I get a lot of questions about how contrast showers aid recovery of used muscles. Therefore, I wanted to take time to go over the importance of this type of shower, and why we use them. Personally, I started using contrast showers a long time ago to speed my recovery so that I my performance the next day at the gym was not impaired.
If you have a normal shower head and adequate cold water you’re all set. You need to follow these guidelines:
Start with a warm flow to relax and dilate blood vessels – stay under the warm running water for 5-10 minutes
Adjust the water for various types of training….warmer water after strength training and cooler water after endurance efforts
Follow the warm part of the shower with a relaxing period with 1-2 minutes or longer of cold water, which causes the blood vessels in the skeletal musculature to restrict circulation
Focus the water flow on the muscles used during training
Once you are just about to begin shivering turn the faucet back to hot water, which opens the blood vessels again, facilitating increased circulation
Similar to post-workout cool-down practices, where movement of the limbs assists the heart with circulation, the hot-cold cycle causes mechanical actions of the vascular system to aid blood flow, removing the exhaust of energy production away from the muscles, and supplying oxygen and nutrients to speed recovery
Repeat for several cycles
Duration and cycles of as little as two minutes of warm followed by 30-seconds of cold repeated 3-4 times can work; however, I believe that if this is all you can tolerate you will be better off soaking in a hot tub.
Temperature of the water is important, but don’t obsess about it. Just play around with temperate and see what works for you. But be aware, that cold water has a tonic effect, acting as a stimulant. Ending on cold can be helpful if one is going about one’s business afterward. Ending on warm may be useful if the next step is a nap.
The main focus of a contrasting shower is speeding up the recovery of tired muscles. Some say that cold showers boost immune system activity; however, that is not my objective. My objective with using contrast showers or the post-workout cold plunge (ice bath) is to speed recovery so training frequency may be increased. Good recovery practices also allow more frequent high-intensity training sessions.
The last piece of guidance I will offer is how often do you take a contrasting shower. The answer is it depends upon many factors. First, you should use various forms of recovery, especially, if you’re training hard. Second, if you’re limited in time focus on those forms of recovery that are more effective. Contrasting showers are a great form of recovery, but there are more effective ways to recover. For example, a massage – especially, if it is deep tissue – is more effective than a contrasting shower. However, it’s hard to get into see a therapist and it can be expensive. Therefore, do what you can and in my opinion you can never overdo recovery.
