One answer: YES! but some athletes refuse to hop in the cold tub after workouts! Let me tell you that they do work and they are an essential part of your recovery process. We hate them but think of it as one day down instead of two days. Ice baths are one of the most effective ways to offset the damage done on your body.
Why Should I Ice Bath?
We beat ourselves up everyday in training – tearing micro muscle fibers and building lactic acid, and the last thing we want to do is carry all of that with us to the next day of training. We need to be 100% (or as close to it as we can) everyday!
Training is essential to getting better and for example sprinting involves multiple runs at different distances to work on many aspects of a race. Unfortunately, sprinting can also increase an athletes risk of injury, which could result in unplanned – and unwelcome – time watching your fellow competitors from the sidelines. Its unnecessary and could be well prevented just by taking the small steps to keep your body healthy. That one simple step to offset those risks is dipping into cold water.
But What Does An Ice Bath Do?
Technically its called Cryotherapy (“cold therapy”) and it constricts the blood vessels and decreases metabolic activity, which reduces swelling and tissue breakdown. Once you get out of the tub, the tissues begin warming up and cause a fast return of blood flow, which helps flush out all the crap you had in your legs to the lymph system. Sitting in the cold water allows for a greater, longer lasting and more efficient effect to the deep tissues of large muscles all at once.
Yes the discomfort sucks bad and hurts like hell, which is what scares some athletes off, but you will eventually get use to it. I’ll admit after an awesome workout, an ice bath is the last thought on my mind. However, I credit a lot of my success today to my ritual of post-workout ice baths.
How Can I Do It At Home?
You don’t have to have an expensive hydrotherapy pool to “enjoy’ an ice bath. All you need is your tub at home, water, and a lot of ice:
1. Prepare a lot of ice cubes
You want to keep the temperature between 10° to 15° Celsius (50° to 59° Fahrenheit). You can make your own ice with your refrigerator freezer if you have one, or you can buy some at the nearest convenience store.
2. Fill the tub with cold water
Put enough water to fill up to your waists so that the whole lower body can benefit from the cold water.
3. Add ice until to desired temperature
If you have a thermometer, you should measure how cold the tub is before going in.
4. Slowly step in the tub and prepare for the extremely cold water
So What…
Now, you’re quite ready to take an ice bath. Ice baths are just another step in the recovery process and will for sure help you reach your goals. It will help with a speedy recovery, and at the same time, help in preventing injuries. If you have a competition coming up, you might want to think about hopping in the cold tub a day before so your legs are nice and fresh for game day!
(original image by marcellina)
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Great article, I’m a sprinter in highschool and had doubts about taking ice baths before. I was wondering how long should I be in the tub for? Thanks
Thanks for the comment. I hope you no longer have any doubts because they are great. You should stay in the ice tub anywhere from 7-15 minutes. Everyone has that minute amount that just works for them, and you will find yours. When I am really sore I stay in for about 10 but otherwise I usually stay in for about 7. I hope this answers your questions. Never be scared to ask anything more.