baths and contrast showers

Expert Discussion Recovery and Regeneration
1

I’d like to add salt baths and contrast showers to my recovery plan. Anybody have info on the basics of implementing these techniques?

2

use the search, there is a ton of info

basicly contrast showers sould be after intence work outs (but can be done even daily) they sould start with cold and end with cold in a 1min cold 3mins hot (as cold and hot as you can take it) three times

3

I have been using contrast showers for a few months now. I use 3 min hot 30s-1min cold. Three times. Ending on cold. Simply put they work.

4

My guys seem to get better results with contrast baths rather than showers. We have a tub of ice water and a tub of hot water in our training room. They just go back & forth between these baths soaking their legs.

5

I also use contrast showers when I feel fatigued from work or lazy. They get your body back to a better state.

6

I also use contrast showers after training (sometime in the morning). The procedure is same as mentioned abowe: start and end with cold (10-15C) for 30sec-60sec, and use warm (not hot) 30-35C for 3min.
I read that the ratio hot/cold should be 3-4!
I tried not to wet my head but then I got headache, so be free do dip and your head into water (shower)! Bompa suggested that when the shower drop on your neck there is more growth hormone in your blood… dont know is it true…
But be carefull… too many frequent usage of the same recovery procedure will get you on the same as too many same exercises… The results will be less and less, and the procedure will have to be longer and longer for the same results, so you have to combine recovery methods and not allowing to adapt on them… hope this helps

7

we always ensure cold baths after speed sessions and the initial soak is ver very tough.after tempo etc we do contrast. simple techniques such as elevation pulsing ems etc are great also

8

I disagree with this. I believe that massage, and contrast showers always have a place in regeneration and should always be used.

9

There’s nothing to disagree with here, it’s a fact. It’s not that you don’t need to have massage and contrast showers consistently in your program. It’s just that your body’s adaptive nature will not respond as well to the same recovery/regeneration work all the time. The more advanced an athlete becomes, the more advanced the recovery/regeneration should become. But you’re right, massage and contrast showers should be a staple of any good training program.

10

Recently I tried this method of contrast showers and it felt very good… I suggest you should try and tell me what you think of it (how does it feel). I proposed this method because I think I adopted on regular 3min hot/1min cold procedure and its effects started to fade out, this is maybe of too much freqeuncy of this procedure… I dont know!
The cold water is about 10-15C and hot 30-35C. The reason for this pyramidic shape is because when I start showering, the first 1min of cold is quite shocking, so I started progesively increasing it duration. The ratio hot/cold is kept constant 3:1. In the centre of pyramid is regular 3min hot and 1min cold. The last part of pyraimid is like first but in reverse order, because of faster blood and limpha pumping action(?). If you dont cycle recovery/restoration methods its effects will fade out, but at lest you can do is to play with different intensities/durations/rests/shape of a method you chosed…
The total duration of this procedure is about 13 minutes…

I got some questions to ask:

  1. Is there any method of DOMS prevention and removal (when it is happened) or the best method of prevention is progresively increasing trening load?
  2. Can contrast showers heal microtraumas?
  3. Does contrast showers make skin more elastic (pliable)
  4. Does contrast showers induce HGH (human growth hormone) response?
11

OK, so when i become an architect, I’ll move to USA and design you some saunas! :smiley: All that contrast shower stuff sounds a bit funny as I’m used to going to sauna. But you guys keep taking them as long as you don’t have a sauna in your apartment! :wink:

Sorry…

12

duxx

  1. Yes it does make your skin more pliable

I probly don’t use contrast showers enough, usually only twice a month and only after I feel completely drained.
Charlie’s has some good recovery information in the CFTS, a nice little section and as well you can always search the forums.

13

i have tried this technique lately and find hat it works extremly well. I.e this is if you don’t habe access to a massage specilaist on demand. After a hight intensity bout i ice my legs with ice packs for 5-10mins immeadiatley afterwards then after a while i will have a epsom salt bath for 15-20 mins the muscles really heat up so well and the strech you cn get afterwards is awsome i then strech out 1-2 x 30 -60 seconds glutes hammy and quads andthen before bed i use pulse ems i have to say that nothing beats masssage to regenerate but not everybody can affod or get one when needed and the above actions for me anyway come a very clsoe second no inordinate sorenss and regenerated sufficiently to hit another high intesity session tyhe day after

14

My speed days are currently from 9am-12pm Once I finish my workout with lifting and do all my stretching, eating, and post workout stuff,

my question is should i do my Ice bath before or after my 30 minutes nap (i don’t get enough sleep at night)?

15

I wake up every morning to a contrast shower. It really wakes your ass up.

16

You want to ice bath immediately after your training. The point of the ice bath is to stop tissue edema.

17

When doing contrast showers, do you first jump into cold or warm water?
My routine is like this:

return from the gym
dring carb/protein shake
see what is happening at CF.com (no seriously :slight_smile: )
shower…
cold 30-60s
warm 3min
cold 30-60s
warm 3min
cold 30-60s

After contrast showers I feel like “flying” but soon I hit the ground - I feel tremor in my muscles (higher blood flow?), I want to sleep, but actually next day I feel recovered…
When not doing contrast showers I need approx 2-3 day to recover from HI, but with contrast shower this time is reduced!

18

Davan, I was reading over the forums and regarding time between workout and the ice bath Clemson said doing 2 hours post workout was ideal.

I did take my first ice bath before I napped, but I stalled as much as possible (eating, reading, perfecting bath temperature). If i remeber correctly the reason to wait 2 hours was to insure lactic acid removal, although I think it takes 4 hrs or so for this to take place post workout raw (Raw = no recovery methods). its not just to stop edema tho its also for reseting muscle tone.

Duxx I use the same contrast shower rutine as you use on tempo days except I add a Hot cycle of 3 minutes first then do what you did. (3 sets of 3 minutes hot(100-110F) and 1 (or 30-60sec ur choice) minutes of cold (53-60F)(total of 12 minutes using 1 mintues of cold). I start Hot, and as always end cold.

Also I have been wondering, are the effects of cold (cryotherapy/CWI) water/ice treatment the same, but have reduced effect in the Cold water part of the contrast shower(Ex.(depends on temperature, duration, etc) Ice =reduce swelling, reduce inflammation,reset muscle tone, during ice baths, but does it have the same effects during the contrast shower just less significant? If this were so the need to do an ice shower and contrast shower on the same day would be less needed. I don’t know, but it hasn’t been discussed.

Also I had my first Ice Bath today and As said by quik it is hard the first 5 mintues. I did have minor trouble submerging my entire body in that little tub, i did my best to keep my core submerged and legs at all times, and other things like the temperature rising during the bath, from my body (although i didn’t feel warm!). The temperature started at 57 and ended at 68. Comments highly wanted.

19

Could you provide a link? I am not arguing, but I have spoken with Clemson about this and he recommended that as the time it must be WITHIN. It also depends on why you are using the ice bath. For tissue edema, it is generally a sooner-is-better sort of deal.

EDIT: Also, why the higher temp?

20

http://www.charliefrancis.com/community/showthread.php?t=5277&highlight=Ice+Baths

http://www.charliefrancis.com/community/showthread.php?t=5263&highlight=Ice+Baths

2hrs -4hrs post workout was for low intensity days and for high intensity days it is 45-80 minutes.

I used the high temperature because it was my first time, and I didn’t want to shock my body to much.

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