Cold water after intervals: no clear change in training gains
A small randomized trial found similar training gains with and without cold water after interval sessions.
The short version
Sixteen men completed five weeks of high-intensity interval training. Nine used cold water after each session; seven trained without it. Fitness and running performance improved with training, but the researchers found no clear difference between the groups. Muscle measures told a similar story. This supports keeping endurance training separate from the evidence on cold water after lifting. With so few participants, it cannot rule out smaller benefits or harms.
Keep in mind
A small study in men. Finding no clear difference is not proof that the groups are equivalent.
What they found
Training improved aerobic fitness, time to exhaustion and several muscle-adaptation measures. None showed a statistically clear group-by-time difference; interaction p values were at least 0.088.
What this means for your practice
The effect of cold water depends on the training question. This trial gives no reason to expect better endurance gains from adding a cold bath.
Methods and limitations
What the researchers did
After ranking participants by aerobic fitness, researchers randomly assigned them to training alone or training followed by 15 minutes in water at about 11°C. They trained three times weekly. Those conditions describe the experiment, not a suggested routine.
How much can this tell us?
This tests interval training, not lifting weights. It is context for the cold-after-lifting claim, not another strength-training trial.
Sixteen men over five weeks cannot establish long-term safety, equivalence or effects in other populations.
What makes it useful
- Random allocation
- Performance tests and muscle biopsies
What limits it
- 16 men
- Five weeks
- No strength-training comparison
Where this study fits
Where this study fits
We score claims, not single studies. This one is part of the evidence for:
Regular cold water after strength training holds back strength gains. Well supported
Moderate certaintyMedium effectHow you feel or perform
Read the original
Malta ES et al. Regular Cold-Water Immersion Following HIIT Does Not Affect Intramuscular Adaptation Markers, Inflammatory Profile or Endurance Performance. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2026;36(3):e70241.
DOI 10.1111/sms.70241 · PubMed 41742004