The Method Recovery
Cold plunge after a workout: good or bad?
It depends on the goal. After lifting it may slightly blunt growth. For soreness it beat resting, slightly.
Still openSmall, conflicting or mechanistic. Not settled.
Updated . The Vanguard coaching team.
What most people miss
Cold water is two different tools. For soreness, across nine trials it was slightly better than passive rest, both straight away and in the days after.1
For muscle, it may work against you. Across eight studies, people who got into cold water after resistance training showed some evidence of smaller muscle gains than people who trained without it. The difference was likely small, and the question is not settled.2
So the timing matters more than the plunge. If building muscle is the point, take the sauna after you lift and keep the plunge for another time. If you plunge for how it makes you feel, plunge.
One honest detail: in the soreness trials the best results came at about 10 to 15°C for 10 to 15 minutes.1 Our plunge runs colder, at 3 to 7°C, so those minutes do not transfer to it. Everyone completes a short health screen first, and some conditions need a physician's clearance before cold exposure.
The research
The papers behind the answer
Each one checked against the paper itself. The grade describes the strength of the evidence, never anyone's results.
Machado, Ferreira, Micheletti et al., 2016 · Sports Med
Meta-analysis · 9 randomised trials · cold water against passive recovery
Cold water immersion was slightly better than passive recovery for muscle soreness, straight away and in the days after. The best results came at about 10 to 15°C for 10 to 15 minutes.
Read the paper by Machado, Ferreira, Micheletti et al., 2016 (opens in a new tab)Piñero, Burke, Augustin et al., 2024 · Eur J Sport Sci
Systematic review and meta-analysis · 8 studies
Some evidence of smaller muscle growth when cold water immersion followed resistance training, compared with training alone. The difference was likely small.
Read the paper by Piñero, Burke, Augustin et al., 2024 (opens in a new tab)
Research describes groups of people. Your coach will tell you how it applies to you.
From the floor
Infrared sauna at 45 to 65°C and cold plunge at 3 to 7°C, included with training. Your coach will tell you where the plunge fits your program.
The Vanguard coaching team