ? Palm Cooling 101 ? Palm cooling is a proven method for increasing your training volume, gaining strength faster, and improving aerobic endurance. It’s odd (but awesome), so let’s explain. We generate heat as we workout. The heat produced in our muscles gets trapped because our body tissues are great insulators. Eventually this heat prevents our muscles from working as hard as they can. It’s one of the main reasons our muscles “fail”. Wouldn’t it be great if we could get rid of some of this heat and delay the onset of fatigue? ? Our palms are like radiators for our bodies Cooling your palms extends your ability to perform. Below the skin in our palms are special structures called arterio-venous anastomoses (AVA). These are direct connections between arteries and veins which allow you to efficiently offload heat. You can turbo charge this naturally occurring system by cooling your palms in between sets. ? Cool is the operative word. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as holding ice. If you hold something too cold, those fancy AVAs will constrict and blood flow will be significantly reduced. The cool has to be cool, not cold. 50-60°F (10-15°C) is optimal for palm cooling. Also, a palm cooling device should provide continuous circulating cooling to whisk away heat, otherwise a thermal barrier will form between your palm and the device, reducing the effect. ? Palm cooling protocols In peer-reviewed research (https://lnkd.in/gUDppnMg), 3 minutes of palm cooling between sets was ideal for increasing volume and gaining strength. But even two minutes works. The result? You can push harder longer before fatigue sets in. For example, in the studies and our personal experiments, we could do 10+ sets of max pull-ups, pushups and dips with very little drop off in the number of reps per set. And over just 6 weeks, we saw increases in pull-up volume of 50% with only one pull-up training day per week! In the studies, the participants were doing two days of pull-up training per week and saw, on average, 144% increase in volume. In their strength studies, participants increased bench press strength by 22% in just 6 weeks. Pretty cool, right?! ?Meet The Narwhals: Long-lasting portable palm cooling devices We created the Narwhals because we wanted a simple, portable device that could keep its cool, even in hot conditions. See them here! https://lnkd.in/guAu5Vuu #fitness #strengthtraining #exercisescience

The National Safety Council brought together six leading technology providers to showcase their cutting-edge solutions during the Work to Zero Safety Innovation Challenge. Apex Cool Labs was selected as this year’s challenge winner. https://lnkd.in/ggVN6YuW

?? In partnership with the National Safety Council (NSC), we're THRILLED to announce the Winner of the Safety Innovation Challenge: Heat Stress!?? Heat stress is a growing workplace safety threat. Through this challenge, NSC and it's Work to Zero initiative sought #innovative technologies to prevent, monitor, and mitigate heat-related risks. ?? Congratulations to Apex Cool Labs! Their cutting-edge solution will help protect workers and save lives. A huge thank you to all participants for driving workplace safety forward! https://bit.ly/4g5U16V #SafetyInnovation #HeatStressPrevention #NSC #WorkToZero #WorkplaceSafety #InnovationChallenge

SO EXCITED that Apex Cool Labs is partnering with Kindyll Wetta! This partnership is special to me for many reasons ?? First of all, Kindyll is a badass. Both as the starting point guard for the CU Buffs women's basketball team and an outstanding student. For many years I have voluntarily tutored for the University of Colorado Boulder athletics department. Kindyll and I worked together for several semesters through her premed physics prerequisites, and she has her sights set keenly on medical school and a career in surgery. She brings the same focus and determination every day to her academics that she displays on the court. Not suprisingly, she has been recognized multiple times as an All Defensive Player and Academic Honor Roll athlete. Adam Ringler of the CU Women’s Basketball team was one of the earliest adopters of the Narwhals for in-game recovery. This is now Kindyll’s second year using the Narwhals to recover better during rest periods. In her words: “I've always believed that defense wins games. The Narwhals have been crucial in helping me maintain the focus and intensity required to excel on the defensive end, especially in those high-pressure moments late in the game.” I am particularly proud to have Kindyll representing Apex Cool Labs. She shows a level of diligence, drive, and tenacity we can all aspire to! ?? @taylorhassebroekphoto #womensbasketball #palmcooling #athleticperformance #skobuffs

Another shout out to Apex Cool Labs for winning the Safety Innovation Challenge: Heat Stress!?? This time with pictures for show and tell. Thank you National Safety Council!

The Narwhals are featured in WIRED! Shoutout to Ben Dowsett for the deep dive into palm cooling and its benefits to athletes AND those at risk for occupational heat stress. For the article, Ben spoke to: ?? Starting players from the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team (thank you Molly Binetti and Craig Oates!) who use the Narwhals during timeouts to accelerate recovery and stay grounded. ?? Incredible NHL stars - James van Riemsdyk and Zach Hyman - who have been using the Narwhals for several seasons now to maintain clarity and power throughout the game. ???? Capitan Scott Lantz of Loudoun County Fire and Rescue - where they have incorporated the Narwhals into their incident rehab protocols. The full article is a fantastic read: https://lnkd.in/gG7Mb5Xb (and features photos from a badass collaboration we are announcing soon :) #palmcooling #heatstress #athleticperformance

?? Every year thousands of people experience heat illnesses on the job that are severe enough to require days away from work... the problem is getting worse and costing employers more... but there are some "cool" technologies that can make a difference! ?? This year, the National Safety Council Innovation Challenge aims to explore cutting-edge solutions for addressing heat stress risks across various industries and... Apex Cool Labs was one of 10 innovative companies selected to showcase our solution! ???? I can't wait to be on stage at The Future of EHS 2025 next month. If you are attending, you'll have a chance to get your palms on the Next Gen Narwhals and experience how palm cooling quickly mitigates heat stress, reduces elevated core body temp, and extends work capacity in the heat. #heatstress #ehs #palmcooling

This holiday season has been all work but in the best possible way! We're on the cusp of shipping out Next Gen Narwhals and last week we were putting the finishing touches on the setup instructions. One of our major goals with the Next Gen Narwhals was to simplify this process. The Original Narwhals worked best when filled with 60-65°F water, which is quite specific and cooler than many people’s tap water during parts of the year. The Next Gen Narwhals can be set up with water ranging from 65-95°F — a much larger range that is easy to hit without a thermometer! For those who travel, the Next Gen Narwhals can also be set up more easily on the road. You can freeze the Cool-not-Cold packs on ice and fill with water that was also on ice or in a refrigerator. In both scenarios, the Next Gen Narwhals handles will maintain a 50-60°F temperature range — which is considered the “therapeutic range” for effective palm cooling. We’re excited to begin shipping later next month!?Only 9 days left to pre-order and get $100 off per set ?? www.apexcoollabs.com! #palmcooling #heatstress #athleticperformance?

The Full Kit! Each set of Next Gen Narwhals comes with: 2?? Narwhals 2?? Insulating Sleeves 4?? Cool-not-Cold Packs You freeze the packs (in a freezer or on ice). Drop them into the Narwhal base with a little bit of cool water and within a few minutes, the Narwhals will equilibrate at the correct temp for effective palm cooling (50-60°F). Our pre-sale ends soon — go to www.apexcoollabs.com for $100 off per set! #palmcooling?#palmarcooling?#athletictraining

“To me, they are a no-brainer” -Joel Jackson (M.Sc., CSCS, PN1) Meeting Joel has been one of the highlights of building Apex Cool Labs. When we first crossed paths, he had been on the lookout for a practical way to help his NHL players solve thermoregulation and cramping challenges. It’s quite a privilege to share Joel’s story about how he started incorporating the Narwhals back in early 2023! “I have been fascinated by palm cooling since I first read about the modality in one of my undergraduate classes. Although the results from the original Stanford research were impressive, the cumbersome nature of their device made it difficult to imagine how it could work in a team sport setting. I was confident that temperature regulation was contributing to some of the cramping issues we were seeing in hockey, but a user-friendly product had yet to hit the market. Ariel and Evy first reached out to me in 2023 about the Narwhals, and I’ve been using them ever since. The fact that they are very easy to set up and maintain the appropriate temperature for over 2 hours makes them the perfect option for a hockey game, and they truly do make a difference. To me, they are a no-brainer as a recovery tool for any team sport that is intermittent in nature, and they can also significantly enhance performance in the gym. Apex Cool Labs has developed a superb product and provides excellent customer service. Anyone looking to add palm cooling to their recovery repertoire should look no further than Apex Cool Labs.” Thank you Joel! #palmcooling #strengthandconditioning #hockey