I wanted to get this thought down on paper as I have been seeing and listening to more and more people talk about things that they don’t fully understand, and thus they grab onto it with little-to-no research and start to run wild with it. What I want to quickly mention in this article deals with the usage of cold therapy and how it is being, in my opinion, mishandled.

So where do I see this concept of cold therapy being mishandled?

For one thing, we have to keep in mind that cold therapy, and hot therapy, are stressors. So when we plunge our bodies into a cold tub, we are stressing and locking up our body.

When people look to use cold plunges, or things that, post-workout as a recovery, they are doing the opposite. In fact, for certain training principles, like hypertrophy, cold therapy will actually work against your goals. “A 2015 study in the Journal of Physiology showed decreased long-term gains in muscle mass and strength, which is in line with a 2014 study in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research which showed decreases in strength using cold immersion.”

Now, don’t confuse this article for what it is. I am not stating that cold therapy is bad and you shouldn’t do it. I am just saying understand what you are doing and why you are doing it. Put your research into anything you start to do, and don’t just do something because that is what seems to be the latest buzz.

-Coach Jay