Ice baths??

[igotgame]

Does anyone ever do these after a heavy training session, if so how do you rate them?

How cold does the bath actually need to be, would a bath of cold tap water be benifitial enough or does it have to be literally ice cold?

What is the science behind it?

[david.j.]

i do it in the plunge pool at total fitness. I think thats just as cold as can be tap water. Would be decent tho with the ice. But it still make you feel fresh and less beaten up after trainnng

[igotgame]

i do it in the plunge pool at total fitness. I think thats just as cold as can be tap water. Would be decent tho with the ice. But it still make you feel fresh and less beaten up after trainnng

How long do you stay in it for?

[Predator]

Ive done it a couple times. I know people who do them quite alot.

Works 100% IMO. You dont feel as sore the next day and can train on.

5 minutes in (i think) then a hot shower straight after.

I think the science is because you are so cold your body rushes blood into your muscles and the hot shower afterwards flushes something out lol.

I think thats the jist of it :). But im sure loads of people on here know the exact science

.........But to answer your question. Yes i think they work :)

[igotgame]

Ive done it a couple times. I know people who do them quite alot.

Works 100% IMO. You dont feel as sore the next day and can train on.

5 minutes in (i think) then a hot shower straight after.

I think the science is because you are so cold your body rushes blood into your muscles and the hot shower afterwards flushes something out lol.

I think thats the jist of it :). But im sure loads of people on here know the exact science

.........But to answer your question. Yes i think they work :)

Hey mate nice post, thanks!
How cold does it need to be, does it really need to be ice cold or will cold tap water do?

[stapesmk1]

i do it in the plunge pool at total fitness. I think thats just as cold as can be tap water. Would be decent tho with the ice. But it still make you feel fresh and less beaten up after trainnng

Used to do the same at Total Fitness before I moved gyms. 5mins in the plunge pool, 3mins in sauna, 4mins in plunge pool, 4mins in sauna, 3mins in plunge pool, 5mins in sauna. Then jacuzzi for 10mins and eye up the early morning talent....which consisted of the Huddersfield Giants RL team and not a single bird under the age of 65!!!! Haha.

Really noticed the difference though. Far less DOMs, aches, soreness and stiffness. Fresh the next day. Was about the same time I started wearing compression tops and compression leggings for heavy strength and power training. Less niggling injuries from that too.

Stapes

[Wiegieboard]

When I train very hard I use a contrast shower as I don't have time for the ice bath and I also use deep tissue massage with a gadget that I bought. I use rolling on my legs and I'm really sure that my recovery time has decreased. At very least, I feel much fresher from the cold.

[Rosi]

Does anyone ever do these after a heavy training session, if so how do you rate them?

How cold does the bath actually need to be, would a bath of cold tap water be benifitial enough or does it have to be literally ice cold?

What is the science behind it?

IIRC, the studies that have been done seem to suggest that "cool" is at least as good as "ice cold".

Personally I tend to go for the contrast shower option - that seems to work best for me.

[Freemo]

The idea of Ice Baths or Cold Water Therapy has been used for many years now and is a popular way of reducing the bodies response to muscular injury. Without going into too much detail the positive effects oc Ice/cold water baths are it will reduce pain,swelling and celluar metabbolism. Everything has a negative side and with theis treatment comes Ice Burns,The masking of pain and superficial nerve damage.

I use a cold water bath at the moment and fill it before i go training.On my return i jump in for about 8 mins.

Hope this is of some help.

[igotgame]

The idea of Ice Baths or Cold Water Therapy has been used for many years now and is a popular way of reducing the bodies response to muscular injury. Without going into too much detail the positive effects oc Ice/cold water baths are it will reduce pain,swelling and celluar metabbolism. Everything has a negative side and with theis treatment comes Ice Burns,The masking of pain and superficial nerve damage.

I use a cold water bath at the moment and fill it before i go training.On my return i jump in for about 8 mins.

Hope this is of some help.

Yes mate it has helped me, thanks to all replies.

[pauljono1120]

I was planning on having a cold bath after a mma session, but i figured id be too much off a puff to get in, i'd probably jump out screaming.

[stapesmk1]

Ian Butlin getting in and out of the plunge pool at Total Fitness Huddersfield last summer would've left Usain Bolt for fucking dead!!!

Stapes

[boxingbrit]

Snitch:p

I got used to it after a few weeks lol

[stapesmk1]

Snitch:p

I got used to it after a few weeks lol

Yeah. You got up to all of 60 full seconds!!! :p

[DetoxGuru.com]

the shock to your system must be pretty intense , i remember brock doing it in a training vid.

[david_webb]

Cool post.

Cryotherapy or cold therapy comes in many forms and has had many studies dedicated to sourcing its benefits. The most common is the ice bath mentioned here and most elite athletes/teams are now using the practice post (and sometimes pre-) exercise. Paula Radcliffe, Amir Khan (2004 Olympic training camp), various Premiership Rugby Union teams and of course Wanderlei Silva are just four examples and anything from your regular home bath to a wheelie bin have been used depending on how much of the body needs the therapy.

The general premise is exactly what people have mentioned on here: with exercise comes cellular activity in the form of the ‘Krebs /Citric Acid cycle’. This cellular metabolism is engaged over many chemical progressions and is the body’s way of resynthesizing Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) for energy. Without adequate oxygen, this activity has the potential to create various ‘bi-products’ along the way that inhibit 1) the performers aerobic potential (via the oxygen debt and or carbon dioxide production) and 2) his or her anaerobic threshold as blood pH is lowered and acidosis sets in.

This acidosis, in simple terms, is partly responsible for delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) if left to ‘pool’ within the muscle capillary bed. The days following exercise the athlete will feel tightness, soreness and a general stiffness towards any type of physical activity in the affected area, this can last anywhere between 1-5 days after the session. The best and most common practice to remove the potential for DOMS is via some form of post exercise massage or indeed ‘Cryotherapy’.

This cold treatment acts as a kind of shock, and thus induces the capillary bed to flush away any blood lactate via vasoconstriction, decreasing local metabolism and enzymatic activity as well as slowing muscle spindle activity and micro-spasms due to the exercise undertook. Many studies have looked at the benefits and the majority have come back in favour of this kind of treatment however, some might argue that many athletes simply perceive the benefit due to the fact “others are doing it” and advocate pre- and post stretching and contrast showers mentioned earlier.

The opposite occurs when you simply sit in a warm/hot bath after exercise, the muscles will not vasoconstrict, rather vasodilate thus creating more potential for the acidity to remain and thus facilitating delayed onset of muscle soreness and a lack in performance during the next session.

Hope this helps,
Dave

[igotgame]

Cool post.

Cryotherapy or cold therapy comes in many forms and has had many studies dedicated to sourcing its benefits. The most common is the ice bath mentioned here and most elite athletes/teams are now using the practice post (and sometimes pre-) exercise. Paula Radcliffe, Amir Khan (2004 Olympic training camp), various Premiership Rugby Union teams and of course Wanderlei Silva are just four examples and anything from your regular home bath to a wheelie bin have been used depending on how much of the body needs the therapy.

The general premise is exactly what people have mentioned on here: with exercise comes cellular activity in the form of the ‘Krebs /Citric Acid cycle’. This cellular metabolism is engaged over many chemical progressions and is the body’s way of resynthesizing Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) for energy. Without adequate oxygen, this activity has the potential to create various ‘bi-products’ along the way that inhibit 1) the performers aerobic potential (via the oxygen debt and or carbon dioxide production) and 2) his or her anaerobic threshold as blood pH is lowered and acidosis sets in.

This acidosis, in simple terms, is partly responsible for delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) if left to ‘pool’ within the muscle capillary bed. The days following exercise the athlete will feel tightness, soreness and a general stiffness towards any type of physical activity in the affected area, this can last anywhere between 1-5 days after the session. The best and most common practice to remove the potential for DOMS is via some form of post exercise massage or indeed ‘Cryotherapy’.

This cold treatment acts as a kind of shock, and thus induces the capillary bed to flush away any blood lactate via vasoconstriction, decreasing local metabolism and enzymatic activity as well as slowing muscle spindle activity and micro-spasms due to the exercise undertook. Many studies have looked at the benefits and the majority have come back in favour of this kind of treatment however, some might argue that many athletes simply perceive the benefit due to the fact “others are doing it” and advocate pre- and post stretching and contrast showers mentioned earlier.

The opposite occurs when you simply sit in a warm/hot bath after exercise, the muscles will not vasoconstrict, rather vasodilate thus creating more potential for the acidity to remain and thus facilitating delayed onset of muscle soreness and a lack in performance during the next session.

Hope this helps,
Dave

Wow what an educational post, thanks!

[AlexEnlund87]

I find using a ice bath helps me relax after training and switch off alongside the physical benefits, I can now fully submerge my body where as previously i would cry if the water was any where past my belly button

[Jimmy Boogaloo]

Wow what an educational post, thanks!

agreed. thanking you Dave