ice baths

The cold reduces swelling in the muscles; causes the muscles to contract which then forces waste products that have accumulated in muscles out of the tissue -- then once the cold is removed and warm blood rushes back into the muscle tissue the dispelled wastes are swept away.

Ice baths made a huge difference in my training. I would have fallen apart had I not used them regularly.

But is there a specific temperature for the baths? What about putting your legs in a pool in the early morning when the pool is cold (not during summertime)? Would that give a fractional benefit?

It might. Never tried it before. I find them useful following long runs and more intense work.

The number that I usually hear is 40F for a good temperature to ice in. It works well for me -- and those I run with.

50-60 is the best temp

Paula Radcliffe swears by ice baths. However if a guy hops in a tub of ice and water the family jewels hide behind your spleen and you're lucky if they ever come down again.

a few summers ago i had nothing to do but run and fish, and i decided to combine them and see what happened. twice a week i would drive to the little red river (home of the world-record brown trout - 40lbs+), and do a 13-15 mile run or a fartlek session. after the run i would stretch, change into some old shoes, grab my fly fishing gear, and then head to the river where the water stays in the 50's year round. worked wonders, caught lots of nice trout, and it was great to see the "orvis crowd" react when a sweaty shirtless guy waded into the river without $600 worth of gear and waders. highly recommend this if you've got a quality cold-water fishery in your area. in kenya our athletes often go sit in a cold stream near the camp after workouts call it "maji baridi" or cold water sessions. they seem to like it. others chill barrels of rainwater overnight and then get in after their workout.

mzungu

40 degrees sounds cold to me. I think at those temps you're risking damage to skin tissue. I have heard below 55 you're getting benefit. When I've done it, I've tried for 48 - 55 range....plenty cold to sit in. I usually go 20 mins....anyone heard different?

What about salt baths?

I love that fly fishing idea. The combination of fly fishing and running is near ecstacy (in the non-pharmaceutical way). At my university we have ice baths and the trainers tell us that the bath dont need to be below 50. They are usually right at 50. This seems to work pretty good. The guys on our team that use them nearly daily are the injury free ones. Hmmm.

I am being absolutely serious when I ask -

Won't sitting in an ice bath be hazardous to the health of your balls?

They're supposed to remain at a fairly constant temperature.

just got out of one myself

anyone know of a scientific proven temp that is better than another??

Yes your balls are supposed to stay at a certain temp, thats why they shrivel up when the are exposed to a cold enviroment and get all dangley when exposed to a warm enviroment. When your testicles are closer to your body they will be kept warmer, and when they are farther away they will be cooler. Don't worry about your balls they will be fine. I watched a t.v program once about a group of Finns I beleive submerging their testicles into extremely hot water(hot enough to make tea) and they did experiments to see how the hot water affected their sperm count. Only after months of doing this regularly they noticed a slight decrease in the # of sperm, and after a few weeks of quiting the bathing the sperm count was normal again.

just don't go down that far...get above your knees...how often are your quads and hammies THAT sore anyway?

when one needs a back alignment...often

juice wrote:

how often are your quads and hammies THAT sore anyway?

When you run on a lot of hills or do a hill workout.[

guys, don't worry about your balls, all the guys on my team are fine. ice-bathing works wonders,my advice: make sure you stretch out well after your workout but before you get in the ice bath or the benefits will be cancelled out by your lack of flexibility. does anyone have advice on ice bathing the night before races? some people do it, but it doesn't seem like a good idea.

Its not a great idea to ice bath before a race, becuase an ice bath can make one feel a little sluggish. But if you are hurting really bad, you might have to. Just make sure to stretch out and warm up a little extra before the race

So if I turn on the water in my tub on just cold water and fill it up. Then i put on my bathing suit (protect my boys) and sit in it for 15-20 minutes. Then drain the tub and take a 5 minute warm shower I'll be set???

I did soem ice baths when I went up to Boulder for a week on vacation...the altitude and the hills really did a number on my legs (as did being out of shape!)...my legs always felt better and refreshed after that.