Cold-Water Immersion Therapy Following Resistance Training

👀 Wait.. are you saying cryotherapy is bad for me..?! 👉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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No, of course not 😅 - things aren’t so black and white, especially with recovery methods. There is a TON of research that supports benefits for cryo as there is also research that questions its efficacy.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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❄️ The cryotherapy technique in this specific study was cold-water infusion (aka ice bath) at 8 degC (or 68 degF) for 20 minutes duration, 7 sessions over a 2-week period in recreationally trained men. Prior to cryotherapy, each participant consumed 20g protein, 45g carbohydrates, rested 1 hour, and then completed resistance training for 45 minutes. That’s important to know because these findings are specific to this set-up. The modality, time duration, and temperature can all alter the effects of the intervention.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🤯 What’s the take-away: if you are aiming for hypertrophy as your training goal (to build muscle size), this method as immediate recovery may not be your best alternative as the results contradict the desired effect of the training.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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📍The study didn’t evaluate injury, chronic use, or assess a variety in athlete training status.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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📰 Reference:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Fuchs CJ, Kouw IWK, Churchward-Venne TA, et al. J Physiol. Feb 2020. DOI: 10.1113/JP278996⠀⠀