Infrared saunas and ice baths

I used ice baths after practice and injuries in college football days. I fo cold plunges now and my body feels better after I do it.

I toss a ton of ice in my bath tub about once per week. Feel invincible after just 3-4 minutes in it.

Wish I had space for a cold plunge. I’d do it every day.

Don’t do an ice bath or plunge right after your work out. It will stunt your gains/ hypertrophy.

And people have been doing this stuff forever. It’s just now getting capitalized on.

I don’t believe there is a ton of scientific support behind the increased popularity of ice baths. Postgame coldwater immersion for high level athletes has been around for a while to reduce soreness, but the myriad of claimed long term health benefits behind the barrage of ice bath products currently marketed are overblown.

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the science says it’s pretty useless

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Useless for? Because there is a lot of science that says it is very good for many things, but if you are talking about hypertrophy, you are correct.

The same could be said for infrared saunas. The true benefits of saunas come from true saunas. Like over 180 degrees.

tell me what please, being serious. i havent seen any studies showing ice baths do anything.

no performance increase, no recovery increase, slows hypertrophy....only thing i have seen is mental clarity


saunas have some studies showing health benefits for sure.

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only thing i have seen is mental clarity

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That, in and of itself, is something.

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It seems like your only baseline for “benefits” pertains to the weight room. There’s more to fitness and health than that:

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no not at all. i havent seen any actual studies in terms of health at all on cold water. articles and claims.....sure but nothing supporting those claims.

i dont just make the stuff up. i read alan argons research review monthly, the Chris Beasley research review, the MASS stronger by science review, Menno's reviews, layne nortons Reps, etc pretty much every month.

ok from the article you linked

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In a small 2014 study, engaging in 10 minutes of cold water immersion at 50°F following high-intensity resistance exercise “enhanced recovery of submaximal muscle function.” Participants in the cold water group were able to lift more weight in muscle function tests compared to participants who had engaged in an active recovery method (low-intensity cycling). According to the study authors, these findings suggest cold water immersion could assist athletes who need to train or compete twice in the same day.

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further research and meta analysis of all the data shows this is not true.

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A 2012 Cochrane Review of 17 studies found some evidence that cold water immersion may reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness after exercise compared to passive recovery interventions such as rest. However, there wasn’t sufficient evidence to say cold water immersion was better than active recovery methods (e.g. walking, light cycling, foam rolling, massage, etc) or other methods like compression stockings.

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while this is true..it comes at the expense of muscle growth and recovery.

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A 2018 research review of 99 studies suggested that cold water immersion after strenuous exercise may reduce delayed onset muscle soreness, self-perceived feelings of fatigue, and inflammation—but only immersion in water lower than 59°F had a beneficial effect on inflammation.

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again...while this is true..it comes at the expense of muscle growth and recovery.

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A 2022 research review of 52 studies suggests that cold water immersion following high-intensity exercise has positive outcomes for muscular power, perceived recovery, and reduced muscle soreness (due in part to decreased circulating levels of creatine kinase, which is associated with muscle damage and soreness) 24 hours later. Shorter duration, lower temperature cold water immersion appeared to be the most effective.

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and again.....at the expense of many other things.

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However, if your goal is to build strength and increase muscle mass (and not just curb soreness in preparation for another imminent sweat session), there are some potential downsides to cold plunging after resistance/strength training specifically. The reason: “The same mechanisms by which cold water immersion curbs soreness and that feeling of post-workout fatigue also blunt the processes that contribute to muscle hypertrophy and strength.” (Muscle hypertrophy is when muscle protein synthesis exceeds muscle protein breakdown and results in muscle growth.)

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correct...if all you are worried about is soreness....well then cold plunge away.

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in a 2021 review of eight studies, the regular use of cold water immersion had a negative impact on resistance training adaptations such as strength.

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and hypertrophy....so way would we cold plunge after lifting to negate the effects of resistance training? i mean WTF

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Other Potential Benefits of Cold Plunges
Cold plunging has the potential to support more than just workout recovery. According to Molly Maloof, MD, a physician specializing in personalized medicine and health optimization and author of The Spark Factor, various forms of cold exposure have the potential to support a healthy metabolism and immune system, improve stress resilience, boost mood, and more. Keep in mind: Findings from the studies below are not conclusive, but they do offer some potential explanations for cold water immersion’s many anecdotal benefits—AKA why it’s all over your TikTok feed.

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aka....i have no proof but it makes me feel good from a release of endorphins and gives me mental clarity...so it must be good for me. again no proof

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The process of adapting to the cold—as a result of regular cold plunges or other forms of cold exposure—appears to boost the number and activity of mitochondria in your cells, according to animal research

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key words...according to animal research


directly from one of the linked studies

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CWI reduces the inflammatory response to exercise-induced trauma, and this response is important for beneficial adaptations to repeated exercise bouts, i.e. training, then CWI may in fact be counter-productive (Schoenfeld, 2012). Indeed, recent evidence indicates that CWI during a 12 week training programme attenuated long-term gains in muscle mass and strength and blunted the activation of key proteins and satellite cells in skeletal muscle up to 2 days after resistance exercise (Roberts et al. 2015)

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Research on animals suggests that cold exposure stimulates brown adipose tissue (brown fat) to absorb glucose from the bloodstream faster, suggesting it may help maintain balanced blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity,

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again...on animals.

when they repeated the study on obese adults in 2022...they did find shivering did improve fasting blood sugar levels and lipid levels but they are unsure how long the effects last and if they have any effect on overall health due to not understanding how long these effects last.




summary...everything on CWI says it is not good for recovery of any type other than to delay DOMS, and is terrible for hypertrophy and shows signs of affecting power.

now CWI is "LINKED" to certain health benefits but almost all of the research has been completed on rats or its a correlation study etc. Needs lots more research. Lot stronger links that CWI does help with mental clarity and overall sense of well being increasing overall mental health.


if you are looking to take on some type of temperature therapy...the effects of heat therapy in terms of steam or saunas...the benefits seem to be much stronger, not many downsides and overall a better choice based on the current literature IMO.

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I do an outside cold plunge most mornings.

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What's your best estimate of the temp?