Ice baths and cold plunges, once a “secret” recovery technique of athletes, biohackers, and health “gurus”, have entered the mainstream. This is due, in part, to a growing body of research into cold water and its various benefits, particularly as it relates to reducing inflammation, the perception of pain, and muscle soreness.
While these all seem like good reasons to incorporate ice baths or cold plunges into your weekly recovery techniques, we should first ask ourselves, “are there any downsides to ice baths/cold plunges?”
More specifically, are ice baths killing your gains?!
Let’s discuss.
Ice Baths, Inflammation & Resistance Training
Inflammation is our body’s natural response to injury, such as a cut or infection. Another type of “injury” our bodies are subjected to on a regular basis is resistance training whereby our muscles are placed under considerable amounts of mechanical tension. This stress creates microtears within muscle fibers which then activates the body’s innate inflammatory response, subsequently igniting muscle recovery and repair. Over weeks and months of this stress, inflammation, recovery, and repair, you build muscle and gain strength.
As you can see, in the case of resistance training, inflammation may not be as terrible as you may have seen/heard. In fact, acute inflammation is essential to muscle recovery, repair, and results (i.e. building muscle and strength).
Therefore, doing something that stunts the body's natural inflammatory response (such as ice baths) may impair/slow muscle growth and other adaptations associated with resistance training.
Fortunately we don’t have to postulate what happens when we take a cold plunge after a hard workout. Exercise scientists have studied this exact topic rather extensively.
A recent literature review found that cold therapy hinder muscle growth and delay muscle regeneration.[1]
These findings echo results from a 2021 systematic review and meta-analysis which concluded that cold water immersion following resistance training impaired strength-related adaptations, such as absolute strength and muscular power.[2]
Basically, if your primary goal for resistance training is to build muscle (“hypertrophy”), then immediately taking a cold plunge, ice bath, or cryotherapy may not be the best post-workout recovery.[3]
So, if cold therapy isn’t exactly ideal for muscle building, are there any instances where cold therapy may be beneficial?
Yes, but, as is the case with just about anything in life, it depends.
If you are an in-season athlete, ice baths/cold plunges can help to reduce inflammation, decrease muscle soreness, improve pain perception, and enhance power recovery. A 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis found that muscular power, muscle soreness, creatine kinase (a marker of muscle damage), and perceived recovery 24 hours after exercise improved after cold water therapy.[4] Researchers also noted that cold plunges shorter durations and lower temperatures may improve the efficacy following high-intensity exercise.
The Bottom Line on Ice Baths Killing Your Gains
Should you use ice baths or cold plunges?
Well, it depends on your goals and lifestyle.
If your primary goal is muscle growth (hypertrophy) or strength gains, then ice baths/cold plunges should not be done immediately following resistance training. A better option to support post-workout recovery would be a protein shake or post-workout recovery supplement like 1UP Pure Rebuild.
If, however, you are an in-season/competitive athlete in a demanding sport and need to perform at a high level rather quickly (i.e. competing in the next few days), then you may want to consider ice baths or cold plunges to help reduce soreness, decrease inflammation, and accelerate recovery.
References
- Piñero, A., Burke, R., Augustin, F., Mohan, A.E., DeJesus, K., Sapuppo, M., Weisenthal, M., Coleman, M., Androulakis-Korakakis, P., Grgic, J., Swinton, P.A. and Schoenfeld, B.J. (2024), Throwing cold water on muscle growth: A systematic review with meta-analysis of the effects of postexercise cold water immersion on resistance training-induced hypertrophy. Eur J Sport Sci, 24: 177-189.https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsc.12074
- Malta ES, Dutra YM, Broatch JR, Bishop DJ, Zagatto AM. The Effects of Regular Cold-Water Immersion Use on Training-Induced Changes in Strength and Endurance Performance: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2021 Jan;51(1):161-174. doi: 10.1007/s40279-020-01362-0. PMID: 33146851.
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31513450/
- Moore E, Fuller JT, Buckley JD, Saunders S, Halson SL, Broatch JR, Bellenger CR. Impact of Cold-Water Immersion Compared with Passive Recovery Following a Single Bout of Strenuous Exercise on Athletic Performance in Physically Active Participants: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis and Meta-regression. Sports Med. 2022 Jul;52(7):1667-1688. doi: 10.1007/s40279-022-01644-9. Epub 2022 Feb 14. PMID: 35157264; PMCID: PMC9213381.
