Heat vs Cold Exposure Benefits: Which Is Better For Recovery?

 

Intro

saunas and Ice baths are all the rage in  the recovery world lately and while both  

are definitely beneficial for exercise and Muscle  Recovery the way they are beneficial and the time  

they should be used very greatly let's start by  talking about heat exposure or heat therapy this  

Heat exposure

is most often done using Asana or a sauna blanket  heat exposure and saunas have been shown to have  

many benefits including improving heart health  promoting fat loss and improving sleep but today  

we're going to be focusing specifically on muscle  and exercise recovery now if you're just looking  

for overall health benefits then it doesn't  really matter what time of day you do it however  

afternoon and evening is going to be most in line  with our body's natural heat fluctuations and  

this is going to help you sleep better at night  as long as you're breaking a sweat and doing it  

at least three times per week you're going to see  tremendous benefits and I do have a full video on  

all of the benefits that come along with sauna use  so I'll link that above if you want to know more  

but let's focus on recovery the reason that saunas  speed up Muscle Recovery is because they improve  

how oxygen and blood circulate the body better  circulation and blood flow means that muscles  

that are damaged by exercise can repair faster  and when I say damage I'm not referring to entry  

but rather the microscopic tears that occur  after exercise the wave and muscles grow and  

become stronger is these microscopic tears occur  when you work out and then your body repairs or  

replaces the damaged fibers with better blood  circulation your muscles are able to repair  

faster meaning you can work out sooner with less  muscle soreness and tension the best time to use  

heat exposure for Muscle Recovery is after your  workout for the reasons I just explained it helps  

to speed up the recovery process and there's also  some evidence that it can improve performance as  

well one study found that when distance runners  use saunas four times a week after their workouts  

in just three weeks their run to exhaustion test  improved by 32 percent and the reason you might  

not want to use saunas before your workout is  because they can drain your energy and this ties  

in with why saunas are beneficial for heart health  the reason that saunas are so beneficial for heart  

health is because they mimic exercise and they  increase your heart rate but the downside is if  

you do this before your workout it might impact  your ability to perform to your full potential  

Cold expsure

now let's talk about cold exposure which  is usually achieved through ice baths or  

cold plunges or cold showers cold exposure has  been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and  

blood sugar lower blood pressure reduce stress  and improve metabolism but again today we're  

focusing on the benefits for Recovery one of  which is that it can reduce muscle soreness  

but here's the catch the way the cold exposure  reduces muscle soreness is different from the way  

that heat exposure does cold exposure actually  reduces inflammation now if you're scratching  

your head and thinking okay but I thought that we  usually want to reduce inflammation stay with me  

for a second yes chronic inflammation is harmful  and something we want to reduce or avoid for good  

health but acute inflammation is usually a good  thing acute inflammation is what is happening  

when our muscles have broken down and they're  repairing it basically means that that more  

energy and resources is being driven to that area  of the body now when we do cold exposure this  

inflammation is reduced and that means there's  going to be less muscle growth now this can be a  

good thing if let's say you have another workout  or competition within the next 12 to 24 hours  

if you don't want your muscles to be sore for that  workout or that competition then a cold Plunge in  

this situation can definitely be beneficial but  otherwise if you're looking to build muscle then  

cold exposure should be avoided post-workup wait  at least six hours after your workout and you're  

going to be able to reap the long-term benefits  without undermining your muscle gain now as I said  

cold exposure does have a lot of benefits so I am  by no means saying to avoid it but just make sure  

to keep it far enough away from your workouts or  even do it beforehand and I also want to mention  

that when it comes to cold exposure there isn't  a precise temperature that you need to have the  

water at it's all relative to the current  temperature of your skin in contrast to the  

water a good marker is if it feels uncomfortable  but bearable if it feels uncomfortable that's a  

good thing if it feels easy it needs to be colder  now if you guys are looking for some affordable  

at-home ways to add heat and cold exposure into  your routine I'm going to link to some options  

in the description box down below in terms of  heat I am a huge fan of sauna blankets the one  

I use is from bon charge it's compact it's easy  to set up and it's really easy to clean as well  

I use it four to five times per week for 30 minute  sessions I'm going to put the link to that in the  

description box down below I also have a promo  code for 15 off which is HCK 15. I'll put that  

down below as well so you don't forget in terms of  cold exposure as I mentioned before cold showers  

are always an option they aren't going to be  as beneficial as ice baths or cold plunges are  

however the more surface area of your body you  can cover the more you're going to be activating  

your cold receptors and the more benefits you're  going to be getting ideally you want to be using  

a cold plunge or an ice bath and going all the  way in above your shoulders up to your neck  

easier said than done but once you do it a  few times it does actually get easier and  

you do get more used to it personally I have  not invested in a cold plunge yet at home I  

just use cold showers but I have researched  a few different options that are available  

right now so I will link to those down below as  well now I want to hear from you let me know if  

you've already Incorporated heat or cold exposure  into your routine and any recovery benefits that  

you've noticed let me know in the comment section  down below I love chatting with you guys there  

but anyways that's all I have for you today  so I will see you next time bye guys [Music]

thank you

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