Therapy And Athletic RecoveryUpdated 2 days ago

Train hard. Recover smarter.

Whether you're training recreationally or competing, cold and heat therapy are among the most accessible and well-researched recovery tools available. Here's how both work, separately and together.

Cold water immersion for recovery

Cold exposure after intense exercise reduces delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) by constricting blood vessels and reducing inflammatory signalling in fatigued muscle tissue.

Most effective when used:

• Within 30–60 minutes of high-intensity training
• At 10–15°C for 8–12 minutes
• After strength, endurance, or high-volume training sessions

One thing worth noting: if muscle hypertrophy (building size) is your primary goal, avoid cold immersion immediately after strength sessions. The anti-inflammatory effect may blunt some of the adaptation response.

Heat therapy for recovery

Infrared heat penetrates beyond surface tissue, increasing circulation and promoting muscle relaxation. Particularly effective for:

• Reducing delayed onset stiffness
• Improving range of motion between training sessions
• Promoting parasympathetic recovery (the rest-and-digest state) after high-stress training loads

Sauna sessions of 20–30 minutes at 50–70°C are the most widely researched protocol for recovery use.

Combining the two: contrast therapy

On active recovery days or after competition, alternating heat and cold creates a vascular pumping effect, promoting circulation and accelerating metabolic waste clearance from fatigued tissue. See Practising Contrast Therapy at Home for a full guide.

Timing for athletes

• Cold only: within 1 hour post-training for maximum soreness reduction
• Heat only: best the evening of, or the day after, intense training
• Contrast: ideal for active recovery days between hard sessions