Ice Cold Facts

You've already seen it: the ice bath tub sitting in someones back garden.

Or the influencer dunking themselves into some cold water with an inspirational soundtarck playing in the background.

Or the latest (and greatest) morning routine that includes a cold shower.

Why, over the last 10 years has cold water exposure been setting the tone for recovery, and what is the new science-backed data saying?

First up, anyone who exercises, walks, plays sports or is in any way active, should try some cold water exposure. Modern life, workouts, stress, even diet - they all dump toxins into your muscle tissue. When I say cold water exposure, it could be:

• a cold shower head aimed at your legs to begin

• a bath filled with cold water

• a specialist ice bath where you can control the temperature

• a dip in the sea or fresh-water lake

• a cryotherapy chamber

My personal favourtie, living in Sotogrande, is the sea. In the morning. Early.

The ideal temperature? Data suggests 10-15* Celsius is the optimum range. The closer to 10* Celsius the better.

*New data also suggests that there is no benefit to going lower than 10* Celsius, like 5* for instance. Optimal recovery happens in the 10-15* range. By going lower, there's no extra benefit, which was previously thought to be true.

What is actually happening to our body when we enter cold water?

Our blood is transported around our body, being pumped from the heart to our muscles and organs via a network of blood vessels (arteries, veins, and capillaries).

Let's say we've been training or exercising: our blood will contain lactic acid and a few other by-products of exercise, plus toxins that accumulate via our diet, our environment and bodily processes.

These toxins are transported to our muscles and they can make us feel tired, heavy, lethargic and weak. Imagine drinking a glass of dirty water...the water goes into our body and we would feel like sh*t. This is same with the toxins we transport to our muscles via the blood vessels.

When we enter cold water - 10-15* celsius - our blood vessels will restrict, limiting blood flow. When we emerge from the cold water our blood vessels will then open up to their usual size.

This opening and closing has a pumping effect on the blood vessels, which increases the rate the blood - and toxins - pass around our body. The toxinated blood is then sent to our liver and kidney quicker, where it's broken down and removed the next time we go to the loo.

When we have done several repetitions of cold water exposure (read on for how long/many) this pumping effect of vessels opening and closing increases, meaning fresh, oxygenated blood is needed to be sent to our muscles and organs. The body does this automatically.

So, toxinated 'dead' blood is removed, and fresh new blood is delivered. This is elite level recovery. The fresh, oxygenated blood will make you feel energised; recovered. Mental clarity and focus is also increased for 2-3 hours post-exposure.

3-5 minutes of cold water exposure is good. Come out for 1 minute, then repeat another 3-5 minutes of cold. Repeat this process for 15-20 minutes. You will get good benefits doing it for less time, but why not go all-in? This would be 9/10 recovery.

Want 10/10 recovery? When you emerge from your 3-5 minutes of cold, apply warm-hot water to the muscles for 1 minute. Then repeat, again, for 15-20 minutes total. The warm water will open the blood vessels even more than being at room temperature, causing an even larger pump-effect.

Fresh, oxygen rich blood in, toxins out. That's how you get energy, clarity and serious recovery.

If your goal is to increase muscle size (hypertrophy), new science says we should wait 6-8 hours after our training session before we hit the cold plunge. This is due to the fact that muscle building processes are inhibited due to cold water exposure. For all other forms of recovery, get in ASAP!

Thanks for reading,

Iain