This Common Muscle Recovery Method Is Ruining Your Gains

Person with sore muscleI always tell people that the biggest change I’ve made since covering health stories is exercising more. After writing about how good it is for your body, mind, and ageing process, I can’t skip my workouts more than thrice a week.But I have also given myself more grace. After all, even a little exercise is far better than none; walking while running has actively improved my race pace, while running slowly once a week has helped my fitness more than sprinting.A recent study from Maastricht University falls into the latter, kinder camp.Researchers found that ice baths ― a common recovery tool, though uncomfortable to say the least ― may actually harm, rather than help, your muscle gains. Why might ice baths ruin your gains?To understand why the ice bath might harm your muscle growth, we must explore why they’re used to begin with.Ice baths, because they’re so cold, cause your blood vessels to constrict. Some believe that has benefits for recovery; it helps, they think, to flush out waste from your workout, prevent swelling, and reduce DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).But studies have questioned this mechanism before, with the Mayo Clinic writing in 2024 that the method’s reputation was “on thin ice.” The Maastricht University study, however, does not just argue that ice baths don’t work; the scientists say that the inflammation associated with DOMS and swelling is actually key to building bigger, stronger muscles.They asked 12 men to strength train and then dunk one leg in 8°C water and another in 30°C water for 20 minutes. The cold-exposed leg saw 60% less blood flow than the other one, they found.This, they say, cuts off the supply of amino acids and oxygen muscles need to grow by 30%, an effect seen even three hours after the workout. Icing for recovery is well-known, but the science has changed since it was popularisedMost athletes know the “RICE” (rest, ice, compression, and elevation) advice for recovery. But speaking to the Mayo Clinic, Dr Andrew Jagim, a sports medicine specialist at the institution, said: “The science and practical applications of icing have changed during the past two decades.” Ice does have a place in treating acute injuries, he shared, as reducing inflammation and swelling can be useful in those cases. Still, he wrote, “I would advise against using them every day throughout an entire season or training cycle as research shows that they may hinder long-term adaptations in athletes, particularly for strength and muscle growth.” Here’s hoping my old coach sees this...Related...I Ditched This Fitness Class – And My Running SufferedI Was Stuck In A Fitness Rut – Until I Discovered the 'Tripod' RuleSo THAT's Why You Go Harder In Group Fitness Classes Than On Your Own

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