Showering immediately after a workout. Hot or cold? Or contrast?

Expert Discussion Recovery and Regeneration
1

Topic says it all :slight_smile:

I am talking immediately after a workout (like 5-10 minutes after completing)

thanks,
Chris

2

well i know contrast is for before a workout :slight_smile:

3

Contrast.

4

Only problems I have with contrast immediately after the workout is that I sometimes get cramping in my legs. I dont know if this is normal or not haha :slight_smile:

But when I switch from hot to cold I can feel my hams or quads (depending on what I am targeting) tighten up.

Just curious if anyone else has noticed this?

cheers,
Chris

5

I don’t have that problem. I find the alternating hot and cold helps to flush the muscles. How long do you stay on the hot vs cold. Perhaps a longer hot cycle would help with the cramping? Also check al the usual things (water, potassium, etc)

6

everyone is individual…I like what the roman gladiators used…they were doing contrast work with entire buildings…cold POOLS and HOT pools…

I like saunas and use contrast for CNS recovery.

7

I usually do 3 minutes hot, 1 minute cold and finish with 3 minutes hot.

thanks
Chris

8

Chris,

finish contrasts with cold. Charlie is quite clear about this.

9

What protocol do you guys usually follow?
warm then cold then warm then cold?

10

If I do a sauna first (which is preferred if I have the time) then I start cold and finish cold. Otherwise I do hot first and finish cold.

11

In my training group the use of cold baths after training submerging all the lower body for ten minutes is very popular.
No one realy answers me when I ask why they do this so does anyone have any reason why this would be done.

12

Their is research from various physiologists that show that this can aid in promoting recovery via TRH, metabolic responses, and pain receptor/spasm improvements… you can do constrast showers later…say 15-20 minutes after a cold bath. Each modality will work well for specific needs…all being tweaked for individual response.

13

cafepress.com
:smiley:

14

Cool :slight_smile:

I’ll try the following after my next workout…

3 minutes hot, 1 minute cold, 3 minutes hot and finish with 1 minute cold.

I’ll let you know if I cramp up haha
Chris

15

1 minute cold, 3 minutes hot repeated three times. start and end with cold.

16

sounds good I’ll try it :slight_smile: