After a hard workout in ice water. Ice bath after training: pros and cons. Ice baths: an overview

cold bath - great way strengthen the immune system, make the body work more actively, harden. Such a bath tones and awakens, strengthens immune systems of the body, tightens the skin, making it more elastic, accelerates blood circulation, which makes the body work more actively and keep viruses and diseases out, increases blood pressure. After such a bath, the body warms up from the inside, you will feel a pleasant burning sensation, tingling of the skin.

How to take a cold bath

The water temperature is not more than 20 degrees. Immediately plunge into the water with such a temperature is not for everyone. Therefore, if you cannot immediately, lower the temperature gradually, starting from 30 degrees. Lower each dose by a few degrees. A cold bath is recommended to be taken in the morning, preferably at least once a week in winter, and two to three times in summer.
Optimal time the procedure is about 1 minute, but you need to start from 7-10 seconds.
The less time you spend in the water, the better your body hardens. Before dipping, you need to warm up the body with physical exercises. After it, you should also not stand still, but run or jump. If you follow these rules, then you should feel the effect of cold baths very quickly. Especially cold baths are useful for people who are actively involved in sports.

The effect of taking cold baths

bath with cold water well relieves pain from bruises and bumps, relieves severe headache(unless it's caused by a cold).
After such baths, people feel a surge of strength and vital energy. Mature organisms seem to be rejuvenated and cleansed. A person gets sick less, his performance improves. The mood rises and personal life improves.

When you start the day with such stress for the body, it is already ready for any climatic (and not only) tests. People who take cold baths get rid of weather dependence and lunar influence on the body.

Cold baths are a great way to heal

Cold full baths can also be used to treat patients. This method was widely used by our ancestors, who knew that with the help of a short-term action of cold water, you can quickly knock down high temperature and ease the fever that burns the patient. Cold water turns on the body's defenses and makes it fight the disease: breathing is easier, blood flow improves. This method is especially effective at the very beginning of the disease. In the 19th century, cold baths successfully treated even such dangerous disease like typhoid fever. Cold showers and douches have the same properties. For patients who do not get out of bed, rubbing can be applied, which will also be of great benefit, but the procedure should be carried out with great care.

Baths with ice - will help from krepatura

After intense or unusual exercise, after training with forcing one's own capabilities, as a rule, there is soreness in the muscles. This condition is called "krepatura" (another term is DOMS). It usually lasts from 24 to 48 hours. Main symptoms: muscle stiffness, swelling, muscle soreness, decreased strength.

This is due to mechanical damage in the muscle fibers, which leads to pain and inflammation. Many mistakenly believe that warming the muscles can relieve pain, and take hot baths. But athletes to deal with pain practice ice baths, or baths with ice.

For professional athletes, baths are prepared by specialists, but we can use their experience and make an ice bath at home.

Ice bath rules:
- The water temperature for the ice bath is 10-15 degrees Celsius.
- You can stay in an ice bath for five minutes. Much depends on your condition and reaction, some make such baths longer, up to 20 minutes.
- The easiest way to make an ice bath is to pour cold water into the bath. tap water and add ice from the freezer.
- It is best to take an ice bath no later than half an hour after training.
- An ice bath is not taken on the whole body, that is, it is not worth immersing completely. The safest thing is an ice bath on your feet, you can - below the waist, and very rarely it is worth diving to the chest (full immersion only after consulting a doctor!).

A common mistake for beginners or those who are in a hurry to build muscle for the beach season is to skip the recovery periods that are provided for in any training plan. Many people think that rest is unnecessary, and training without recovery periods (this can be one day a week or longer periods that alternate with increased training) will quickly lead to the desired result. However, this mistake can cost you all the effort, as muscles are damaged during training and this is natural. Just like the period it takes for them to recover, after which they are ready to withstand even more stress.

How to recover after a hard strength training as quickly as possible? There are 4 simple and natural ways.

Peter Cavrell, fitness trainer and creator of Sixpackfactory.com, shares his secrets to post-workout recovery.

Cold baths

I don’t know why, but since school, the physical education teacher advised me to take at home after hard training hot bath(not immediately, of course, but after a while). This was supposed to alleviate my unenviable fate the next day. But I can't say it helped a lot. Peter Carvell, on the other hand, advises taking cold rather than hot baths. Previously, most sports clubs had separate cold water pools that you could dip into immediately after your workout. Why cold water? Because it reduces inflammation in the muscles after strength training. The fewer inflamed areas, the less " repair work” needs to be performed by the body to recover. This works in much the same way as a cold compress or ice, which is advised to be applied to a sprain or dislocation. Therefore, a cold bath (not ice, but just cold water that flows from a cold tap) for 10-12 minutes will be enough for your recovery time to be reduced by 50% and the pain of dorepatura to decrease by 40%.

Food

So you just blew your muscles like construction company removes the walls in the old building in order to build new ones. Now you need the right "bricks" to build a strong and beautiful house. Therefore you need the right products, which would contain all the substances necessary for construction. First of all, it is, of course, proteins. If you eat enough calories and protein, your muscles will grow faster. So after training ideal option would be protein cocktail in conjunction with simple carbohydrates, which help proteins reach their destination faster.

Massage

At the beginning of his sports career Peter worked ... as a sports masseur and helped athletes recover 6-8 hours a day after strength training. Proper muscle massage helps eliminate toxins, increase flexibility and speed up delivery nutrients to the right places. And, as a result, the recovery of the body is faster and less painful, and athletes become more flexible and get less injuries.

Quality massage at least once a week is not always available. Therefore, you can get out of the situation by massaging yourself with a simple foam roller (or a wooden roller massager that is more familiar to us) in the main zones ( top part thighs, lower back, buttocks, etc.) for 5-10 minutes.

Dream

And the last, but almost the most important item on this list is sleep! Enough sleep! Studies have shown that during sleep, the body recovers faster due to the synthesis of protein and growth hormone. Besides, healthy sleep restores normal brain function and it helps to stay alert while preparing for a competition or especially difficult workouts. The ideal amount of time to sleep is the standard 7-8 hours. And do not neglect this point, because later your lack of sleep will affect the results of your workout.

Word to science
Runner's World magazine, back in 2008, wrote: Ice baths called one of the most effective ways to compensate for the damage caused during training. Immersion in cold water suppresses inflammation and heat in the muscles, as low temperatures constrict blood cells and reduce metabolic activity.

Most recently, scientists looked at more than 17 studies and found that ice bathing reduced muscle soreness by 20% compared to doing nothing. This method has also been found to be slightly more effective than elastic bandages and stockings, as well as light running.

However, the method also has its critics. The main doubt is that ice baths can lead to heart palpitations and, as a result, to a heart attack.

Therefore, it is worth knowing how to properly take it with ice in order to get only the advantages of this method, and not its disadvantages.

Ice baths: how to take it right?
After intense or unusual physical exercises, after training with forcing one's own capabilities, as a rule, there is soreness in the muscles. This condition is called "krepatura" (another term is DOMS). It usually lasts from 24 to 48 hours. Main symptoms: muscle stiffness, muscle soreness, decreased strength.

This is due to mechanical damage in the muscle fibers, which leads to pain and inflammation. Many mistakenly believe that warming the muscles can relieve pain, and take hot baths. But athletes practice ice baths, or baths with, to fight pain. Images of American gymnasts from the US team in London have been circulating on Twitter, where they are taking ice baths after hard starts, trying to recover faster.

For professional athletes, baths are prepared by specialists, but we can use their experience and make an ice bath at home.

Ice bath rules:
- The water temperature for the ice bath is 10-15 degrees Celsius.
- You can stay in an ice bath for five minutes. Much depends on your condition and reaction, some make such baths longer, up to 20 minutes.
- The easiest way to make an ice bath is to pour cold tap water into the bath and add ice from the freezer.
- It is best to take an ice bath no later than half an hour after training.
- An ice bath is not taken on the whole body, that is, it is not worth immersing completely. The safest thing is an ice bath on your feet, you can - below the waist, and very rarely it is worth diving to the chest (full immersion only after consulting a doctor!).

Useful criticism
In order not to harm health, it is worth listening to the critics of ice baths. Firstly, there are a number of experts who cannot find scientific confirmation of the effect of ice baths. They believe that the whole thing is the so-called placebo effect.

Other doctors say that it is not worth relying entirely on pain relief only on an ice bath. You need to combine several ways to relieve pain: water treatments, massage, stretching.

It is worth considering strict warnings from almost all doctors: Not everyone can benefit from an ice bath. The shock effect on the body that immersion in cold water produces cannot be underestimated. An ice bath can affect the heart, blood vessels, and respiratory system. Bathing with co can greatly increase blood pressure and heart rate.

Even athletes do not use ice baths regularly, only during very heavy loads. The long-term effects of an ice bath have not been studied, so don't get carried away. Remember that during our Russian holiday of Epiphany, when believers swim in the hole, an ambulance is always on duty nearby to help unprepared people with a weak heart and high pressure. Be careful!

One way to reduce muscle pain after a workout is to apply ice or cool aching muscles in the legs or arms with a special spray. Sports doctors recommend these manipulations because low temperatures slow down metabolism, reduce blood flow and, accordingly, reduce pain. Could an ice bath have the same effect on athletes? After all, many of them believe that post-match cold baths are not only useful, but also pleasant for a tired body.

Why do athletes need to take ice baths?

Scientists have been studying the issue of the effects of cold on the human body for a long time, and as a result of one of the latest studies, it turned out that after hard training and large unusual loads, professional athletes go under hot shower to relax tired muscles, and sit in an ice bath.

This procedure relieves krepatura - muscle clamp after serious exertion - and helps to remove the following consequences of hard training:

• muscle stiffness;
• edema;
• aching pain in the ligaments;
• a pulling and tingling condition during flexion and extension of the joints, which occurs due to the fact that after training, lactic acid accumulates in the muscles, which is released during exercise.

Why take an ice bath? It is precisely because the listed consequences haunt athletes for two to three days after productive activities, and a cold bath contributes to a quick recovery.

How to take and optimal water temperature

The procedure will be most effective within half an hour after training, when the muscle fibers are well warmed up, slightly damaged by a heavy load and begin active regeneration. It is important here not to harm, but only to enhance the benefits of ice water.

How to take an ice bath correctly? by the most safe method immersion in an ice bath of limbs is considered. For example, you can pour cold running water in a large bucket, where the water will reach the knees, and sit like this for no more than 8-10 minutes.

The water temperature during these manipulations should not be lower than 10-15 degrees Celsius. There you need to put ice cubes so that they cover half the surface of the bath with them. This is done in order to maintain the desired temperature, since the body will automatically begin to warm the water in the bath around it, and there will be no effect.

Experienced athletes use this method. For example, the famous British tennis player, Wimboldon Cup winner Andy Murray plunges into such a bath to the waist or entirely. The water temperature is 8-10 degrees. The recovery scheme for this athlete is as follows: a light snack, a glass of mineral water, massage and as an end to an ice bath after a workout.

Important! Full immersion in an ice bath is possible only after consulting a doctor and conducting an appropriate examination of the body for resistance to such a method.

Is it possible to talk about the benefits and effectiveness?

Why do athletes take ice baths? Of course, for greater efficiency in muscle recovery during heavy loads, because krepatura not only prevents you from concentrating on future workouts, but also seriously interferes with moving forward.

Training through pain can only be advised to beginners and amateurs who can calmly reduce the load and do not play sports all the time. They only need it to maintain physical form. Those who are going to take serious sports heights should make the most of the body's capabilities.

From this side, the effect of cold will be similar to the well-known way of getting rid of a bruise or microtrauma: you need to apply ice to a sore spot, and a bruise can be avoided. Also in the case of an ice bath - cold water will slow down the blood flow and stop inflammatory process, which always begins, since the muscle fibers get ruptured under load. Consequently, the athlete will be spared from unwanted diseases and restore muscle performance faster.

What damage and harm can be done to the body?

There are opponents of this method, confident that in this way it is possible to cause serious harm to the body.

There is no official research and scientific evidence of the effectiveness of an ice bath for muscle recovery after heavy sports activities. Rather, it is a folk non-patented remedy used by coaches and athletes in their practice.

There are a lot of unofficial scientific experiments proving that an ice bath can benefit the muscles and remove the pain effect. For example, the latest experiment involving scientists from Australia, Norway and Europe, who took blood tests and a biopsy of muscle fluid from professional athletes who practice this method for a week. Sports performance in those who used the ice bath was significantly higher than those who neglected this method of muscle recovery.

However, there were precedents when the pressure rose in the trainees, a condition close to a heart attack arose, and a severe cold appeared and pneumonia developed. After all, immersing even half of the body in such a bath is a shock for the body, which is why it stops producing lactic acid and slows down all the processes that occur in the muscles.

In addition, there are studies where athletes took part, for whom the most important thing was to gain muscle mass and become stronger, for example, weightlifters. For them, the effect of an ice bath turned out to be disastrous: muscle mass did not increase, but, on the contrary, sharply decreased, since the inflammatory process in the fibers and, accordingly, the krepatura that occurs after, gave an incentive for greater muscle growth. The results of these athletes were much higher after giving up cold baths.

Whether it is possible and how to accept depending on age?

Is an ice bath good for middle-aged and older athletes? The answer is ambiguous.

On the one hand, an ice bath puts a serious strain on the body, which can lead to problems with:

1. Cardiovascular system.
2. Respiratory system.
3. The work of internal organs.

In addition, it is possible to achieve a decrease in soreness at an older age by taking simple anti-inflammatory drugs that do not bring such harm to the body during muscle recovery as an ice bath.

On the other hand, many athletes are against the adoption of synthetic drugs. Trainers, of course, take risks, especially after reaching the age of 65, but still prefer not to slow down the natural recovery process with medication. After all, an ice bath, although it introduces a state of shock, does not contain artificial substances.

How to take depending on the load?

It is absolutely impossible to increase the amount of time spent in an ice bath to recover from heavy loads, because this method is good in the right doses and suitable situations.

Beginner athletes who train at the strength for a week and are already complaining of aching muscles can switch to a different load scheme, or even change their regimen altogether. For example, you can alternate strength and cardio training when there is active muscle recovery, and not immediately sit down in an ice bath.

Those athletes who spend their whole lives in constant training and have long made sports a profession should also not get too carried away with a cold bath. After all, regular physical exercise the body is taught to gradually cope with all the consequences of training.

Already after 2-3 months, the muscles will simply stop whining and will remind of themselves only with a strong overload. That is why you need to consider taking an ice bath not as a permanent panacea, but just another effective remedy.

Can it be used as an emergency recovery method?

Why do athletes take an ice bath? Very often, due to the fact that there is almost no time left for the usual recovery of muscle fibers after a workout. Such an emergency method is often used in serious competitions, when tomorrow is a new competition, and the body's resources are at the limit, or the legs are unbearably sore.

However, in this situation, it is worth considering before making such a decision. Maybe it's better to make a cold compress and not expose an already exhausted body to new stresses? After all, ice baths are also a kind of strength test.

There is an opinion that low temperature regime able to narrow the blood cells and. Therefore, for many athletes, an ice bath is the most effective way suppress heat in the muscles after active training. Is the method justified and does it have side effect- we will consider in the article.

Why do athletes take an ice bath?

Many athletes are sure that an ice bath will help muscles recover after hard physical tests. Therefore, every time after unusual physical elements or when working at the limit of their own capabilities, they are placed in an ice bath for at least 8-10 minutes.

From a day to two, a state of soreness in the muscles can last, manifested in their stiffness, swelling and sensations of pain. Not everyone understands why athletes take ice baths: for a long time the reverse action was considered correct - warming the muscles. This is especially true for sports beginners who, after intense sports, take hot baths or rub their muscles with a warming ointment. But professional athletes have proven from their own experience that only an ice bath after a workout will help the muscles recover and free the athlete from two days of muscle soreness.

Rules for taking ice baths

It is very important to know not only why you take an ice bath, but also how to take an ice bath correctly. Temperature water, the duration of the intake, the sequence of actions after the training - everything is important here. The main rules for taking an ice bath include the following:

An ice bath is done as follows: cold water is poured into the bath, which is brought to the desired temperature by adding ice to it.

Is an ice bath good?

There is no single answer to this question. Yes, if you look at sports professionals who used this method, you can talk about the effectiveness of the method. But in terms of influence low temperatures on the human body, there are both supporters and opponents of the method. The situation is exacerbated by the lack scientific research proving the effectiveness of the method.

Proponents of the method

Many, on an unconscious level, apply a piece of cold ice to the site of a bruise or injury. And rightly so: the cold slows down blood flow, preventing swelling or bruising. A mild analgesic effect of this procedure has also been proven.

But what happens to the body of an athlete after a grueling training? Yes, basically the same. His body receives invisible microtraumas and cracks, which in the future can provoke more serious violations. Therefore, a timely stopped inflammatory process will not only help the muscles recover faster, but also prevent the development of unwanted diseases. No one is talking about necessarily total immersion. For athletes, whose load is mainly on their legs, it is enough to dip them in the cold.

What damage can low temperatures cause to the body?

Opponents of the method believe that if a single application of ice to a bruised area can bring relief. That regular immersion in ice water for a long amount of time can adversely affect the body. Yes, slow blood flow fights inflammation. But at the same time, it reduces protein synthesis. As a result, the athlete has to train even harder.

In addition, especially for the first time, the body experiences a severe shock, which for an unprepared or suffering from serious illness athlete, can result in problems with:

• heart;
• respiratory system;
• blood vessels

An ice bath is quite capable of increasing the heart rate, eventually leading to a heart attack, and increase blood pressure. There is still no scientific justification for the effectiveness of the method. Therefore, many experts advise not to focus on this particular technique, but to combine it with conventional water procedures.

Ice bath and age

Which is better: an ice bath or anti-inflammatory drugs? After a twelve-week course of anti-inflammatory drugs, a group of athletes who took the pills noticed an increase in muscle mass.

We are talking, of course, about people over 65 years old. Still, under the threat of the negative impact of low temperatures on the body are more people of the older age category. A reasonable question arises: will they risk exposing their body to temperature changes if the same effect, if not better, can be obtained from taking medication?

Young athletes are another matter: synthetic preparations, on the contrary, can slow down the recovery process, therefore, as an alternative, taking ice baths for them may be justified.

Relationship between load and ice bath

Ice bath, as well as a reception medicines, can have the desired effect only in a number of cases. The muscles of athletes who regularly engage in intensive training are already accustomed to such loads and have learned to recover themselves. Young athletes who train at the amateur level can also manage on their own. A bruise, sprain, or severe muscle pain after a long break from exercise can be a reason to take an ice bath. But, on the other hand, it can be replaced by an ordinary cold compress.

It is advisable to resort to an ice bath only for those athletes whose muscles have experienced an unusual load, and there is absolutely no time for recovery in connection with, for example, competitions.

Can an ice bath be used as an emergency recovery method?

Due to the fact that many athletes began to use ice baths as a way of emergency recovery, it was decided to conduct an appropriate study. Within two weeks, an employee of the Queensland University of Technology and colleagues took blood for biomarkers and biopsied the muscles of the thighs of athletes. Moreover, one of their groups restored muscles with the help of an ice bath, and the second returned to normal with the help of ordinary rest.

The results of the study did not reveal any differences. Those. The ability of ice water to relieve inflammation has not been proven. Therefore, experts recommend not exposing your body to sudden changes in temperature and recovering by other methods. And resort to ice water only in the most urgent cases, for example, if a new race awaits ahead with unbearable pain in the legs.

You can read more about these studies in the source - the BBC magazine.

conclusions

Listen to your body: only it will tell you what you really need. If you experience discomfort when taking an ice bath, then you should not force yourself: the muscles are quite capable of recovering on their own. Resort to the method only in cases of urgent need, and then only after prior consultation with a specialist.