Who does them? Benefits? Drawbacks? Ok to do after training sessions?
I used to when I was an athlete. I don’t know if it actually did anything for me recovery-wise.
I think the main benefit was I stopped sweating before I got dressed. There’s likely something to the mental aspect, as well; kind of turning your brain off of training when that part is done - it was a bit of a switch.
I think the main drawback was… it’s a cold shower. It’s a little uncomfortable.
1 Like
I take them, primarily because the heat index in my garage can get into the triple digits with near matching humidity.
It’s really not the biggest deal in the realm of anything.
1 Like
I read and heard somewhere they are good for recovery, especially in the athletic crowd that needs to compete frequently. Also good for dopamine hits and waking you up. Maybe not so good if your goal is hypertrophy, though?
This is what I’ve heard a little of too. Any truth to this anyone?
Well think about it.
When you train, the purpose is to INDUCE inflammation. Lifting weights is a catabolic activity. The RECOVERY from lifting is what is anabolic.
If you race to reduce inflammation post training, you’re racing to reduce that post-training response. In a similar way that making use of an anti-inflammatory medicine can reduce the effectiveness of training.
All THAT said, the impact isn’t going to be terribly significant one way or the other. If a cold shower makes it so you can train HARDER more often because you’re better recovered, it’s a net positive. AND, if it keeps you from making use of NSAIDS (which are going to poison you over the long haul if you’re a frequent user), that’s a double win.
4 Likes
The research that I remember reading about in this area involved cold plunges and the impact of them on hypertrophy. So a lot colder than a cold shower, which logically seems like it would have more of an impact on hypertrophy. I hate cold showers so don’t do them but if I liked them I wouldn’t worry a bit about the very small impact they might have on hypertrophy.
1 Like
A shower isn’t going to do much either way.
Cold plunges will drop core temperature and negate inflammation which is great for competitive athletes, but not great for hypertrophy as discussed in posts above. Degree of effect varies across research.
2 Likes
I did these and cryo when i was ultra running and ironman triathlon racing and there was def some benefit but as has been said, to build muscle you need inflammation. Mitigating that will mitigate muscle growth.
1 Like
Absolutely.
1 Like