Recovery
C · Interpret with cautionNew this roundDoes a cold-water bath after exercise help, and what does it do to strength training?
Subject: Strategic Application of Post-exercise Cold-Water Immersion to Enhance Performance Recovery and Adaptation: An Umbrella Review of 15 Published Systematic Reviews with Meta-analysis
What this means
Partly: less muscle soreness up to 96 h and better muscular power after 24 h, but no better muscular strength, and with chronic use smaller gains in strength and muscle mass.
Berjisian E, Miraftabi H, Ihsan M, Homer KA, Kendall K, Roberts L, Abbiss C · 2026 · Sports Medicine - Open 12(1):145
What does this rating mean?
Limited, mixed or hard-to-translate evidence. Useful as direction, not as a rule.
Findings
This umbrella review pools 15 meta-analyses published between 2011 and 2025, covering 161 unique studies in healthy people. After cold-water immersion, muscular power improved at 24 h after high-intensity exercise and at 24-48 h after eccentric exercise, and jump performance at 24-48 h, although jump performance was impaired in the first hours. Muscle soreness was reduced up to 96 h and creatine kinase was lower between 24 and 72 h. Muscular strength did not improve. With chronic use, cold-water immersion impaired strength and hypertrophic gains from resistance training. Protocols of 10-15 min at 10-15 or 5-10 °C appeared most effective.
Who this applies to
Healthy people, mostly athletes in the underlying studies. The abstract reports no separate outcomes for people aged 40 to 70.
Size of the research
15 meta-analyses covering 161 unique studies.
What to keep in mind
The evidence is of low to very low certainty and the underlying reviews are of low quality. The benefits depend on the outcome and timing of measurement; endurance performance improved only immediately after immersion, with no later benefit.
Practical conclusion for REZA
The library already held three meta-analyses on cold-water immersion and short-term recovery; this is the first source that covers the long-term effect on resistance training. For people training to build or maintain strength and muscle, a cold bath after every strength session is therefore not a neutral habit. REZA sees it at most as a tool for moments when quick recovery for the next effort matters more than the training stimulus, not as a fixed part of every session.
View method and source
Methodology
Umbrella review of systematic reviews with meta-analysis
Limitations
Methodological quality of the included reviews was low to critically low and certainty of evidence was low to very low, mainly due to inconsistency and imprecision. The abstract gives no effect sizes and no separate outcomes by age group.
Original source
DOI: 10.1186/s40798-026-01116-8 · PMID: 42816732
View on PubMed →This information is general education about scientific research. It is not personal medical advice and does not replace diagnosis or treatment by a doctor or other healthcare professional. If you have symptoms, a medical condition or take medication, consult your GP or treating professional before changing your training or nutrition.