Love them or hate them (does anyone actually love them?) ice baths have a time and place in our training schedules.
From training to nutrition and even running gait there is so much conflicting advice regarding ice baths and their effectiveness it’s hard to know what to do. There’s very little solid evidence about what works best for recovery, so I’d use what’s easily available and don’t stress about what’s not.
Below are my own personal thoughts on ice baths and some advice to help you utilise them effectively into your schedules.
The theory is that ice baths help tired legs feel better which means subsequent training sessions can be of a higher quality. Higher quality training (and the greater confidence that comes from it) typically leads to higher quality racing.
However, given the scientific research that the inflammation from training (the feeling of slightly sore and “flat” legs) stimulates important fitness adaptations and by taking too many ice baths can blunt this adaptation it makes you question the benefit of putting yourself through the torture of an icy cold bath!
So, the best way to do this is to plan your ice baths similar to how you plan your training. In order to get the most from the adaptation that comes from training stress, limit ice bathing in the initial part of your training plan focusing instead in letting your body adapt naturally to the stresses of training.
As your race approaches, however, you should use ice baths more often to freshen up your legs. As you get within a month of your goal race, you want to start feeling good in all your sessions. This builds confidence, and building confidence at this late stage is far more beneficial than a reduction in training adaptation, especially since you should have already built up your fitness in the preceding weeks (base phase).
Ice Bath Tips
- Fill bathtub or large container with water so that your legs and hips will be submerged. I used to use an old wheelie bin!
- A good recipe is 10-15 minutes at ~15 C. More and/or colder isn’t necessarily better.
- Add ice to lower the temperature of the water (get into the cold water first and then add the ice!)
- Bathe for approximately 15 minutes
- Take a good book in with you to take the mind off the coldness
As with most things in running, you are an experiment of one so you may have to try a few things and see what works for you.
Power of the Mind:
Enhance the effects of ice bathing by adjusting your mindset. Research has shown that athletes who believe the ice baths will help them get a great benefit over those who are skeptical. So, if you don’t “believe” in ice baths, either don’t do them or if you do take the plunge, remember that you’ll get better results if you begin to convince yourself of their effectiveness.
