Is there benefit to cold exposure after lifting?

Cold exposure after lifting can be beneficial but also comes with some considerations depending on your goals. Using cold exposure techniques such as cold showers or ice baths after high-intensity exercise can help reduce muscle soreness, decrease inflammation, and improve training efficacy, which allows you to return to training more quickly and deliver more training stimuli to the muscles. This is particularly useful if recovery and quick return to performance are your priorities 1.

However, if your main goals are muscle hypertrophy and strength, it's advised to wait at least four to six hours after lifting before engaging in cold water immersion. Immediate cold exposure after resistance training might interfere with strength and muscle growth adaptations by affecting pathways like mTOR, crucial for muscle growth and repair 2 3.

Cold exposure can still offer significant benefits like metabolism increase, improved mood due to dopamine release, and resilience building. These benefits are often obtained with exposure done outside the immediate post-strength training window 4 5. It's important to align the timing of cold exposure with your specific training goals for optimal results.