Does Cold-Water Immersion After Strength Training Attenuate Training Adaptation?
in International Journal of Sports Physiology and PerformancePurpose: Cold-water immersion is increasingly used by athletes to support performance recovery. Recently, however, indications have emerged suggesting that the regular use of cold-water immersion might be detrimental to strength training adaptation. Methods: In a randomized crossover design, 11 participants performed two 8-week training periods including 3 leg training sessions per week, separated by an 8-week “wash out” period. After each session, participants performed 10 minutes of either whole-body cold-water immersion (cooling) or passive sitting (control). Leg press 1-repetition maximum and countermovement jump performance were determined before (pre), after (post) and 3 weeks after (follow-up) both training periods. Before and after training periods, leg circumference and muscle thickness (vastus medialis) were measured. Results: No significant effects were found for strength or jump performance. Comparing training adaptations (pre vs post), small and negligible negative effects of cooling were found for 1-repetition maximum (g = 0.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.42 to 1.26) and countermovement jump (g = 0.02; 95% CI, −0.82 to 0.86). Comparing pre versus follow-up, moderate negative effects of cooling were found for 1-repetition maximum (g = 0.71; 95% CI, −0.30 to 1.72) and countermovement jump (g = 0.64; 95% CI, −0.36 to 1.64). A significant condition × time effect (P = .01, F = 10.00) and a large negative effect of cooling (g = 1.20; 95% CI, −0.65 to 1.20) were observed for muscle thickness. Conclusions: The present investigation suggests small negative effects of regular cooling on strength training adaptations.
Poppendieck, Wegmann, Hecksteden, Darup, Schimpchen, Skorski, and Meyer are with the Inst of Sports and Preventive Medicine, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany. Poppendieck is also with the Dept of Information Technology, Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, Mannheim, Germany. Ferrauti is with the Unit of Training and Exercise Science, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany. Kellmann is with the Unit of Sport Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany, and the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. Pfeiffer is with the Inst of Sports Science, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.
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