Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights_ - Alex Hutchinson [57]
Will a post-exercise ice bath help me recover more quickly?
As appealing as the prospect of a soak in the hot tub after a workout may sound, the consensus among elite athletes is that you’re better off doing the opposite. Ice baths at a chilly 50 to 59°F (10 to 15°C) have become the first line of defense for athletes dealing with everything from the heavy impact of bone-jarring tackles to the repetitive stress of a marathoner’s three-hour run. Two-time Olympic miler Kevin Sullivan, for example, soaks his legs in the cold tub several times a week, immediately after hard workouts. “And then if I’m feeling a little stiff or tired heading into a race,” he adds, “I’ll try to use them in the days immediately leading up to the race.”
The logic behind ice baths relates to the normal wear and tear of exercise. Hard exertion causes “microtears” in your muscles; these microtears stimulate new growth that makes you stronger, says University of Toronto exercise physiologist Greg Wells. But this damage can also cause soreness that interferes with the next day’s workout, so quick repair is essential. Ice baths cause blood vessels to constrict, forcing waste products out of the affected area. “It’s almost like wringing out a sponge,” Wells says. Then, when the area warms up again, fresh blood rushes in to help the healing process.
At least, that’s the theory. But scientists putting ice baths to the test under laboratory conditions have produced mixed results. One problem is that different studies have used different protocols for their cold baths, making it hard to compare. For example:
• A 2007 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine tried using three one-minute dunks in 41°F (5°C) water, with one minute between dunks. They found no benefits in perceived soreness, swelling, or blood markers of muscle damage after a leg workout compared to room-temperature water or no bath at all.
• A 2009 study of Australian soccer players tried five one-minute immersions in 50°F (10°C) water, again with one minute off between dunks. This time, the soccer players felt less sore and less tired a day later (compared to a body-temperature bath), but there was no change in how quickly their strength returned or in blood markers of damage.
• Another Australian study in 2009 tried two five-minute sessions in 50°F water, separated by a 2.5-minute break. This time, they observed decreased soreness and quicker recovery of strength and speed, though the changes still weren’t reflected in blood markers of muscle damage.
The latter study, by researchers at the University of Western Australia, also compared their protocol with the results from another popular technique called “contrast therapy,” which involved six alternating two-minute bouts of cold (41°F) water with warm (104°F/40°C) water. The goal of contrast therapy is to “squeeze the sponge” several times instead of just once, but the results were significantly worse than cold alone. The problem may be that the two-minute bouts don’t allow enough time for the deep muscle tissue to actually change temperature, the researchers suggest—which may also explain why the ice-bath tests that dunk their subjects for only one minute at a time have produced disappointing results.
Despite the difficulties in determining exactly how and why ice baths work, most researchers—even University of Melbourne professor Peter Brukner, one of the authors of the British Journal of Sports Medicine study that found no benefits—are cautiously optimistic that the baths offer real therapeutic value. “Even though our research was unconvincing, I still encourage their use,” Brukner says.
You can make your own ice bath in the bathtub or in a (clean)