Cold water after strength training: smaller gains
A review of training studies found that regular cold water after lifting weights held back gains in strength. After endurance training, it made no difference either way.
Worth knowing: A review is a snapshot: its search ended in November 2019.
The short version
This review looked at what happens when people use cold water after training, again and again, over a whole program. After strength training, regular cold water went with smaller gains in maximum strength, strength endurance and explosive power than training without it. After endurance training, it made no difference to fitness gains either way. The review includes only eight small studies. But the direction was consistent, and it matters for anyone who lifts and likes a cold plunge straight afterwards.
Keep in mind
Eight small studies. The effect is on gains over weeks of training, not on how you feel the next day.
What they found
With strength training, regular cold water went with smaller strength gains: a standardized difference of −0.60 (95% confidence interval −0.87 to −0.33). Explosive efforts showed a similar pattern (−0.61, −1.11 to −0.11).
With endurance training, cold water made no difference to gains in aerobic power (−0.07) or time-trial performance (0.00).
What this means for your practice
If building strength is your goal, a cold plunge straight after lifting may work against it. After a run or a ride, this review found no such cost.
This does not establish a cold-water routine to follow.
Methods and limitations
What the researchers did
The reviewers searched three databases up to November 2019 for controlled studies in which people followed a training program and some of them used cold water, 15°C or colder, after their sessions.
Strength and endurance performance were measured before and after the program. Eight studies qualified.
The reviewers pooled strength results (one-rep maximum, maximum isometric strength, strength endurance and explosive efforts) separately from endurance results (time trials and maximal aerobic power).
How much can this tell us?
The strength finding is consistent across different measures of strength and power, which makes it more convincing than any single study.
The evidence is still thin: eight small studies, with different sports and programs. The exact temperature, time and timing that make a difference are not known.
It is about cold water straight after strength training, repeated for weeks. It says nothing about a cold dip after a sauna on a rest day.
What makes it useful
- Studies of whole training programs, not single sessions
- A consistent direction across strength measures
- Strength and endurance examined separately
What limits it
- Only eight small studies
- Different sports and programs
- Best temperature, time and timing unknown
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, Dutra YM, Broatch JR, Bishop DJ, Zagatto AM. The Effects of Regular Cold-Water Immersion Use on Training-Induced Changes in Strength and Endurance Performance: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2021;51(1):161-174.
DOI 10.1007/s40279-020-01362-0 · PubMed 33146851