[Exercise Recovery] Should I take a cold shower or a hot shower after exercise?

After exercise, especially after intense exercise or long-distance running, taking a hot bath to relieve pain and fatigue in the whole body is the most common saying. In fact, the correct way is to cool down the body, rather than warming up the body. If in the intense professional sports in the United States, such as the NFL or the NBA, after intense or high-intensity training or competition, usually soak in ice water, in addition to reducing the risk of muscle inflammation and injury, it can also accelerate recovery.

There is an article in the well-known website RUNNER’S WORLD [Ice Baths: Cold Therapy (ice compress], let’s learn about it together. Long-distance running training is one of the necessary trainings for long-distance runners, allowing the body to gradually complete a longer distance without the risk of injury and is efficient. However, the structure of the human body is not suitable for a single-direction exercise for too long, so long-distance running will also increase the risk of injury, causing you to rest and temporarily terminate the training. To offset the increased risk of injury due to long-distance running, one of the most effective methods is [ice bath] 】.

Low-temperature (cryogenic) therapy: The purpose is to slow down blood vessel contraction, reduce metabolism, and slow down blood vessel swelling. Once your skin no longer undergoes low-temperature treatment, the temperature of the subcutaneous tissue begins to increase, accelerate venous blood flow, so that the ruptured tissue produces products that are harmful to the body and can enter the lymphatic system, and the lymphatic system cleans up these harmful substances.

A extreme runner David who has completed ten consecutive endurance events Terry said: "Ice bath not only suppresses inflammation, but also helps to clean up harmful metabolic substances in the body."

The article mentioned that ice packs are also a good method, but compared with ice bath, the face rate is not large enough, not long enough, and not deep enough. He also believes that ice bath method will scare away many people (because everyone hopes to take a hot bath after exercise! But he used ice bath method to make him run a super horse for more than ten years without any obvious injuries.

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He provides an experience to allow you to stay in the ice bath for longer.

First add 2 to 3 bags of crushed ice in the bathtub and add ice water to the height of your waist. Prepare a down jacket, hat, put on diving boots, and prepare reading materials that you are interested in.

Enter the bathtub and enjoy these 15 to 20 minutes.

Although scientifically proves that ice bath does help with recovery, it has not proved that it is better and other methods are better. Generally speaking, the water in the ice bath is about 10 degrees~ The temperature of 15 degrees Celsius, the soaking time is 10~20 minutes.

The following is an introduction similar to this method.

Ice water soaking

After the ice water soaking, the muscles will be tight, it is recommended to do a 30~60-minute warm-up movement, take a hot shower or drink a hot drink.

Alternating hot and cold water may be helpful 　　1 minute cold water (10~15 Celsius). 2 minutes Hot water (37~40 Celsius), soak three times in circulation. The room temperature water may have the same effect.

Precautions: As a side note, many elders are used to getting up early to climb the mountain and then washing hot springs. Generally speaking, they are already "accustomed to such exercises, so for them, it is no longer considered intense exercise. For people who do not often climb mountains, if their feet are already sore or discomfort when climbing, remember not to soak in hot springs or hot water again, as it will only speed up the cracked tissue and rupture, which will not benefit the body.

(Note: Follow the WeChat public platform of the Fitness Bar, subscribe to search for "Fitness Bar Network" or "Click to scan and follow")

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