Effect of cold showers after intense training

Question

What is the effect of cold showers after very intense training (body fully covered in sweat, high pulse, increased body temperature)?

I'm especially interested in how it affects perspiration.

Answer 1

Taking cold showers(10-15 ℃) after training or workout have many benefits:

• It helps in lowering the damaged tissues temperature by constricting blood vessels.

• Cold helps numb nerve endings which provides instant localised pain relief.

• Brings down heart rate and increases circulation.

• It minimises inflammation and help you recover faster.

• It is more effective in relieving delayed-onset muscle soreness, which generally occurs one to four days after any physical activity.

• It reduces uric acid levels, so it is beneficial for people suffering from gout.

• It boosts glutathione levels in the body which is a very beneficial antioxidant.

Those who should avoid cold showers:

1] Those who suffer from heart diseases as constriction of blood vessels can lead to a heart attack.

2] People having high blood pressure, because blood vessels will constrict and can reduce the supply of blood to different organs, especially the brain.

Ice bath:

In sports therapy, an ice bath, or sometimes cold-water immersion or cold therapy, is a training regimen usually following a period of intense exercise in which a substantial part of a human body is immersed in a bath of ice or ice-water for a limited duration. While it is becoming increasingly popular and accepted among athletes in a variety of sports, the method is controversial, with a risk of hypothermia, with the possibility of shock leading to sudden death. Many athletes have used cold water immersion after an intense exercise workout on the belief that it speeds up bodily recovery; however, the internal physical processes are not well understood and remain elusive. Generally research into the health effects of cold water immersion as part of an athletic training regimen is inconclusive, with some studies suggesting a mild benefit such as reducing muscle damage and discomfort and alleviating delayed onset muscle soreness, with other studies suggesting that cold water immersion may slow muscle growth and interfere with an overall training regimen.

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[Source 2]

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References:

_{- A cold shower maybe more beneficial to your fitness[Dr. Mercola].}

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_{- Effects of hydrotherapy on various systems of the body(NCBI)}

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_{- Ice bath (Wikipedia)}

_{- 8 do's and don't's of Ice bath}