Falcons center Drew Dalman has the science on his side to stay cool in Atlanta

The Atlanta Falcons have one of the best offensive lines in football, with Drew Dalman firmly at the center of it. Dalman has played an integral part in this fearsome fivesome going from low-key good, to undeniably great over the last few seasons. Of course, you are only as strong as your weakest link. Fortunately, Dalman and his teammates are doing whatever it takes to take this team to new heights.

I caught up with Dalman this past weekend, discussing many Falcons-centric topics, in conjunction with his partnership with CoolMitt. Knowing that he is an offensive lineman who starred previously at Stanford, Dalman was the perfect person to explain to me this new cooling technology that helps top-tier athletes like him train harder for longer. Every rep counts when you are combatting humidity.

Dalman explained to me the product while appearing on The Blogging Dirty Podcast for FanSided.

"Some early prototypes of their technology were being used at Stanford while I was there, so I messed around with that and got familiar a little bit. Then, [they] exited my mind as I left for the NFL, and those things. And then I experienced my training camp in Atlanta and the heat that comes with that. I kind of went back to the drawing board in the offseason and I was like ,'Okay, what can I do to help myself out there?'"

Like many before him, Dalman used his Stanford degree and connections to good use with CoolMitt.

"I was fortunate enough to meet with the professor at Stanford who has done a lot of research for it. That led me down this whole long chain of events that kind of got me with CoolMitt, got use to their product and those sort of things. And that has led me to now."

Dalman explained to me the concept of your muscles having something called a temperature limit.

"In essence, I would explain CoolMitt as your muscles kind of have a temperature limit in which they want to work. You can reach that temperature limit by working our really hard, playing football really hard or being in a really hot environment, or both at the same time."

The places where your body cools off the best are your hands and feet, as well as in your upper face.

"So you're practicing as hard as you can. You're in the 90 degree humid Atlanta heat. Those muscles are going to get to those critical temperatures pretty quickly. CoolMitt takes advantage of several areas on your body that are really key for cooling. The palms of your hands, the soles of your feet and the upper part of your face are locations where your body is particularly effective at exchanging heat from."

By placing the CoolMitt on your hand in between reps, it allows your body to push through the heat.

"So the CoolMitt goes on your hand and basically cools you down through that kind of mechanism that your body already does, but just speeds up the whole process. It can bring your core temperature down. Like, your heart rate comes down. You can exert for longer, you can train for longer. It's played a big role in my last couple offseasons in training for the heat. It's been a huge asset."

Here is the entire interview I had with Dalman for FanSided on behalf of CoolMitt over on YouTube.

Throughout the entire interview, you can just tell that Dalman is as excited about this team as I am.

Atlanta Falcons center Drew Dalman combats the heat with CoolMitt

As a native Atlantan myself, while you do get used to the heat and humidity, it is still not exactly fun to deal with. I am a naturally sweaty person, one who wears jeans every day and sports long hair. It is a vibe, but it is just who I am. What I appreciate is professional athletes like Dalman, who were drafted to play here, are finding new and creative ways to make the summer months in the south more bearable.

The good news is fall is about a month away, and there may not be a better place in the fall than Atlanta, Georgia. Not only is it the college football capital of the world, but it is home to one of the most exciting, on-the-rise teams in the NFC. If all goes according to plan, the Falcons can not only win the NFC South for the first time in eight seasons, but play in and win multiple playoff games as well.

While players like Dalman may not be household names yet, they are about to be, as this team is looking to go places we haven't seen in nearly a decade. For the first time since the early Dan Quinn years have I felt the Falcons are all pulling in the same direction organizationally. This city is dying to see this football team get back to the promised land. We can only hope that this fall is a huge positive.

There are plenty of great guys to cheer hard for on this team, but Dalman is near the top for me.

Drew Dalman spoke with FanSided over on The Blogging Dirty Podcast on behalf of CoolMitt.