Effects of Cold Water Immersion on Post-Exercise Muscle Gains
Throwing cold water on muscle growth: A systematic review with meta-analysis.
There’s a lot of hype around cold water therapies lately, and there’s a time and place for most trends in the training and recovery realms. This systematic review with meta‐analysis investigated the impact of cold water immersion (CWI) on muscle growth following resistance training (RT).
Key Points
Objective: The study aimed to systematically review and analyse existing literature to determine how CWI affects hypertrophic adaptations from RT.
Methodology: The authors conducted a comprehensive search across databases like PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, ultimately including eight studies that met their criteria for analysis.
Findings:
Hypertrophic Adaptations: The analysis indicated strong evidence for hypertrophic adaptations from RT alone (effect sizes ranging from 0.10 to 0.61). However, when CWI was combined with RT, the evidence for hypertrophy was significantly reduced (effect sizes between -0.08 and 0.36).
Comparative Analysis: The primary analysis suggested that CWI after RT may attenuate muscle hypertrophy, with a likelihood that differences in growth are greater than zero but still small in magnitude.
Quality of Studies: The overall quality of the studies reviewed was rated as fair to poor, proposing that results should be interpreted cautiously.
Practical Takeaways
Post-Exercise Recovery Strategy: Athletes and coaches should reconsider the use of CWI immediately after resistance training if the goal is to maximise muscle hypertrophy.
Timing of Recovery Techniques: Given the potential negative impact of CWI on muscle growth, alternative recovery methods that do not involve cold exposure may be more beneficial for those focused on increasing muscle size.
Further Research Needed: The authors highlight the need for higher-quality studies to better understand the relationship between CWI and muscle growth, as well as to explore optimal recovery strategies post-exercise.
In conclusion, while CWI is commonly used for recovery, this study suggests it may hinder muscle growth when used immediately after resistance training. Athletes seeking hypertrophy might benefit from exploring other recovery options.
Reference
Piñero, A., Burke, R., Augustin, F., Mohan, A. E., DeJesus, K., Sapuppo, M., Weisenthal, M., Coleman, M., Androulakis-Korakakis, P., Grgic, J., Swinton, P. A., & Schoenfeld, B. J. (2024). Throwing cold water on muscle growth: A systematic review with meta-analysis of the effects of postexercise cold water immersion on resistance training-induced hypertrophy. European Journal of Sport Science, 24(2), 177-189. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsc.12074