Cold Showers Do anything?

Analyzing A study on Cold Baths. In this particular study, researchers at Western State Colorado University sought to determine (1) whether timing of cold-water immersion (CWI) after exercise had any impact on recovery. (2) whether the duration of CWI makes a difference in recovery and (3) whether there are chronic effects on training adaptations the from ongoing CWI treatments. Researchers recruited 16 sedentary participants who had not performed any resistance training in the previous 6 months. To measure the acute effects of CWI during recovery on exercise performance, the researchers tasked participants with cornoleting four different testing sessions in random order, with at least 96 -hours between sessions. Each testing session consisted of workouts on back-to-back days. During each workout, participants performed a running time trial to fatigue, a Wingate test and a one-rep max chest press. After the first workout of each testing session, participants were randomized into one of four recovery protocols: no CWI treatment (control group). 10 minutes Of CWI immediately after exercise, 10 minutes of CWI 2 hours after exercise and 20 minutes of CWI immediately after exercise. Researchers then evaluated the effects of timing and duration on exercise performance during the second workout in each testing session. After the initial four tests were completed, the researchers tested the chronic effects of CWI by randomizing the same participants into a control group receiving no CWI and a treatment group that underwent 10 minutes of CWI immediately after working out. Both groups completed 6 weeks of standardized aerobic exercise 3 days per week and resistance training 2 days per week. THE RESULTS: Participants who received CWI treatment showed improved performance on their second day of testing in all exercises, as compared with the control group, regardless of whether CWI took place immediately after the workout or 2 hours later. Researchers also determined that the duration of CWI treatment, whether 10 or 20 minutes, had no affect on second day-performance. Finally, in the investigation of CWI's chronic effects, the changes from baseline to 6 weeks of training were similar between the control group and those who underwent CWI for 10min immediately after exercise. THE BOTTOM LINE: Good news for gym-goers and trainers: CWI treatment works. The study shows that acute, postexercise CWI is more effective than no CWI as a recovery strategy for maintaining endurance and power performance. Furthermore, greater duration of CWI did not yield proportionally greater benefits meaning the time commitment has a minimal effect on benefits reaped. Finally, chronic use of CWI during recovery did not diminish long-term training adaptations, so exercisers shouldn't be shy about jumping in. Perhaps most notably, CWI is effective, not only for athletes competing on consecutive days, but also for casual exercisers who simply want to maximize performance on back-to-back days in the gym. Go ahead and tell your clients to take the plunge and give CWI a try—they might just feel better for it.