My Unpopular Opinion on Ice Baths as a Personal Trainer

Since I can remember, Ice baths have been touted as one of the best recovery tools for athletes and a weapon of mass anti-inflammation for the public. 

However, my favorite use for them was an "ice shower" to raise money for ALS.

Beyond that, I'm not a big fan of cold water immersion as a "health intervention."

My stance is contrary to much of what you see on social media, where cold water immersion is praised for everything from recovery to boosting metabolism and even priming your immune system.

While a little of that may be true, most of it is not, and the rest falls into the "eh, well, kinda, but why wouldn't you just do this other thing instead?" category. So, let’s jump into it.

Ice Baths Effects on Recovery

I'll start with a quick synopsis: Ice Baths don’t improve recovery.

While it has a small positive effect on subjective scores, such as muscle soreness and perceived fatigue, it falls short compared to other more pleasant modalities, such as getting a massage or using compression garments. 

If alleviating soreness is your primary goal, then I have good news: that same meta-analysis showed that you could get that same subjective result by using water below body temperature. No bags of ice are needed. Just have my wife take one of her showers before you run your bath, ensuring you have no hot water, and BAM and less soreness. 

Less subjective soreness is OK, but it doesn't cut it when it comes to actual recovery. If I'm going to the discomfort of plunging into an ice bath, I want to come out like Wolverine, with all of my ouchies healed up and my body raring to go.

Instead, I come out as a freezing, very annoyed Jarrett, ouchies still included, my body still in the same beat-up shape.

My malaise for the ice bath experience goes with what research has shown: Ice baths do not increase objective markers of recovery.

Just because you shivered for 10 minutes today, don't expect you will be able to perform any better tomorrow. In fact, it's been shown in several studies that it blunts many of the positive effects of strength training (but not endurance work, funny enough). This blunting means that if you're training for strength or hypertrophy, cold plunges can harm your goals.

Now, you may wonder, "Well, recovery isn't the only benefit; what about the other stuff?"

The Other Stuff

I don't want to throw the baby out with the ice water. Purposely exposing yourself to cold can have benefits, but research on those benefits is thin and uncertain.

Ice Bath Effects on Mood

There are many claims online on how cold exposure can have positive effects on our mood and mental health, but there is tenuous evidence of that.

One study did show that cold showers have a positive effect on mood and alertness. Still, it had a small sample size, and prolonged effects were not studied (of course, you'll be more alert right after taking a cold shower).

Another study showed that warm showers boost mood, and a warm bath is fantastic for both physical and mental benefits and is drastically more pleasurable.

Still, there are proposed mechanisms for how cold exposure can boost our mood. These theories revolve around the idea that extreme cold ramps up the sympathetic nervous system, pumps us full of adrenaline, and heavily stimulates peripheral endings, which could have an anti-depressant effect.

If this is the primary mechanism, then there's one drawback: It will likely be a short-lived effect and may cause a harsh crash later in people who are already stressed. Many times, people who live in a chronically stressed state are already too sympathetically dominant. Adding in a robust stress response like this could put more load on their system and leave them feeling more drained when they come down from the adrenaline.

I will admit that ice baths overloading someone with stress is just my speculation based on personal experience. Back in my early 20s, several friends and I would play around with ice baths and cold showers to improve recovery. Most of us agreed that on days when we already felt pretty drained and overloaded, the cold exposure seemed to just drain us further.

That said, if you want to try ice baths or cold showers for mood enhancement, give it a shot and see. Since we're talking about a response from the nervous system, responses will likely vary, and you may have a more fruitful experience than I did.

Ice Bath Effects on Metabolism

Ice baths do have a positive effect on metabolism, albeit a very small one. After all, how long are you going to sit in that ice water?

One adaptation of chronic cold exposure is the activation of brown fat, which is metabolic, unlike white fat. While interesting, it's only relevant if you want to train for something that requires you to be cold. For those who aren't trying to prepare for the Polar Bear Plunge, we'll get more metabolic benefits from building muscle through strength training… Something that, as a reminder, may be hampered by ice baths. 

Ice Baths Effects on the Immune System

Research on impacts on the immune system is also lacking. I found one Dutch article that studied whether or not 12 individuals could consciously influence their immune response after practicing meditation, cold immersion, and special breathing exercises. Still, it yields very little in regards to practical applications.

Another study showed that constant exposure might enhance antitumor immunity. Still, that would also come at the cost of potential gains if you're lifting, which also improves your immune function. 

The most promising impact on the immune system that I could find was that from contrast showers (switching repeatedly between hot and cold). This study showed a significant reduction in "sickness absence days" in the 3000+ participants who completed 30 days of a contrast shower protocol. Though there were no changes in the days of illness, meaning they got sick about the same amount, they didn't seem to get as sick. Since contrast showers are thought to have a training effect on the vasoconstriction and vasodilation of our capillaries, which also occurs in cardiovascular training, I'd like to see if the same amount of improvement would occur in individuals who exercise regularly.

Ice Baths Effects on Inflammation

When we think about any form of icing, reducing inflammation is where most of our minds go. Inflammation is a tricky and nuanced subject that I will only briefly discuss. I want to highlight that society tends to see inflammation as wholly bad, which is inaccurate. The inflammation created by strength training and exercise signals our bodies to repair and adapt to be stronger. Inflammation is an essential part of our physiology. Chronic inflammation, however, is usually harmful and almost always multifactorial. Looking at inflammation as the issue usually causes us to ignore the more significant root problems that will probably require some combination of medical, nutritional, and lifestyle intervention.

With all of that said, ice baths don't appear to be as great at reducing inflammation as we may have thought, at least not as well as some nice easy cardio.

Ice Baths and Pain Management

Lastly, let's discuss how cold water immersion affects pain management. Many people report feeling rejuvenated and refreshed after an icy plunge, and that's fairly well established. Pain relief, similar to the subjective benefits I listed in the recovery section, is one of the key benefits of ice baths. After all, ice has been used to numb us of pain for centuries.

In all of my reading and self-experimentation with cold exposure, its potential effects on someone's pain, their relationship to discomfort, and the mindset it creates are ice baths' main redeeming qualities. I personally believe there is a large potential benefit to becoming conditioned to discomfort, almost like a form of conditioned pain modulation for the average person, but it's yet to be proven. 

My Professional Opinion on whether you Should Try Ice Baths

By now, you probably expect me to say, "Ice baths are stupid. Eat more protein, get better sleep, and strength train intelligently for better recovery." 

While I do think that those things and that ice baths are mostly bunk, I'm not going to tell someone that they shouldn't try them for one giant reason:

If someone is motivated to do something they feel would benefit them, I want to encourage that pattern.

Though I don't think ice baths are very beneficial, I certainly don't think they'll hurt anyone. Who knows, this may be the first step that gives someone the momentum to make larger, healthier changes. Someone out there may feel rejuvenated from a cold morning shower, and that feeling may motivate them to start going on walks afterward. I don't want us to ignore those possibilities or completely write off the human experience.

Instead, I want to encourage us to ask, "What do I want from this?"

There must be been some divine revelation to make us want to forgo a luxuriously warm bath for one with a 7-11 bag of ice. I want us to dig deeper to find what that is so we can adequately harness it.

Then, let's have a more objective conversation about whether this is the best option for accomplishing that and move forward with more clarity (and probably warmth).

If you're ready to make some changes and take positive steps for your health in a fun and supportive environment, click below to schedule your free intro and learn how you can Get NOVA Strong.