But Baby It’s Cold Outside

· by · in Trainer Tips. ·

I was all toasty this weekend at the gym when I caught a blip on ESPN NFL Sunday that definitely grabbed my attention.

Ice Baths. (ice, ice, baby — too cold, too cold)

Heard of them? Do you immediately picture a bunch of half-naked dudes soaking in big tubs filled with ice? Even if you aren’t warming up to the idea of ice baths, for athletes they are incredibly important.

It’s inevitable: if you swim, bike or run at high intensities or for long durations of time the body is going to break down. The daily wear and tear adds up and before long lactic acid, achy muscles and fatigue has set in…So how do ice baths help to boost the body’s recovery process? An ice bath causes the blood vessels to tighten and drains the blood. Once you step out of the cold, ice infested water your body begins to warm and new oxygen filled blood begins to flow throughout your legs. This helps nourish the cells and flush lactic acid out. Via Triathlete

Before you chalk this up to another tip that “some athletes” use, I can say first- leg hand I’m a believer. At the end of the summer I was training for my tri/half marathon and I would come home from a long, hot run and immediately throw my legs into my pool, which was a frigid temp. The pool may not have been as cold as an ice bath, but I truly believe that the chilly dips aided my recovery and kept me from injury.

If you want to hear more from the pros, literally, this ESPN Video is worth a watch. The players talk about the benefits of ice and the impact it has on their daily practices, games, etc.

No ice bath nearby? Cold shower it up!

Christmas Classic: While my mom and I go to a midnight service at a local church, Andrew and my dad stay home and watch Die Hard (yes, that’s technically a Christmas movie).

Speaking of cold, what’s your favorite milkshake? Chick-fil-A has a chocolate/peppermint shake that I am going to have to try.

26 responses to “But Baby It’s Cold Outside”

  3. I think I am going to try an ice bath soon. I just ice my knees after a run and that helps a lot so I can only imagine how much better my legs would feel after an ice bath. I’ll let you know if I try it out after one of my long runs.
    Chick-fil-A does make a good milkshake; I like their cookies and cream one. Oh and Cheeburger Cheeburger makes really good ones too where you can choose the flavor ice cream and toppings to put inside!

  4. Chocolate Peppermint ANYTHING = have to try! Favorite milkshake would probably be cookies n’ cream – only if there’s an oreo on top. 😉

    I’m not much of an ice-bather, did it twice in my last training cycle (after 20 and 21 milers) and I’m not sure whether they really did much, but dayumn they’re numbing.

  6. I’m a total ice bath believer. Not fun, but worth it. At a race I did in the spring there was an ultramarathon option and they had huge tubs at the end for the runners to ice bathe in. They looked like pig troughs full of sweaty people 😉

  7. I’m an ice bath virgin – I probably should have tried one on Sunday but it was 40 degrees out and it didn’t cross my mind. However, I have big plans to buy a foam roller today! And, I love a chocolate banana milkshake. But peppermint sounds pretty amazing for the holidays.

  8. The ice tubs I have seen are jacuzzi size, so you aren’t too far off with your image of a bunch of dudes in an ice bath. They literally can fit 4-5 guys at a time.

    Love anything Chic-fil-a

  11. I made a chocolate peanut butter smoothie today. We have a local burger place that makes marionberry shakes, oh YUM.

    when I was playing + teaching tennis, each summer our teams would go stay at a huge ranch in Sunriver for clinics and tournaments… there were hot tubs on each cabin deck, and next to those, a cold dip tub also. OOH, those were SO cold, but several of us were crazy enough to jump in just after waking up each morning, then run off to practice. it was an AWESOME way to wake up!! 😀

  14. I did a few ice baths when I was nursing an injury during my half marathon training and I definitely think it helped! And the Chick-fil-A peppermint chocolate chip milkshake is to die for!!

  15. I have a love/hate relationship with ice baths. I usually hate the experience, but love the benefits!

    Milkshakes were my favorite until I had my wisdom teeth out. Now they dredge up painful memories, but I’ll take Starbuck’s Peppermint Mocha anytime!

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