One of the biggest talking points around this year's World Cup has been the heat. Players from countries with very temperate, cool climates, like Norway and England, have had to play back-to-back games in hot and humid conditions, placing enormous stress on their bodies as they struggle to keep their core temperature down.

When core temperatures rise, fatigue isn't far behind. Research has shown that elevated internal body temperatures cause fatigue during prolonged exercise in hot environments, even for trained athletes. Staving off exhaustion by staying cool is therefore crucial.

Enter Therabody, maker of some of the best massage guns, which has supplied Thomas Tuchel's England squad with a novel new device: the Therabody CryoTherm Palm. It looks a little like a dumbbell, but it's not for lifting; instead, you simply place your hands on the nodes, and the CryoTherm Palm, Therabody says, uses these contact points to cool down your whole body using the company's 'Cryothermal technology'.

It sounds too good to be true — but the England players are reportedly making the most of it. We asked Therabody's Chief Science Officer, Tim Roberts, exactly how the technology works.

"Your palms are natural radiators — hairless skin packed with special vessels that bring a lot of blood right to the surface," says Roberts. "It’s why gloves keep your whole body warm in winter.

"CryoTherm Palm cools that surface, pulls heat out of the blood passing through, and that cooled blood circulates back to lower your core temperature faster than cooling almost anywhere else."

So, in theory, the cold blood passing through your hands works to regulate the rest of your body's internal temperature. Clever. According to Roberts, there's a psychological effect too, as "it also dampens the thermal signals your brain uses to judge effort", so exercising feels easier.

Roberts points to a study conducted at the IMG Academy in Florida, in which footballers using the device between sprints saw positive results.

"In our IMG Academy soccer study, players using CryoTherm Palm between sprints felt 60% cooler, held 2.45% higher top speed and preserved sprint velocity 4.7% better across repeated efforts," says Roberts. While he does concede that "none of this replaces basic heat sense — hydrate, respect genuinely dangerous conditions, and back off when you need to," those numbers suggest it can make a difference.

I wouldn't be doing my due diligence if I didn't point out that in a Therabody press release, the IMG Academy was referred to as a Therabody partner. However, the science seems sound, and the CryoTherm Palm might just be your secret weapon to keep cool during your next workout, especially in very hot weather.

The device is available now, priced at $399.99 / £349 / around AU$600. I'm looking forward to testing, especially if the heatwaves we're experiencing here in the UK continue.

There’s a reason why some of the most effective exercises tend to mirror movements in real life. It’s not because personal trainers and coaches lack imagination, but because the body doesn't care how creative your programming is — it cares whether you can climb a flight of stairs without grabbing the banister, for example, or if you can catch yourself from a stumble.

These are just a few of the benchmarks that matter in later life, and for elite performance coach David Higgins — who has trained everyone from Margot Robbie and Scarlett Johansson to Samuel L. Jackson, David Harbour, Game of Thrones' Richard Madden and the entire cast of The Batman, among many others — one exercise sits at the top of the list for anyone over 50: the step-up. Here’s why.

Lower-body power matters so much after 50

Most people understand that strength declines with age. What they underestimate, however, is how quickly it begins to matter in practical terms, despite not being able to be measured on the best smartwatches' fitness age metrics.

“Lower body power becomes critical after 50 because we naturally lose muscle mass, reaction speed and balance as we age,” says Higgins. “The glutes, quads and calves are what keep you upright, stable and independent.”

If you can't generate force through the floor, he says, “everyday movements like climbing stairs, getting out of a chair or catching yourself from a fall become harder.” The step-up addresses all of this in a single movement: “it trains strength, balance and coordination all at once and mirrors real life better than most gym exercises.” It's slightly similar to the farmer's carry, an application of a real-life movement.

It’s also the reason Higgins places it above more popular alternatives. Walking is excellent, of course, but doesn't load the body enough to preserve muscle. Squats are bilateral — they share the work equally between both legs, which means they don't expose or address the kind of side-to-side imbalances that tend to develop quietly over decades. Step-ups, however, are unilateral, as each leg works independently, building the stability and gait mechanics that bilateral training misses.

“If I could only choose one lower-body movement after 50,” says Higgins, “step-ups would be near the top because they combine strength, stability, balance, gait mechanics and unilateral control in one movement; they bridge the gap between rehab and performance.”

Watch the tutorial video below for advice on how to do a step up:

The mistake most older adults make

Before thinking about adding height, load or additional reps, Higgins is more concerned with something more fundamental: the quality of the movement itself. “The biggest mistake older adults make is chasing fatigue instead of quality movement,” he says. “Rushing through reps, leaning through the hips, or pushing through the stronger side of the body.” Your nervous system, he says, “has to trust the movement before your body can own it.”

Rushing through step-ups doesn't just reduce the benefit — it reinforces the compensations you're trying to correct. If you're relying on the trailing leg to push you up, or leaning forward as you step, you're not actually building the unilateral strength and hip control the exercise is there to develop.

Instead, Higgins’ coaching cue is worth memorising: “push the floor away and finish tall through the glutes.” Most people pull themselves up through the knee, instead of driving through the hip. It's a subtle distinction, but makes an enormous difference to where the effort is actually made.

How to get started — and when to progress

To perform the step-up, stand facing a sturdy bench, box, or step. Place one foot fully on the platform, then drive through that heel to lift your body up until both feet are on the step. Step back down with control and repeat for the desired reps before switching legs. Keep your chest up and avoid pushing off excessively with the trailing leg.

For step height, beginners should start with a low box, roughly ankle to mid-shin height. "You want control, not compensation," he says. Fitter adults with solid mobility, balance and hip control can work up to knee height.

As for volume, Higgins prescribes 2–3 sets of 8–12 controlled reps per leg. "Tempo matters more than volume," he says. Drive through the whole foot, stand tall at the top and lower slowly under control.

Higgins confirms that just your bodyweight is sufficient resistance to begin with and, for many people over 50, it's exactly where they should stay — probably for longer than they'd expect. “Most people over 50 need to relearn movement patterns before adding load,” he says. “Once control, balance and posture improve, adding dumbbells or a weighted vest is a brilliant progression.” The dumbbells can wait. As for frequency? Two to three sessions a week is enough to see real benefit, Higgins says. “Consistency beats intensity every time.”

Precautions

Step-ups are accessible to most people, but Higgins flags a few situations worth considering. Anyone with severe knee osteoarthritis, significant balance issues or acute hip pain should approach the exercise carefully and ideally with professional guidance. “Often it's not that the exercise is wrong,” he says, “it's that the height is too ambitious or the body isn't controlling the movement properly yet.” Low and slow is always the right answer.

What leg-day moves are your go-tos in the gym? Have you tried the step-up yet? Let us know below.