post-race hat-wearing?

AndyRubio

Hi,

I have it on good authority that wearing a wooly hat after a race is essential for improved recovery... Anyone else heard that one?

Andy

nolf

No.

Post shower when I get home I do dress warmly though. never heard anything about wearing a hat though...

Slow1972

I wear a thin beanie after racing, but I'm thin on top and it stops me cooling down too quickly. Not sure it helps me recover but I don't get chilly

agnello

Peaked hats improve recovery further still

phil s

Sombrero usually does it for me. I've noticed far less lactic acid build-up with this method, which I'm assured also zaps those nasty free radicals.

dodgy

AndyRubio wrote:

Hi,

I have it on good authority that wearing a wooly hat after a race is essential for improved recovery... Anyone else heard that one?

Andy

Did a triathlete tell you that? I suppose as long as it's a special triathlete post ride recovery hat, then it will probably make a difference. Especially if there is a cool logo on the side, maybe make it out of compression material for extra credibility.

Bronzie

The science behind it is that if you wear a really tight beany hat, it forces all the blood from your head down into your legs, hence aiding recovery. Possibly.

dodgy

Bronzie wrote:

The science behind it is that if you wear a really tight beany hat, it forces all the blood from your head down into your legs, hence aiding recovery. Possibly.

mclarent

Bronzie wrote:

The science behind it is that if you wear a really tight beany hat, it forces all the blood from your head down into your legs, hence aiding recovery. Possibly.

Anyone buying that one probably doesn't have too much blood in their head anyway...

BigG67

IIRC I read of a study that the usual claim that 60% (or whatever) of body heat loss is through the head is in fact complete tosh!

The head looses exactly the same % of heat as it % of the body's overall surface.

alfablue

BigG67 wrote:

IIRC I read of a study that the usual claim that 60% (or whatever) of body heat loss is through the head is in fact complete tosh!

The head looses exactly the same % of heat as it % of the body's overall surface.

Hmmm, maybe so for a naked horizontal person, but as we know, heat rises, and also the head is likely to be unclothed (unless you wear a hat) and has a copious blood supply under skin with (usually) very little in the way of fat.

dennisn

alfablue wrote:

BigG67 wrote:

IIRC I read of a study that the usual claim that 60% (or whatever) of body heat loss is through the head is in fact complete tosh!

The head looses exactly the same % of heat as it % of the body's overall surface.

Hmmm, maybe so for a naked horizontal person, but as we know, heat rises, and also the head is likely to be unclothed (unless you wear a hat) and has a copious blood supply under skin with (usually) very little in the way of fat.

I'm not so sure. I seem to know quite a few "fatheads". Present company not included, of course.

SunWuKong

I have a dimpled wooly hat that I use on the bike and a non-dimpled one for recovery.

mister biscuit

do the dimples make you more aero, like the ones on Zipp wheels?

boneyjoe

Andy, from your picture, looks like you should wear the hat, race or no race! Had to be said, sorry!

Slow1972

alfablue wrote:

BigG67 wrote:

IIRC I read of a study that the usual claim that 60% (or whatever) of body heat loss is through the head is in fact complete tosh!

The head looses exactly the same % of heat as it % of the body's overall surface.

Hmmm, maybe so for a naked horizontal person, but as we know, heat rises, and also the head is likely to be unclothed (unless you wear a hat) and has a copious blood supply under skin with (usually) very little in the way of fat.

Yep, that's why I stick the beanie on, means I don't cool down too quickly. You keep the rest of your body warm after a ride, so keeping you noggin warm too makes sense too.

AndyRubio

boneyjoe wrote:

Andy, from your picture, looks like you should wear the hat, race or no race! Had to be said, sorry!

heh heh yes normally I have a drag-over Bobby Charlton-style:

I heard the theory about hats via several chains down the line from a cycling coach who I believe is in his 80s. It contradicts the current "have a post-race ice bath" theory.

Bronzie

AndyRubio wrote:

It contradicts the current "have a post-race ice bath" theory.

You put your head in an ice bath after a race :shock: - now that is hardcore!

Sounds along the lines of the "10 Commandments" that Robert Millar used to advise - don't stand when you can sit, don't sit when you can lie down, don't ride in a car with the window open or you'll get a chill, change out of sweaty damp kit asap or you'll get a chill etc. etc.

Some of these are probably old wives tales although most make good sense.

Alex_Simmons/RST

AndyRubio wrote:

£4.10 for an ordinary coffee?

Holy smokes, what a rip off!!!

BigG67

OK not quite the most definitive of references but.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7789302.stm

AndyRubio

the extraordinary coffee was well worth twenty quid