Ice Shower: A Hit for Motivated Bloggers or a Tool for Better Physical and Mental Health?
If you haven't seen at least one person on Instagram in recent years who jumped on a train called an ice shower (ideally early in the morning, right after waking up), you probably don't have an Instagram. Does this, at first glance, rather unpleasant activity have real benefits supported by science, or is it just a kind of hype based on anecdotal evidence (that is, something that one thinks, feels, and so it is true regardless of anything else)?
We will not keep you tense and we will say straight away that even though the anecdotal side is very strong, science also suggests that ice showers have the potential for better physical and mental health. But there are hooks. In today's article, we will also focus on a contrasting shower, not just pure ice. A contrasting shower is one in which you alternate hot and cold water at certain time intervals. For hot water, a time of at least 2-3 minutes is recommended, while for cold water one minute. It was contrasting showers and ice showers that were the most addressed in the research, and thus somehow combined into one unit.
BENEFITS +
# 1 Reduce muscle and improve regeneration
To breathe a sigh of relief at the outset of this issue, I will say that an ice shower or even cryotherapy is quite a matter of regeneration in terms of regeneration.
"But… but ... everyone says…" Yes, yes, I know. Claim.
I am not saying that these methods (ice, contrast shower and cryo) have no effect on regeneration, but that we have more efficient and pleasant methods in terms of regeneration. The most interesting benefits are proven under conditions that are irrelevant to most of us. For example, with a long ice bath, not your two-minute (if at all) relatively cold shower.
However, you don't have to be sad, because the advantages, as I mentioned, are here, in the meta-analysis, they found an improvement in the muscle muscle in an 11-15 minute shower around 10-15 ° C. Many times before, such subjective satisfaction and relaxation occur, which can have a positive impact on the body. I can boldly say that a contrasting shower, but also an ice shower will not only (a little!) Improve your regeneration after strenuous workouts, but also reduce your muscles. Last but not least, another benefit of the contrast shower is the improvement of blood flow. And where there is blood, there is life and nutrients for tired muscles. Although it may not be a pleasant method at first, you should definitely give it a chance. At a minimum, the contrasting shower, as the meta-analysis points to benefits and, in addition, a reduction in creatine kinase levels (one of the indicators of muscle damage) was found. Here, a lower perception of fatigue in team sports was demonstrated.
However, you would definitely expect bigger and clearer conclusions, especially when every second article about ice showers tells you that you will be Robokop. The advantages are here, but especially for longer showers / baths (10+ minutes).
# 2 Armored immune system, but…
But the armor is also… no… cardboard. I myself was disappointed with the data behind better immunity, but then I realized that enough had been done about the immune system, most recently during the coronavirus. However, the boost of immunity due to ice showers can occur, at least to a small extent. With 14 degrees of water for one hour, the benefits have not been demonstrated, but with repeated activity (ice showers 3 times a week for 6 weeks) already yes, although we are talking about small differences in the increase of monocytes, lymphocytes and the like, which are related to immunity.
In this study, 3,018 participants (79% completed the study) had a 29% reduction in morbidity. It was self-reported data about how employees went / did not go to work due to a cold, but at least something. In addition, I know a ton of anecdotal evidence when people really praise similar benefits.
# 3 Exiting the comfort zone
The comfort zone is actually a psychological state in which you feel comfortable and feel very low to no anxiety or stress. However, a slight increase in these conditions results in better adaptation. As early as 1907, psychologist Rober Yerkes noted that when people want to achieve maximum performance, it is fine if their stress levels are slightly higher than normal. He called it optimal anxiety and a condition outside our comfort zone. It is the ice shower and your (super) ability to handle it that can help you in other uncomfortable situations.
# 4 You burn calories, but…
Unfortunately, it's not what you might think. Although the titles of opinion-forming media are easy to sell (you know - "Shocking! Ice shower will help you burn fat", the reality of calories burned during ice showers is a bit different. We discussed everything in the Premium article and apart from calories you can find out more about brown and white Not to mention the fact that Premium membership (2.99 € / month, which is 77 CZK), you support Fitclan, you have access to 230+ articles, discounts in our e-shop, discount on Actin, progress sheet for recording your day / calories, info / presale / discount on webinars, seminars and the like.
# 5 Better mood
These are rather hypotheses and anecdotal conclusions, but since the ice shower has an effect on the sympathetic nervous system and increases neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and endorphins, mood improvement and simply a better feeling is possible. If you last 5 minutes and give it at least 2-3 times a week, the symptoms of depression may be lower, resp. suppressed and mood better. How much, it is questionable, but we must mention a positive point.
DISADVANTAGES -
# 1 Yes. It. Ice.
Um, the unexpected fact that it's just icy, annoying in an ice shower. Unfortunately, the body is very good at adapting and over time you don't have to feel this negative and it is likely that you will simply look forward to that shower and most importantly, you will not feel it as icy as the first times. The adaptation of the organism and at the same time all the mentioned benefits will simply win over the feelings of winter.
# 2 Potential reduction in muscle growth if…
The latest conclusions were not entirely clear, although it seems that ice water after training will not be the real nut for our muscles, if our goal is maximum hypertrophy (muscle growth). Anyway, we have a study that says the following. In this "ice process", the expression of factors that promote ribosome biogenesis is negatively affected - this difficult word can play an important role in hypertrophy during training. So this confirms the previous information that we wrote, respectively. found in the study. Indeed, it seems that if we want to maximize the growth of muscle mass, diving into ice water is not the best strategy. We wrote more about cryotherapy in the article, where we learn similar conclusions in the latest meta-analysis, although in terms of regeneration, similar tactics have their benefits.
In any case, the final data suggested that a cold bath after strength training alleviates changes in the number of satellite cells and the activity of kinases (enzymes) that regulate muscle growth, which may be reflected in long-term impoverishment and hypertrophy ( muscle growth), even with strength performance. Even, similar results were demonstrated in this further study.
Of course, there is no need to draw clear conclusions. And even that is not possible. For example, we have cryotherapy that can reduce inflammation, no one claims that ice baths are not good for other things and there is even the potential of ice water to reduce pain in tendons, joints, but it seems that this may be at the cost of limiting long-term muscle gain. . However, there is still some speculation on this topic and it is not even completely known the whole process of rebuilding muscles to be stronger and bigger within the mentioned "ice" methods. We know that many (even top) athletes and athletes use the ice bath method. Are they losing long-term muscle gain at the expense of improved regeneration? Hard to say. Also, if we want to be skeptical after all, a lot of (even top) athletes and athletes do many things that are not optimal and even "work" only through a placebo. In short, if you want maximum muscle growth, do not take an ice shower right after training.
# 3 It can lift your appetite
Dieting may not be what you want. However, an ice shower or bath together with training can actually cause an increase in your caloric intake due to higher hunger and affecting ghrelin and leptin. It is information mainly for people who do not monitor caloric intake, because in the research it was not a few extra calories, but we have already discussed this in the aforementioned on calories and ice showers.
The ice shower is heated. I don't like to say it when sentences like pressure are pressed on you from every corner, thanks to them you will lose weight more, you won't get a cold like a year long, your injuries will be avoided and your body will be like a rock. On the other hand, the claimed benefits are here, the data behind them exist, but the reality is at a much lower level under real conditions, as no one is likely to shower in an ice shower for 10-15 minutes. However, in the world of natural exercise and a healthy lifestyle, every little thing counts, and if you can / probably improve regeneration, you reduce your muscle mass by at least a percentage, why not try it? And most importantly, you will teach your head something more and it will harden you, perhaps from the psychological side. We currently have very warm weather, so give it a try, there are definitely no disadvantages here, so?
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