By Taylor Carr, MS, ISSN-SNS, PN1
“The Iceman” Wim Hof, a Dutchman famed for swimming in icy waters, is said to be the father of ice bath recovery. The U.S. Special Operations Forces also use cold therapy as a form of “high-stress training.” This training, however, involves wildly cold water that trained individuals can spend hours (and even days) in. However, groups have been utilizing cold and heat therapies long before the US military or the “Iceman.” From the ancient Roman frigidarium to ancient forms of saunas and sweat lodges, there has been loads of tradition and research to show how these microstressors are beneficial to our recovery.
When I initially tried this level of cold therapy, it only took half of a second for me to realize how much fun cold plunging isn’t. When your body is exposed to sweltering heat or frigid temperatures, it naturally goes into stress mode…for good reason. But can these two types of microstressor therapies work in your recovery and performance? And which is better—hot or cold? Do you need a special sauna or brand-name ice pod? What’s the optimal temperature and duration? That’s what we’ll take a look at below.
Microstressors
Microstressors are simply small doses of stress we can put on our body to change our ability to handle different environments. Microstressors have the ability to send out cells in your body that repair the damage done to your muscles after a hard workout or a big day in the mountains. Like many things in life, a little goes a long way. High loads of stress on the body can be overwhelming to the system and lead to fatigue.
Each of us are stocked up with temperature shock proteins—heat shock and cold shock proteins that are released when we are faced with either extreme heat or extreme cold. When released, these molecules work to protect us and help our bodies work more effectively under stress.
Current research has shown that heat therapies, particularly hot tubs, improve cognitive function, speed recovery after exercise, reduce insulin resistance, and help maintain muscle mass during long durations of sedentary living. So does that mean we should skip the gym and hit the sauna instead? While heat therapy has shown to mimic the effects of exercise by maintaining some levels of muscle mass, it has not been shown to increase muscle mass. It also will not help your metabolic health. It can, however, be a helpful tool for injured climbers who are struggling to maintain muscle due to initial immobilization in injury. When skeletal muscle is immobilized, it can lead to muscular atrophy. Studies have shown that heat therapy can help immobilized muscles maintain mitochondrial function and diminish the effects of muscular atrophy (Hafen, 2019). That being said, when the immobilization phase is over, no amount of heat is going to get you stronger or build muscle. You’ve got to get moving.
In order to figure out if either cold or heat therapy is right for you, we have to first understand what is going on in our bodies when exposed to either.
When you jump into a frigid river or an at-home ice bath, your blood vessels constrict and your nerve conduction slows down. These are physiological actions helpful in easing your soreness and inflammation. If you’ve ever taken a cold plunge, you probably know it also causes your body a great deal of alertness—or panic for that matter. What is really happening is that your body is releasing a number of chemicals like cortisol, dopamine, and noradrenaline. These are chemicals known to decrease depression.
There are downsides to cold therapy, however. There is some research showing that cold plunging may slow muscle gains if done directly after working out. This is due to cold water therapy decreasing blood flow to the musculature and prolonging muscle protein synthesis (MPS) for upwards of five hours. This can be detrimental to your muscular gains as a climber. For these reasons, it may not be advantageous for you to jump right into your ice pod when you finish a workout. Excessive cold exposure can also lead to hyperventilation and cardiac stress. And the most obvious downside to ice baths is that they are simply unpleasant.
You may find yourself wondering, how can cold therapy positively relate to my climbing performance? One idea behind frequent cold plunges is that you can learn to adapt to stress, create a sense of deep calm in frigid temperatures, and learn to breathe through it (de Oliveira Ottone, 2014). While most of the research is done on rats and there really isn’t much of it to speak of, this does make sense. If I can calm my mind in this physiologically and mentally stressful environment of an ice pod, where else can I calm my mind? When my feet are above my last bolt? When the topout is a slopey mantle? Learning to breathe in an ice bath could translate into helping us breathe through nerve-racking moments on the wall.
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When you step into a sauna or slip into a hot tub, you may know that your heart starts beating faster and faster. While this happens, your cardiac output rises and blood pressure drops– like in exercise. As I mentioned earlier, this can help reduce insulin resistance and reduce risk of stroke, heart disease, and other cardiac events. It can also create a sense of relaxation in the body. Research has shown that folks who hot tub one to two hours before getting into bed are able to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer (Haghayegh, 2019). Other research has also shown that heating up our muscles after exercise activates protective mechanisms, reduces oxidative stress and inflammation, and stimulates genes and proteins involved in muscle hypertrophy. The negative side to heat therapy, however, is that it can lead to dehydration and heat illnesses. If done correctly, however, heat therapy has shown to be more advantageous in overall exercise recovery than cold therapy. While cold therapy slows muscle adaptations, heat therapy has consistently shown to aid in adaptation to exercise, muscle recovery, and lead to an overall increase in performance (McGorm, 2018).
When deciding which therapy you want to try, always start with the why. Why do you want to use one of these therapies? What are your goals and how will these benefit you? If you’re looking for more focus, a better mood, or an enhanced ability to manage stress, cold plunging may be right for you. However, if you want to build muscle, increase performance, improve sleep, and decompress, heat therapy could be your ticket to recovery. You also have to look at where you live and what you have access to. Here in Wyoming, sometimes it feels like winter is 9 months long. I am personally looking for an escape from the never-ending freezing temperatures. In the summer, however, a cold plunge in the Popo Agie river after a sweaty day at Wild Iris is just what I need. Your best recovery will come when you pick the right treatment based on your goals.
While hot tubs and saunas may be tough for you to find, you can easily experiment with cold therapy at home. Like anything, start small and build over time. Start with turning the water to cold at the end of your shower. Start with just your face, and then slowly try to get your full body under the water. Aim for a particular amount of time (maybe 30 seconds) before turning the water back to warm. While you’ll want to tense up when the cold water hits you, try to take deep breaths and keep your body as relaxed as possible. Think about your responses. Remind your body that you are not under attack and you will make it through this stressful environment. Again, learning to recognize and control your responses may help as you find yourself in stressful situations while climbing.
Once 30 seconds of cold water at the end of a shower feels easy, switch to a short, cold bath. The optimal cold bath temperature and duration is 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 seconds to 20 minutes. Remember, don’t jump from 30 seconds to 20 minutes. Start with slow increments.
If you’re new to heat therapy, start with 15-20 minutes of soaking in a warm bath at home. Once you’re ready to turn up the heat, the optimal temperature for a hot tub is 104 degrees Fahrenheit and 113+ degrees Fahrenheit for a sauna. Heat therapy duration has been shown optimal for 15 to 45 minutes. These therapies have also shown the most effectiveness when done at least 3 times per week.
Use extreme caution when trying cold or heat therapy. While they are considered microstressors, they are still stressors. Starting small will help determine if one of these is right for you. If you’re unsure, it can always be helpful to get cleared with your physician.
References
de Oliveira Ottone, V., de Castro Magalhães, F., de Paula, F., Avelar, N., Aguiar, P., da Matta
Sampaio, P., Duarte, T., Costa, K., Araújo, T., Coimbra, C., Nakamura, F., Amorim, F., &
Rocha-Vieira, E. (2014). The Effect of Different Water Immersion Temperatures on
Post-Exercise Parasympathetic Reactivation. PloS one, 9(12). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0113730
Hafen, P. S., Abbott, K., Bowden, J., Lopiano, R., Hancock, C. R., & Hyldahl, R. D. (2019). Daily
heat treatment maintains mitochondrial function and attenuates atrophy in human
skeletal muscle subjected to immobilization. Journal of applied physiology, 127(1),
47–57. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.01098.2018
Haghayegh, S., Khoshnevis, S., Smolensky, M. H., Diller, K. R., & Castriotta, R. J. (2019).
Before-bedtime passive body heating by warm shower or bath to improve sleep: A
systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep medicine reviews, 46, 124–135.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2019.04.008
McGorm, H., Roberts, L. A., Coombes, J. S., & Peake, J. M. (2018). Turning Up the Heat: An
Evaluation of the Evidence for Heating to Promote Exercise Recovery, Muscle
Rehabilitation and Adaptation. Sports medicine, 48(6), 1311–1328.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0876-6
ABOUT TAYLOR CARR
Taylor has a dual Masters in Sports Nutrition and Strength and Conditioning. She also holds a certification through Precision Nutrition and is a certified Sports Nutritionist through the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN). Taylor got her climbing start on the beautiful granite of North Carolina. She has since moved to Lander, WY with her husband to be a nutrition and strength coach at Elemental Performance + Fitness.
Taylor works with athletes of all backgrounds to educate and instruct proper food fueling and nutrient timing. Taylor believes that with a functional nutrition plan, every athlete is able to better reach their unique climbing, fitness, and lifestyle goals. She is also passionate about helping individuals heal their relationship with food. Taylor offers one time consultations, monthly custom plans, and long-term coaching.
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