It has become kind of a statement to ice bath before or after workout. Professional athletes seeking a competitive advantage are no longer the only ones who immerse themselves in a tub of ice water. These days, it's the content of regular social media posts.
Cold Plunging: What Is It?
Gordon, who is also the senior editor for the American College of Sports Medicine's Resources for the Exercise Physiologist 3rd Edition, explains that the term "cold plunging" (or "cold water immersion," as it is frequently referred to in research) usually refers to submersion for up to 20 minutes or so in water that is typically between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius. That's around 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which is crucial for safety reasons since it's not freezing.
Read Also: What are the best foods for quick energy before workout?
Although there is currently a lack of study on cold water immersion, certain valuable advantages of cold plunges have started to surface: The technique seems to enhance mood, circulation, immunity, and post-workout pain.
However, according to Mike Tipton, a professor of human and applied physiology and a member of the Extreme Environments Lab at the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom, cold plunging isn't for everyone. "Not everyone can or should do cold water immersion, despite what many people think," he explains. According to Tipton's 2022 editorial in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, a number of medical ailments, including as heart problems and nervous system disorders, might make the ice bath before or after workout.
This is because submerging yourself in cold water might cause your blood pressure to rise and your heart rate to fluctuate, which could exacerbate pre-existing medical conditions. In addition to minimizing the hazards and maximizing the rewards, he adds, "We are keen to make sure people are fit and healthy enough to undertake what is a significant challenge to a 'tropical animal' (humans)."
Depending on when you go in, those advantages change. Consider these benefits and drawbacks of cold plunging before vs after a workout if you are okay with trying it (though Gordon advises seeing your doctor before doing so for the first time).
Taking a Cold Plunge Before Working Out
Granted, most warm-up regimens do not include an ice dip, and Gordon notes that more study has been done on cold plunging after exercise than before. However, are there any situations in which a cold dip before to exercise may be advantageous? What specialists now know is as follows.
Benefits of Cold Plunges Before Exercise
If you're working out in warmer weather, you'll get the most out of a cold plunge before your exercise. This is because, according to Gordon, taking a cold plunge before working out may assist maintain a lower core body temperature and enhance workout efficiency in hot conditions. In research, this is referred to as "pre-cooling," he continues.
According to a 2012 study published in BMC Medicine, cold water immersion is really the most efficient way to pre-cool. A 2017 study published in the European Journal of Sport Science found that it works better than drinking ice water.
A chilly dip may also make your training more enjoyable. According to Tipton, the shock of the cold water triggers your fight-or-flight reaction, which may increase your alertness and motivation to work out. Researchers discovered in a small 2023 study published in Biology that after spending five minutes in a cold tub set at 20 degrees Celsius, participants felt more "active, alert, attentive, proud and inspired and less distressed and nervous." To fully grasp whether or whether such mood swings translate into activity, however, further study is required.
Problems with Cold Plunges Before Exercise
In light of all of that, it's not always a smart idea to shock yourself with cold water before working out. According to Tipton's 2017 review study in Experimental Physiology, "physical incapacitation" is the main problem. In essence, it might backfire to cool your muscles and then expect them to function for you: Your arms are particularly susceptible to these temperature fluctuations, which may impair strength, power, leaping, and sprinting.
Taking a Cold Plunge Following Exercise
It undoubtedly makes some logical sense that cold plunge after exercise would help lessen soreness if you've ever iced an achy muscle, but there are hazards involved.
Benefits of a Cold Plunge After Exercise
The main benefits of cold plunge after a workout are linked to a quicker recovery, which is why elite players are relaxing in cold tubs after games. There is some evidence that a cold plunge indeed reduces muscular pain, and that the alleviation lasts for up to four days after a workout, according to a 2012 Cochrane review of 17 research on the topic.
Tipton notes that there aren't many studies that demonstrate bodily physiological alterations that may explain this, however. Instead, immersion in cold water may just be reducing the perception of pain. (But anything works, isn't it?)
The evidence isn't as strong when it comes to what's really happening within your muscles: After a vigorous strength training session, male athletes' muscular function recovered more quickly after 10 minutes in water at 10 degrees Celsius than after active recovery with cycling, according to a relatively small 2014 research published in the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. Because it may enable you "to complete more work during subsequent training sessions, which could enhance long-term training adaptations," the researchers concluded that this is a vote in favor of cold water immersion.
Gordon says that during the recuperation period, "you essentially see a faster recovery to normal strength levels and to less muscle soreness." However, further study is required to fully ice bath before or after workout.
Drawbacks of Cold Plunge After Exercise
It sounds wonderful to save yourself some stiffness, but there's bad news as well: if you're dedicated to a strength training regimen, you may not want to regularly take a chilly dive.
Gordon cites the findings of a 2020 meta-analysis published in Sports Medicine when he states, "If a person is training long-term with resistance training and doing cold water immersion after repeatedly, [there's] a negative effect on training adaptations and a decrease in strength gain over time." You are teaching your body to get stronger over time by increasing the difficulty of your strength exercise, but cold plunge may effectively stop that growth. However, the researchers found no problems with adaptations to aerobic exercise.
Therefore, is it better to cold plunge before or after working out?
You May Also Like: What role does nutrition play in supporting muscle recovery and growth after workouts?
What you want to gain from the frigid plunge will determine everything.
If your training will take place in a hot, muggy setting, such as a hot yoga session or a summertime long run outside, you should cold plunge first. Your muscles can feel a bit tight and sluggish to react, but the cold water can assist keep your body temperature down so the heat doesn't affect your performance.
If you want to improve your recuperation after working out, you should cold plunge. In addition to perhaps reducing felt muscular discomfort, the cold water may shorten the time it takes for your muscles to regain their normal strength. However, following strength training, repetitive frigid plunges may eventually reduce your gains.
"There are a lot of variables that need to be managed and monitored," Gordon advises, regardless of the situation. For instance, he notes that studies on cold plunging concentrate on water that is between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which may be much warmer than a bathtub at home that you've filled with ice. Lower temps could do more harm than good.
"If there is a benefit, it probably comes from the first minute of immersion (also the most dangerous period)," Tipton says, adding that the length of your dive is important, particularly for those with underlying medical concerns. "From a "cold" perspective, I don't see any justification for being here much longer than this. "More is not better with cold water," he continues. (Normally, individuals don't get hypothermia until they've been in frigid water for at least half an hour, but why take the chance?)
Once again, it's important to see your physician to receive the all-clear before cold plunging, particularly if you have a cardiac ailment or a problem with your neurological system.
The Takeaway
To properly comprehend the advantages of ice bath before or after workout, as well as more focused studies looking at the impacts after various types of exercise, we need more and bigger studies, Tipton adds.
Although a cold plunge before a workout is currently the most effective way to work out in hot weather, it may hinder your ability to perform if your muscles get too cold. After a workout, a cold dip may help with recuperation, but it may eventually hinder strength increases.
Karl Jablonski
It has become kind of a statement to ice bath before or after workout. Professional athletes seeking a competitive advantage are no longer the only ones who immerse themselves in a tub of ice water. These days, it's the content of regular social media posts.
Cold Plunging: What Is It?
Gordon, who is also the senior editor for the American College of Sports Medicine's Resources for the Exercise Physiologist 3rd Edition, explains that the term "cold plunging" (or "cold water immersion," as it is frequently referred to in research) usually refers to submersion for up to 20 minutes or so in water that is typically between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius. That's around 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which is crucial for safety reasons since it's not freezing.
Read Also: What are the best foods for quick energy before workout?
Although there is currently a lack of study on cold water immersion, certain valuable advantages of cold plunges have started to surface: The technique seems to enhance mood, circulation, immunity, and post-workout pain.
However, according to Mike Tipton, a professor of human and applied physiology and a member of the Extreme Environments Lab at the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom, cold plunging isn't for everyone. "Not everyone can or should do cold water immersion, despite what many people think," he explains. According to Tipton's 2022 editorial in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, a number of medical ailments, including as heart problems and nervous system disorders, might make the ice bath before or after workout.
This is because submerging yourself in cold water might cause your blood pressure to rise and your heart rate to fluctuate, which could exacerbate pre-existing medical conditions. In addition to minimizing the hazards and maximizing the rewards, he adds, "We are keen to make sure people are fit and healthy enough to undertake what is a significant challenge to a 'tropical animal' (humans)."
Depending on when you go in, those advantages change. Consider these benefits and drawbacks of cold plunging before vs after a workout if you are okay with trying it (though Gordon advises seeing your doctor before doing so for the first time).
Taking a Cold Plunge Before Working Out
Granted, most warm-up regimens do not include an ice dip, and Gordon notes that more study has been done on cold plunging after exercise than before. However, are there any situations in which a cold dip before to exercise may be advantageous? What specialists now know is as follows.
Benefits of Cold Plunges Before Exercise
If you're working out in warmer weather, you'll get the most out of a cold plunge before your exercise. This is because, according to Gordon, taking a cold plunge before working out may assist maintain a lower core body temperature and enhance workout efficiency in hot conditions. In research, this is referred to as "pre-cooling," he continues.
According to a 2012 study published in BMC Medicine, cold water immersion is really the most efficient way to pre-cool. A 2017 study published in the European Journal of Sport Science found that it works better than drinking ice water.
A chilly dip may also make your training more enjoyable. According to Tipton, the shock of the cold water triggers your fight-or-flight reaction, which may increase your alertness and motivation to work out. Researchers discovered in a small 2023 study published in Biology that after spending five minutes in a cold tub set at 20 degrees Celsius, participants felt more "active, alert, attentive, proud and inspired and less distressed and nervous." To fully grasp whether or whether such mood swings translate into activity, however, further study is required.
Problems with Cold Plunges Before Exercise
In light of all of that, it's not always a smart idea to shock yourself with cold water before working out. According to Tipton's 2017 review study in Experimental Physiology, "physical incapacitation" is the main problem. In essence, it might backfire to cool your muscles and then expect them to function for you: Your arms are particularly susceptible to these temperature fluctuations, which may impair strength, power, leaping, and sprinting.
Taking a Cold Plunge Following Exercise
It undoubtedly makes some logical sense that cold plunge after exercise would help lessen soreness if you've ever iced an achy muscle, but there are hazards involved.
Benefits of a Cold Plunge After Exercise
The main benefits of cold plunge after a workout are linked to a quicker recovery, which is why elite players are relaxing in cold tubs after games. There is some evidence that a cold plunge indeed reduces muscular pain, and that the alleviation lasts for up to four days after a workout, according to a 2012 Cochrane review of 17 research on the topic.
Tipton notes that there aren't many studies that demonstrate bodily physiological alterations that may explain this, however. Instead, immersion in cold water may just be reducing the perception of pain. (But anything works, isn't it?)
The evidence isn't as strong when it comes to what's really happening within your muscles: After a vigorous strength training session, male athletes' muscular function recovered more quickly after 10 minutes in water at 10 degrees Celsius than after active recovery with cycling, according to a relatively small 2014 research published in the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. Because it may enable you "to complete more work during subsequent training sessions, which could enhance long-term training adaptations," the researchers concluded that this is a vote in favor of cold water immersion.
Gordon says that during the recuperation period, "you essentially see a faster recovery to normal strength levels and to less muscle soreness." However, further study is required to fully ice bath before or after workout.
Drawbacks of Cold Plunge After Exercise
It sounds wonderful to save yourself some stiffness, but there's bad news as well: if you're dedicated to a strength training regimen, you may not want to regularly take a chilly dive.
Gordon cites the findings of a 2020 meta-analysis published in Sports Medicine when he states, "If a person is training long-term with resistance training and doing cold water immersion after repeatedly, [there's] a negative effect on training adaptations and a decrease in strength gain over time." You are teaching your body to get stronger over time by increasing the difficulty of your strength exercise, but cold plunge may effectively stop that growth. However, the researchers found no problems with adaptations to aerobic exercise.
Therefore, is it better to cold plunge before or after working out?
You May Also Like: What role does nutrition play in supporting muscle recovery and growth after workouts?
What you want to gain from the frigid plunge will determine everything.
If your training will take place in a hot, muggy setting, such as a hot yoga session or a summertime long run outside, you should cold plunge first. Your muscles can feel a bit tight and sluggish to react, but the cold water can assist keep your body temperature down so the heat doesn't affect your performance.
If you want to improve your recuperation after working out, you should cold plunge. In addition to perhaps reducing felt muscular discomfort, the cold water may shorten the time it takes for your muscles to regain their normal strength. However, following strength training, repetitive frigid plunges may eventually reduce your gains.
"There are a lot of variables that need to be managed and monitored," Gordon advises, regardless of the situation. For instance, he notes that studies on cold plunging concentrate on water that is between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which may be much warmer than a bathtub at home that you've filled with ice. Lower temps could do more harm than good.
"If there is a benefit, it probably comes from the first minute of immersion (also the most dangerous period)," Tipton says, adding that the length of your dive is important, particularly for those with underlying medical concerns. "From a "cold" perspective, I don't see any justification for being here much longer than this. "More is not better with cold water," he continues. (Normally, individuals don't get hypothermia until they've been in frigid water for at least half an hour, but why take the chance?)
Once again, it's important to see your physician to receive the all-clear before cold plunging, particularly if you have a cardiac ailment or a problem with your neurological system.
The Takeaway
To properly comprehend the advantages of ice bath before or after workout, as well as more focused studies looking at the impacts after various types of exercise, we need more and bigger studies, Tipton adds.
Although a cold plunge before a workout is currently the most effective way to work out in hot weather, it may hinder your ability to perform if your muscles get too cold. After a workout, a cold dip may help with recuperation, but it may eventually hinder strength increases.