Is it better to take a cold bath before or after strength training?
Avoid taking a cold bath immediately AFTER strength training if muscle growth is your goal: it measurably inhibits muscle fibre hypertrophy. Schedule it before your training session, or use it on recovery days after endurance training.
A cold bath taken AFTER strength training measurably inhibits muscle fibre hypertrophy. After 7 weeks of training, men who took a cold bath after every session showed clearly less growth in muscle fibre thickness than the control group. After 12 weeks the difference was even sharper: isokinetic work capacity rose by 19%, the number of cell nuclei per muscle fibre by 26%, and fibre thickness by 17% in the active-recovery group, whereas the cold-bath group showed no measurable growth on any of these points.
The mechanism appears to lie in the molecular processes that drive muscle growth. A cold bath suppresses the activity of cells that help muscles grow and recover, and dampens the internal growth signals within the muscle cells themselves (the so-called mTOR pathway). In addition, it blocks the temporary rise in testosterone that normally occurs after strength training and that contributes to muscle recovery and adaptation.
Notably, maximum strength (measured as the maximum weight a person can lift in a single attempt) was barely affected in several studies, even though muscle fibre growth lagged visibly behind. The brake on strength is therefore real, but smaller than the brake on muscle volume. Ten studies combined show a small but statistically detectable negative effect on strength development, particularly when only the trained limbs are cooled. With a whole-body cold bath that effect disappears in the statistics.
For endurance athletes the picture is different. A cold bath after endurance or interval training actually increases the production of proteins that contribute to endurance capacity and blood flow. Anyone focused on building strength and muscle mass is better off scheduling the cold bath BEFORE strength training, or keeping it entirely separate from the strength session, and certainly not taking it immediately afterwards.
This answer is based on multiple randomised studies in men (with 11 to 21 participants per study) and a summary of ten comparable studies. The direction is remarkably consistent: a cold bath after strength training inhibits muscle growth. However, the studies are small and conducted almost exclusively in young men, so how this plays out in women or older people has not yet been adequately investigated. The finding regarding endurance training comes from a single small study and should be considered preliminary.
Is it better to take an ice bath before or after your workout?
The answer depends on your training goal: for fast recovery after intense sport or competitions, an ice bath after training is worthwhile, but those who want to structurally get stronger or build more muscle are better off scheduling the ice bath at times when they are not training.
Does a cold bath or ice bath benefit your health in the long term?
An ice bath after strength training demonstrably inhibits muscle growth, so if you want to build muscle it is better avoided. For other long-term benefits, such as reduced stress, better sleep, or lower sick-day absenteeism, the evidence is preliminary and too limited for firm conclusions; people with heart problems or other vulnerabilities are well advised to discuss it with their doctor first.
Can cold showers make your cells healthier?
Cold showers do not demonstrably make your cells healthier: they actually hold back growth and recovery processes in muscle cells after training, without delivering the supposed benefits of reducing swelling and irritation. If you do strength training, it is better to wait until after the recovery window before taking a cold shower.
Is the sauna after exercise good for your recovery?
Taking the sauna regularly after exercise probably adds some extra benefit for fitness and blood pressure, on top of the gains from exercise itself. The sauna after sport is not harmful.
Does strength training make your bones stronger after the menopause?
Strength training likely makes bones stronger after the menopause, but the effect on bone density is limited in size and the quality of the evidence is low to moderate. Training three times a week with sufficient load, preferably sustained for at least a year, offers the best chance of measurable bone gains.
Does strength training work better against high blood sugar than cardio?
Strength training appears to work better than cardio alone in people with diabetes and a normal weight, but in overweight individuals that advantage is less clear and a combination of exercise with diet helps the most.