A study suggests that wearing an ice vest during warm-up is pointless

A study from the scientific journal PLOS ONE suggests that wearing an ice vest during warm-up is pointless. The study examined methods of pre-cooling in a demanding warm-up in trained male road cyclists.

Despite ice vests being used extensively by many professional cyclists, the benefits of the vests appear to be so marginal that they go unrecorded. The researchers did observe an increase in 'thermal sensation' in the cyclists without vests, which was noticeably absent when ice vests were used. This suggests that ice vests at least have a 'beneficial effect on thermal sensation', even if this does not translate to a higher average speed over a twenty-minute test on the velodrome.

Looking at the results of the seven cyclists, it is striking that there is no statistically significant difference in the distance covered over the twenty minutes between the three test conditions. There is also no significant difference in the cyclists' heart rates or their Rated Perception of Exertion (RPE).

However, there was 'an increase in thermal sensation in the riders without an ice vest'. This led the researchers to conclude that other methods to improve the performance of well-trained male cyclists on a velodrome during short-distance time trials in hot and humid conditions should be considered.