I take ice baths after hard workouts… full legs in 50 degree F. water for 10 minutes. It really helps reduce my recovery time.
My question is would it be good to go to a 110 degree heated pool directly after that?
What do you do, what do experts say about cold/heat?
not really like that but you can do contrast baths with 5:00 in ice bath then 5:00 hot water and repeat it 3-4 times thru. think of it as recovery intervals. this way the muscles will tighten and then release a few times thereby reducing the build up of inflammation.
I like your idea but why 5 minutes and not 10 and what one do you end with, hot or cold and why?
The contrast baths are one idea, but I would just stick to ice baths. If you give your legs too much heat right after a run, you risk any damaged areas becoming excessively swollen because the heat opens up your blood vessels and increases blood flow. Especially if you’re trying to heal or train on a mild injury, I’d go with an ice bath of 15 minutes after training, and then alternate ice pack and heating pad later in the day/evening for 15 minutes, 2-3 x each.
Having followed what I’ve seen my training partners do (some big names in triathlon). Ice bath, well for us just standing in the Ocean for about 10 min, directly after hard or long runs. On recovery days, or later on in the day, they do contrast baths. Going on about a 1 to 2 ratio (cold to hot).
The cold is used to help minimize inflammation and the contrast to flush.
I hope that this helps
you can do anywhere btwn. 5 and 10 but with 10 it becomes a long session!!! i would end with cold to reduce any inflammatory agents.