Ice Bath

Originally Posted by Working Stiff

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I ran track in colllege and used to use the ice bath fairly often. It's really unpleasant, and I'm not sure it actually did anything. But some people will tell you that it works wonders.

This ^, I currently run and have found the same to be true. Supposedly 55* is the magic temperature but I've found anything between 50 and there to be about perfect. Once you drop much past that it gets extremely uncomfortable.

Not sure if you guys are aware of the Nike Cryosuana but its pretty interesting; slide 17 has an interesting comment from Alberto.
http://www.universalsports.com/photo...id=499651.html

Does it have benefits? Sure.

Does it suck worse than a great majority of other sucky things? Yes.

It's terribly uncomfortable to sit in those ice tubs and if you aren't careful you can actually injure yourself pretty well post-bath. You'll be fairly numb which obviously dulls your senses of how your joints are balancing your body... a wrong step and you can crank a tendon. Happened here and there to other guys as I grew up playing sports.

Unless you're finding yourself literally unable to move the morning following an intense workout, theres no need to do this.

If you have a unheated pool available to you, jump in that.

A friend of mine was a D-I WR in the Big Ten. He said that they are helpful for recovery, but that unless you are doing 2-a-days, or recovering from an injury, they probably aren't needed.

Incredibly helpful for post-marathon recovery! I wear a sweatshirt, make a hot chocolate or coffee, and plunge into an icy bath for 15 minutes after any run longer than 20 miles. It only hurts for the 1st couple of minutes until everything gets numb. The key is not to move once you're numb, otherwise the freezer burn hits again.

Originally Posted by JTK

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Incredibly helpful for post-marathon recovery! I wear a sweatshirt, make a hot chocolate or coffee, and plunge into an icy bath for 15 minutes after any run longer than 20 miles. It only hurts for the 1st couple of minutes until everything gets numb. The key is not to move once you're numb, otherwise the freezer burn hits again.

right. i learned to do meditation when in extreme cold situations when im caught outside without a jacket or something like that , it works. i just meditate and try to 'translate' that cold feeling to a feeling of nothing or neutral. it works for 10 minutes perhaps but then afterwards im like get the hell out of here. i want to take an ice bath one day or swim in the pool outside in the freezing winter night to see if i can practice this.