Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul
Have you ever tried cold shower therapy? I've been reading about this quite a bit over the past year, the research is at an early stage but it's some really interesting shit if they can substantiate the benefits they are claiming cold shower therapy can help with.
|
It's weird that you asked that. I recently read "Faster, Higher, Stronger - the new science of creating super athletes..." and he did a chapter on recovery strategies. It came right after reading another book on athletic performance that made me think a great deal about it.
As you said, it's all poorly understood at the moment other than when you do X, you feel better (reduced inflammation in joints, muscle tissue etc). As with all things, I think that moderation is important as he also suggests. In other words, interfering with your body's own recovery/growth process is not going to be all positives. It would really depend on the training, what you are doing etc. His recommendation for using ice baths after training was for tournament type situations where quick recovery is critical to performance (such as on The Ultimate Fighter show or something) but otherwise, its unclear the extent to which the recovery process is being interfered with - as "feeling better" is not the same as repairing tissue.