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Ice Baths Post-Training May Help Recovery While Hurting Your Gains
This popular tool has some utility but also has a potential cost
Published in
7 min readApr 7, 2023
Sparknotes:
- A new meta-analysis shows that cold water immersion post-exercise can help reduce immediate markers of subjective fatigue and recovery, such as rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS.)
- Most protocols were at water temperatures of 15 degrees Celsius or less and for 10–20 minutes.
- Long-term data show that routine exposure to cold water immersion post-exercise can lead to lesser muscle mass and strength gains than normal or active recovery.
- Other than boosting immediate markers of subjective recovery, cold water immersion post-exercise is not a great strategy if you’re aiming to build muscle and strength.
If you’ve ever seen post-game routines from high-level athletes, I’m confident you’ve seen the ice bath in use. Whether it's NBA players using them after a game or a pair of NFL brothers taking a dip in a frozen lake for their “post-workout recovery.”