CanadianBiker32

Anyone here do cold showers
What is the benefit to them?
Would.a cold showers help speed recovery?

OldTryGuy

HOT is also good ...... Shower After Workout: Hot or Cold Water?

Carbonfiberboy 

The last event ride I did was out of a middle school where we had use of the showers at the ride's end. Of course it was summer and the school was closed, so the boilers were off and the shower water was cold. Well, not really cold, I told myself. I rode with a guy who used to swim under the breakup ice in an Alaskan river. Now that's cold. This was not cold. So I told myself. In the men's showers it was, "Ahhh! AAAhhh!." I asked, and in the women's showers it was "Eeeehhh!, EEEhhh!."

Nah, I don't think cold does much good. I've always liked a hot shower after a ride and feel better for it.

wolfchild

I've experimented with cold showers in the past, first thing in the morning after waking up. During winter time the tap water was a lot colder then in summer time.. After a while I came to a conclusion that it was just an unnecessary self-flagellation which doesn't really provide any benefits...I prefer warm and hot showers.

Machka 

I'm in the hot shower crowd ... there's something really nice about that hot shower at the end of a long ride. In fact, I'm often thinking about it during the last 10 km or so. I go through a bit of a stretching routine while I'm in there which is probably also beneficial.

Spoonrobot 

The only benefit I've found is that if I spend the first 5 minutes in the shower under cold water and then then next 1-2 minutes under very hot water I can fall alseep almost instantly when I get out.

DrIsotope

When I spend the last 25 miles of an 87 mile ride at or above 97º, the shower I take when I get home is COLD. Because despite taking in nearly 2 gallons of fluids in 5 hours, I'm radiating heat like a space heater-- as indicated by an HR that creeps above 150bpm and doesn't wanna come down.

TimothyH

Some people use contrast baths.

The idea is to alternate between very hot and very cold so that the capillaries repeatedly dilate and contract. This forms a pumping action which supposedly flushes out the muscles and brings in a high volume of fresh blood with lots of oxygen and nutrients.

Some claim it is bogus and others swear by it. Some pro sports people do it and pro teams are set up for it in the locker rooms. I did it a few times after 20 mile runs when I was training for a marathon - ice bath in the tub followed by a shower as hot as I can stand, repeated as many times as I could take.

I can't say that it helped recovery at all but at least I can say I tried it. Hauling bags of ice up to the second floor bathroom was a chore and getting into that tub was excruciating.


-Tim-

Trevtassie

Dunno, but when I'm touring in Japan, one of the determining steps for finding a campsite is the proximity to a onsen or public hot bath, and by hot, I mean 45C... resets the bodies odometer every time.

Carbonfiberboy 

Yeah, when it gets hot, you can't both drink enough and keep riding without a support vehicle with unlimited water. When I'm radiating heat like that, it's because I've stopped sweating and I'm almost medical. When my HR goes up and won't come down, I sit in the shade and drink until I pee. That fixes it and can take a couple liters. Back on the bike, my HR is normal again even in 100+ heat. I don't care if it adds 20 minutes or so to my elapsed time.