Hormonal
Post-exercise cold water immersion (CWI) attenuates resistance training-induced muscle hypertrophy compared to resistance training alone.
If your main goal is building maximum muscle size, avoid cold water immersion immediately after your resistance training sessions. The evidence suggests that cooling the muscles right after lifting blunts the biological signals (like protein synthesis and mTOR signaling) required for growth. If you must use CWI for recovery, schedule it at least several hours away from your training or on rest days to minimize interference with hypertrophy.
In conclusion, based on the current data, the application of CWI immediately following bouts of RT may attenuate hypertrophic changes.
Why this rating
The review included 8 studies, but rated the overall quality as 'fair to poor' with high uncertainty in effect sizes.
Source
Throwing cold water on muscle growth: A systematic review with meta‐analysis of the effects of postexercise cold water immersion on resistance training‐induced hypertrophy
Alec Piñero et al. · European Journal of Sport Science · 2024
DOI 10.1002/ejsc.12074
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