Contrast Baths

[crobb1320]

Alot of us here do use contrast baths for recovery,My question is is how often do YOU do them??or what seems to work the best for you??

Thanks in advance.

Charlie.

[knyaz]

I usually warm my hands up before doing a grip workout by soaking them in hot water

but for contrasts baths, right after my grip workouts

[Scott Styles]

To get the most benefit with the least effort, I would do them the day after my grip workouts.

[GetAGrip87]

After every grip work out, especially during KTA. Then random days when I felt my hands needed to recover more.

[thefight]

would doing them everyday really help recovery or would this have a negative effect or just be a waste of time?

[Condor]

I do them only when the skin hurts after climbing or high volume training. IMO contrast baths do very litte or nothing to faster recovery, they're just a cheap painkiller.

[pdfk20]

I only do them every now and again. If i have some pain in the hand i'll do them reguaraly, like every night. These days i'll do them maybe once every 3-4 weeks.

[JS27]

how long do you leave your hands in the hot/cold water before switching them?

[Lol999]

I'm doing 3min:1min hot:cold personally.

[JS27]

Thanks.

[dimmers]

I find doing them first thing in the morning works for me.

Also, i don't always bother with the hot part, i prefer to just dunk my hands in really cold water (sometimes with ice) for as long as i can, stretching my hands out while doing so. It wakes the hands up and relieves any soreness you may have (i find that my hands are warm enough first thing in the morning anyway so that's why i skip the hot soak, but that's just my opinion).

[egg_uk]

did anyone read this

[dimmers]

Not sure about that article, as even doctors recommend putting ice on an injury or swollen area. After training your hands for grip as intense as some people do, the hands (you could say) are slightly injured and the effects of the cold/ice water would be exactly the same as an ice pack?

Interesting nonetheless.

[antarath]

After every second workout, especially during the KTA and when doing heavy sledgelevers.

[egg_uk]

i think the article is about the pain levels, doesnt say anything about actual healing, if i remember right. but interesting they are still looking at it

[hab34buy]

You're right "egg uk", they don't say anything about the actual amount of healing from this, just the pain level.

It would almost seem in my very humble opinion that the "extra pain" that they are referencing might be as a result of the shock to the nervous system that the ice water presents. I know that if I jump in to ice water, my entire body tells me to get out until my nervous system calms down. To do this on top of the strain that a rough workout places on the body could further add to the stress on the nervous system in the short-term. However, I would be interested to know how often this test was conducted, and with what regularity that the ice-baths were given, as I think in the long run this type of thing can help. The body has an amazing ability to adapt, therefore the nervous system should eventually adapt to this routine so that the pain would not increase from the ice.

In terms of healing (which is often more important then temporary pain), doctors are always telling me at least that ice and heat are the way to get things to heal. Ice is always attributed to reducing inflamation, etc.. Therefore, as egg pointed out, this difference between pain and healing may be the key to this experiments findings. Cool stuff to think about... or for me to ramble about

[crobb1320]

ok guys this is how i understand it to be, going from hot to cold retracts blood and then flushes the area with fresh blood,oxygen,and nutrients. which is especially helpful with stuff like tendons,ligaments etc. which have low blood flow to begin with. i have even contrast bathed my elbows and it seemed to help, i will admit the first time in the cold can be quite uncomfortable,but usually the second third and so on is ok.i think just the first SHOCK of the cold water is the worst part.

good luck with your training.

Charlie.

[viper]

basically everyday, an twice on days i train my grip, one right before, once right after + i take ice baths after heavy training sessions or if im starting to feel overtrained

contrast baths are done 3 cold for 35 seconds, an 3 hot for 45 seconds, alternating between cold an hot obviously - i put ice cubes in the cold, an the hot is as hot as i can take without burning my skin off, its important that it is very cold/hot, an its also important to have no rest between hot/cold