After a good workout at the gym there’s nothing better I like to do than go for a quick swim followed by a dip in the jacuzzi.
There’s also a sauna, teipidarium, a Turkish bath and a plunge pool (ice bath). I understand that the first three have positive affects health wise but I can’t figure out how the plunge pool could be good for you.
It’s meant to be good for you and I realise there’s something to do with extracting lactic acid from your mussels but I just have a hard time freezing my ass off for no apparent reason.
Also, the last time I was down I went straight from the plundge into the jacuzzi and got pins and needels all over my body.
:smack:
WAG follows:
When I was an injured athlete, one thing the trainer had me do was alternate between an ice bath and a hot bath. According to her, this acted as a pump to get the swelling out by making the cells contract and then expand. Possibly there is some idea that it will help in this manner. I have no medical studies to offer.
I should point out, if you have ever had to stick an appendage in an ice bath, and you thought it was the worst hell you could have, then imagine that every two minutes your appendage has to adjust to a new extreme. At least with the ice bath, your appendage goes numb in short order.
Ice baths aid muscle recovery. That’s it. It’s become pretty common for high performance sportspeople - I know the All Blacks and English rugby teams use ice baths after training/playing, and so does Paula Radcliffe (womans marathon champ). It allows people to train harder more regularly.
Si