11/22/2025
To ice bath or not to ice bath?
Athletes love a trend.
Right now 10 minutes in a bin of ice because some influencer said “it boosts recovery and performance” seems to be all the rage.
This is helped by the multitude of offers and discounts on home units available.
But many are simply sucked in simply by marketing and not real world application of the evidence.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth:
If you use ice baths at the wrong time or in the wrong way, you can literally blunt the training adaptations you’re working so hard for.
This isn’t a vibe. It’s data.
❄️ What ice baths actually do
Short term, cold water immersion (CWI):
Reduces soreness and perceived fatigue after hard sessions
Lowers tissue temperature and blood flow, damping down inflammation and pain
That can be helpful if:
You have to compete again soon (tournaments, multi-stage races, brutal training camps).
You need to feel better tomorrow more than you need maximum adaptation next month.
But that same mechanism is exactly why it can work against you.
Overusing ice baths during individual sessions or frequency can diminish your gains!
As an example, multiple studies and meta-analyses show that jumping into cold water immediately after resistance training can attenuate hypertrophy and strength gains over time.
Why?
Because you’re reducing blood flow and nutrient delivery to the muscle and dampening the anabolic signalling and satellite cell activity that drive growth and strength gains
You may feel “recovered”, but your numbers and muscle adaptations probably say otherwise.
If your goals include lifting heavier and strengthening tendon and connective tissue for performance a post-lift ice bath is often a terrible choice.
Ice baths are great at making you feel better.
That doesn’t automatically mean:
Better adaptation
Lower injury risk
Improved long-term performance
The research is clear: CWI reduces soreness and perceived fatigue, but long-term performance benefits are mixed at best.
Stop confusing less soreness with better recovery If you always chase “I don’t feel sore” you can easily undercut the stimulus your body needs to actually adapt.
There’s some interesting work showing cold can enhance certain mitochondrial and oxidative markers when combined with endurance training.
But The evidence that it improves endurance performance long term is not strong or consistent.
For many endurance athletes, the bigger issue is that heavy strength work (which you should be doing) is being followed by an ice bath that blunts those strength gains.
If you’re a runner/triathlete doing gym work to get more robust, faster and harder to break… and then you sit in 10°C water straight after? You’re partly undoing the thing you just suffered for.
So your ice bath may actually be Potentially interfering with some endurance adaptations that you have worked so hard for!
🔥 Let’s talk influencers
If your recovery plan is based on:
Someone with a discount code and a six-pack
A reel with dramatic music and no nuance
that’s not performance. That’s marketing. I’ve been approached hundreds of times over the years with an affiliate deal or incentive to promote products. I’m old and ugly enough to resist the ones I don’t believe in but many aren’t.
Be careful if you see the Red flag checklist that may include/
“Ice baths supercharge recovery” with no mention of context or trade-offs ❌
“Do this after every session” ❌
“Claims of boosting hormones, immunity, longevity, fat loss – all from a 3-minute reel ❌
If the people you’re listening to never say “it depends on your goals”, they’re not talking to high-performance athletes. They’re talking to an algorithm.
🧊 BUT… ice baths can be useful
There are smart uses for CWI:
Tournament or multi-day racing: when you need to turn around quickly and perform again, and you accept a small trade-off in adaptation to protect performance tomorrow.
Brutal heat & big load blocks: as one of many tools to manage total strain and keep you training.
Mental health / mood: some people genuinely feel calmer, clearer, and more focused with cold exposure – and that absolutely matters. I think we’ve crossed wires on this one big time in recent years!
The point isn’t “never ice bath”.
The point is: stop using it blindly.
✅ What I Recommend
If you’re an athlete who wants performance and long-term progress, here’s the nuance.
1️⃣ After strength or power sessions (or tendon rehab)l Avoid ice baths for at least 4–6 hours after lifting, and ideally skip them completely on key strength days if muscle/tendon adaptation is a priority. You can’t buy adaptation with cold water. You earn it by letting your body do the inflammatory work.
2️⃣ After key endurance workouts
Ask yourself: “Do I need to be better tomorrow, or better in 6–12 weeks?”
If it’s a heavy training block and adaptation is king → use ice baths sparingly, not after every big session.
If it’s competition, a camp, or back-to-back hard days where tomorrow’s performance is critical → an ice bath can be an intentional trade-off.
3️⃣ How often and how cold?
Based on current evidence and expert guidance:
Temperature: around 10–15°C (50–59°F) often I see it much much colder! Or not checked at all!
Duration: roughly 8–15 minutes total (can be split into short bouts) often I see it much much longer or not enough!
You do not get extra benefit from “colder, longer, more suffering”. You just increase risk.
Frequency:
Think 1–2x per week, strategically placed, not “every single session because recovery”.
4️⃣ Using cold for mood / stress
If you love the mental reset:
Put cold plunges on rest days, easy days, or mornings away from hard strength work, rather than straight after your key lift or intense session.
Shorter exposures (cold showers, brief immersions) can still give a psychological lift without constantly hammering your post-training signalling.
5️⃣ Who should be cautious?
Anyone with:
Cardiovascular disease
Uncontrolled high blood pressure
History of cardiac events, Raynaud’s, or significant circulatory problems
You really should talk to a medical professional first. Cold shock is real, not “mindset”.
Final thought
Ice baths are a tool, not a personality.
Used well: they can help you turn around faster and cope with big blocks.
Used blindly: they can quietly rob you of the adaptations you’re training for.
Thanks for taking the time to read.
