re: To all the Cold Plungers out there....

We've talked about this many times. It doesn't help with muscle mass after high intensity workouts. Not everyone is going to the gym to get into the next size t shirt they want to wear. I did 40 degree cold people every day in college after runs, especially after days where I would have to run twice. My situation was clearly unique, but I definitely never experienced a dopamine hit when submerging myself neck deep. I was frigid and still, with my heart racing towards the end.

Your body absolutely increases heart rate when submerged in almost freezing water, which does burn calories because your body is trying to keep itself warm. The downside is that while you do reduce inflammation, you need inflammation for recovery. I had to supplement my recovery in other ways in order to get the results I needed.

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everyone should want to build as much muscle as they can for health

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Not me!! Then again, I'm just a girl who wants to be strong, healthy, have grip strength, and yes...maintain muscle mass but I certainly don't want hypertrophy.

I also strive to be metabolically healthy due to the prevalence of insulin resistance, diabetes, and inflammation.

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if you like it and you feel it helps you mentally, keep doing it

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It definitely boosts my mood.

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everyone should want to build as much muscle as they can for health

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Wrong, once again

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doesnt do any of the shite it claims

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it definitely reduces inflammation, but i recently saw where one of the critical things cold plunging does is get your body and brains into a "i'm gonna die, this is too cold" reaction. this releases all kinds of important stuff in your bloodstream for recovery. i realize that's not legitimately useful data, and I probably saw it on a rogan video. but the clinical points he was making were 100% persuasive in terms of putting your body in a state that helps force along much faster recovery times when you start to shiver.

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I don’t have a dog in this fight because I don’t cold plunge but, historically, isn’t the thought that cold exposure produces brown adipose (fat) tissue which would thus burn fat more rapidly?

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it does but then you get adaptations that cause us not to see the reduction of brown fat

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Wrong, once again

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no im not, for health you want to build as much muscle as possible for long term health.

do wtf you want though

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What’s the difference between working out for “hypertrophy” and working out to prevent muscle loss as you age?

I realize there are meatheads taking it to extremes that you don’t want to reach, but I think there a ton of people who avoid lifting weights in a way that will maintain or grow muscle mass, and in general people are all too willing to come up with excuses not to lift heavy (for them) weights.

What I really don’t get is someone who will expose themselves to the physical stress and discomfort of daily cold plunges but won’t face the prospect of lifting heavy weights three times a week. There is zero doubt about the effectiveness of the latter, at least.

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exactly...im not saying go blast a cycle and take tons of HGH...im saying just build and maintain what you can naturally.

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No you don’t. Strongmen and body builders are not healthy.

And don’t say well they aren’t natural, because that’s not what you said

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yea when talking about health im talking about bodybuilders and strongman...of course im not talking about those that juice

jesus you are in such a hurry to say gotcha and try and prove me wrong that you imply i say shite now

Sarcopenia is a huge issue as people age as is powerpenia where people are losing muscle and power to the point their quality of life is effected

you should build as much muscle as possible(natural of course) that you can while remaining healthy. since i have to clarify, i dont mean bulk up like a sumo wrestler while lifting to build as much as possible.

I mean if you are a male, building as much as possible working up to ~15-17% bodyfat then cutting back down. once you your gains have slowed..sure stay leaner

but you want to do this, even if you are a female, so that you can maintain as much muscle for as long as possible, maintain power and for metabolic health.

now stop with bullshite.

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Even naturally, that’s a retarded statement.

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no it isnt. but you do you.

more muscle is better for long term health. tons of studies show this.

but you do you.

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What’s the difference between working out for “hypertrophy” and working out to prevent muscle loss as you age?

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Well, I'm not purporting to be an expert but my interpretation is.....

Hypertrophy: muscle growth

Prevent muscle loss: strength (not necessarily muscle growth)

I'm female and want to be cut, not bulky. My ultimate goal, though, is to be healthy. I know how important muscle is to longevity and I want to be able to take care of myself in old age.