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

“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

Come for the product demo, stay for the NERD ALERT! We are so passionate about hitting the correct parameters for effective palm cooling, we trademarked the phrase cool-not-cold®! The sweet spot for palm cooling is 50-60°F. The band is referred to as the “therapeutic range”. Above, you minimize heat transfer. Below, most people will vasoconstrict. We designed the Narwhals to maintain this temp range for hours. Here we show you how you set them up and how to measure the handles using a very cool device known as a thermocouple. Questions? Comment or message us! #palmcooling #howitworks

Did you know 75% of firefighters experience heat illness each year? At this year’s International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Technology Summit, we’re teaming up with Apex Cool Labs to give away a cutting-edge portable palm cooling device that accelerates firefighter recovery during incident rehab and training. #TheNarwhals 🔥 Visit our booth #306, table #17 this December 4-6 at the Omni Oklahoma City for your chance to win The Narwhals™ in our exciting giveaway! Don’t miss out on a faster, more effective way to stay cool and recover.

These are the 4 Key Components of the Next Gen Narwhals! Each part plays an important role in delivering long-lasting palm cooling power even in tough conditions! 1️⃣ The Narwhal Base: The doubled-walled vacuum insulated bases keep the Narwhals cool for 2+ hours of use. 2️⃣ The Handle: You hold the heat pipes which have 100X the thermal conductivity of copper and a mechanism for continuously moving heat away from your body (they are the key to avoiding a thermal barrier between your hand and the device). The same tech is used on spacecraft! 3️⃣ The Cool-not-Cold Pack: This specialized reusable freeze pack has a melting point that is above that of ice — this pack keeps the Narwhals at the ideal temperature range for palm cooling (50-60°F). 4️⃣ The Insulating Sleeve: The part seals over the handle offering superior protection during travel and insulation during hot conditions. #palmcooling #startup #athletics

If you are like me you truly LOATHE when a company makes it difficult to find this out... Do you believe in transparent sourcing? I like to support brands that prioritize domestic sourcing, and I deeply dislike when companies try to obscure the country of origin of their products or make it difficult to find out where various parts are made. We wanted to be absolutely clear regarding our sourcing at Apex Cool Labs. That is why we have a completely transparent sourcing policy: https://lnkd.in/eevkhrPu We have committed to as much domestic manufacturing as possible, and prioritized local companies. Even though two components are still sourced overseas, we are extremely proud of what we have accomplished in terms of Made in the USA parts. It was certainly not an easy route for sourcing, and it was definitely not the least expensive option, but it has been well worth the journey. I hope more companies in the future follow this trend of transparent sourcing! #manfacturing #sourcing #palmcooling #startup #madeinusa #industrialdesign #thermoregulation #entrepreneurship

SO MUCH to say about sourcing parts, but we are incredibly proud to be working with local #Colorado manufacturers to build many components! As part of the foundation of Apex Cool Labs, we have worked diligently to source as many components of the Next Gen Narwhals domestically as possible. Be it adhesives, fasteners, plastic injection molded parts, packaging, raw materials, or the label for the product. We have loved working with V&S Molding right here in #Dacono for all our plastic injection molded parts. They have been a family owned business since 1982!! The owner and the staff are incredibly knowledgeable, and have worked with us at every stage to dial in some challenging parts. We are legitimately thrilled with how the Next Gen Narwhals are coming out and can't wait for more of the world to get them into their palms! #palmcooling #madeinusa #fitness #manufacturing #molding #industrialdesign #startup

There is nothing better than making a "significant impact". Alex Curry, it is awesome to work with you! Thank you for educating us on such an important use case for palm cooling.

The Narwhals can do a lot for you... perhaps even more than you may think! 🏀 Yes, they will accelerate in-game recovery. 🏋🏼♂️ Yes, they will help you get stronger faster by delaying fatigue during resistance training. 🥵 Yes, they will mitigate occupational heat stress. But I bet you didn't know they could cure "resting not-so-nice face" in the gym! Many thanks to David Stark for his curiosity for all things athletic! It's been a pleasure to get to know him and his show, The Athletes Podcast, over the last few months. Hat tip to Rory McCabe for introducing us! #palmcooling #strengthtraining #performance

The Next Gen Narwhals pre-sale is officially open! 🎉 Ariel Paul and I have been working towards this moment for the last 12 months so it feels a little unreal to be here. There are many people who not only gave the Original Narwhals a chance early on, they have continued to support us, share feedback with us, and in many cases are first in line to order our Next Gen model -- THANK YOU! Get your palms on the Next Gen Narwhals! ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gQHydGbi Pre-sale details: 🆒 Pre-order a set of Narwhals for $299 ($100 off) before the end of the year (or while supplies last). 📦 Estimated deliveries start late January 2025. ⚡ First to buy, first to ship! Questions? We are always happy to talk #palmcooling! #innovation #athletes #heatstress