The Journey of Wulf Glatz: Revolutionizing Athletic Performance with CORE
A conversation with CORE founder, Wulf Glatz.
In an interview with Kyriakos, Wulf Glatz, the founder of CORE Body Temp, detailed the importance of understanding and monitoring core body temperature. As the demand for improved athletic performance increases, this conversation brings pivotal developments in sports science to light.
Our bodies efficiently convert physical energy into thermal energy, with about 20% efficiency. This conversion generates four watts of heat for every one watt of physical energy. This basic understanding of our body's functioning sheds light on how temperature significantly impacts our daily lives.
Temperature plays a crucial role in our sleep cycle. Glatz emphasizes that sleeping in a cooler room can promote better sleep, demonstrating the intricate relationship between our bodies and our environment.
The discussion gains depth when Glatz delves into the topic of core body temperature, its stability, and its significance. The core body temperature, typically around 37 degrees Celsius, protects our essential organs. This temperature is not arbitrary but follows a 24-hour cycle, reflecting our circadian rhythms, ensuring biological stability.
Discussing athletic performance, Glatz highlights the importance of monitoring body temperature. Excessive heat can negatively affect athletes by reducing blood flow, oxygen delivery, and muscle efficiency. To prevent damage, the body may trigger heat exhaustion, an emergency response to overheating.
This led to the question - how can we prevent heat stroke in sports? Motivated by an incident at the Iron Man World Championship, Glatz developed CORE technology to tackle this problem. This groundbreaking technology quickly became popular in the sports industry, with several teams adopting it and catching the attention of athletes and coaches. This led to success stories, including Christian Blumfeld and Richard Kopas winning their respective Olympic events.
CORE technology isn't just for professional athletes. Anak Hofer, a mathematician, found the sensor beneficial, attracting attention in the cycling community. The sensor assists athletes in training at specific temperatures and offers insights on when to reduce speed for optimal performance.
The COVID-19 pandemic provided an unexpected benefit for CORE technology. As athletes had to train indoors, they used fans for cooling. The situation led to the discovery that heat training could lead to physiological changes similar to altitude training, indicating potential performance improvements.
Athletes use various methods to maintain lower temperatures during endurance events. These methods include pouring water over themselves, using ice, and strategic use of clothing layers and pacing.
Looking ahead, CORE Body Temp is seeking partnerships to expand their technology to smartwatches. This move aims to integrate with broader ecosystems for more extensive collaborations. Glatz also stressed the importance of providing for amateur athletes, offering them the necessary training methods, feedback, and insights to improve their performance.
Shifting focus towards the future vision of the CORE brand, Wulf Glatz highlighted their plan to concentrate on high-accuracy premium products, like core temperature monitoring. He envisions a future where tracking core temperature will be as commonplace as monitoring heart rate. Glatz is confident that this not only holds the potential to enhance athletic performance, but can also provide valuable feedback on lifestyle and dietary habits, thereby contributing to a reduction in healthcare costs.
Throughout the discussion, Wulf Glatz highlighted the impact of core body temperature on our daily activities and athletic performance. The conversation pointed out the potential of monitoring body temperature for improving both lifestyle and performance. With individuals like Glatz leading the way, sports science will continue to evolve our understanding of health and fitness. Monitoring core body temperature could become a common part of our routines and athletic training, indicating a promising future.