cold baths

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athl...cs/2178643.stm

Now what do people think about this?

A well known British Boxing Trainer (trained John Conteh amongst others) used to end every training session with a swim in a lake - even in Winter. What would be the benefits of this ?

Would the shock to the system be dangerous - I imagine it would but maybe with athletes the risk is not the same. Is it something to do with minimising the damage to muscles etc that the training may have caused - similar to applying ice to an injury - is it just a psychological bonus that the cold delivers such a shock it helps you function even when the body is under pressure possibly when you've been hit (in the case of boxing). I am wondering if maybe there would be some benefit in taking a cold shower after a workout ?

Or is it just old fashioned if it hurts it must be doing you good?

[Ford Prefect]

I prefer cold showers after a let down on a date.

Other than that, aletrnating hot/cold showers or baths helps you recover from a training session. The hot water brings the blood to the surface of your muscle while the cold water drives it to the core. If you repeat it a few times, it will act as a pump to pump all the toxins out of your muscle, so you can avoid soreness and help your muscles recover. Just cold water dousing which he does in a sense does boost your immune system.