After working out, ice baths are popular, especially with influencers.

A report presented Thursday at the 2024 Integrative Physiology of Exercise Conference in University Park, Pennsylvania, however, indicates that recreational athletes perform better when they soak in a hot tub as opposed to a cold one, particularly if there are breaks in their workouts, like halftime in football and soccer.

According to the study’s principal author, Mamoru Tsuyuki, a master’s student in sports and health science at Ritsumeikan University in Shiga, Japan, intense exercise damages muscle fibers. By increasing blood flow, the hot water helps the muscles mend and grow stronger.

During a Zoom call with NBC News, Tsuyuki stated, “It will also help to improve power output to raise muscle temperature.” Heat works best when you have to perform twice in one day, like in halftime sports. If you can submerge yourself in hot water for 15 or 20 minutes, you’ll likely do better in the second half.

According to Tsuyuki, this does not imply that frosty soaks are useless, as additional research has demonstrated that the cold water helps alleviate aching muscles. Furthermore, if there is an injury, ice is ideal.

Tsuyuki expressed his need for additional studies that compare the advantages and downsides of the two temperature soaks.

“We used endurance running, but other forms of exercise may have different effects,” he continued.

What makes a hot soak superior?

Ten young guys were selected by Tsuyuki and his colleagues to participate in a three-part study that examined the effects of hot and icy soaks.

After 50 minutes of high-intensity interval running, the men either sat without submersion in water or soaked for 20 minutes in a 59- or 104-degree tub.

Throughout the study, all ten men encountered all three circumstances.

The study participants were instructed to leap as high as they could while standing and squatting an hour following the first session. After a cold bath, the men’s jumping height was lower than after a hot one.

Whether the men soaked in hot or cold water had no effect on how sore their muscles were.

According to Aimee Layton, an associate professor of applied physiology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, “ice baths are really trendy right now.” Additionally, “the cold feels good when you have an injury that is hot and swollen.” Ice should be used to an ankle sprain.

However, Layton noted that cold might be harmful if you are not wounded and have recently had a strenuous workout. “It can cause the muscles to tighten and it constricts blood vessels,” she continued.

According to Layton, intense exercise causes microtears in the muscles. According to her, it’s what signals to your body that it needs more muscle in that place to become stronger the following time. “The recovery process may be aided by the increased circulation that hot water can provide.”

Sports medicine specialist Dr. Spencer Stein, an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said the temperature question can be challenging. “I would not discard cold baths,” Stein remarked. “Cold baths have been shown in studies to reduce soreness.”

Nevertheless, he claimed that “my experience with pro teams is they like warm baths before games.” “They don’t do a cold plunge during halftime.”

According to David Putrino, director of rehabilitation innovation at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, there are several criteria that determine the ideal water temperature for an athlete. Both may affect how blood reaches the muscles.

According to Putrino, hot water enhances blood flow, which might remove waste products linked to physical activity. But for some athletes, cold can increase blood flow by triggering the fight-or-flight reaction.

And that’s where the subtlety comes in.

Putrino stated, “You get the opposite effect if an athlete clenches up and begins shivering because they hate being thrown into an ice bath.” “A person can unwind in an ice bath if they don’t mind the cold at all.”

According to Putrino, some people enjoy doing cold plunges because they feel invigorated after exiting the water. “Once they exit, endorphins, the feel-good chemicals, flood their body, and they get a huge energy boost,” he said.

Using your personal data can help you figure out what works for you, Putrino advised. “Don’t trust the information you hear on podcasts.”

Putrino recommends the following for a hot water soak:

98 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 20 minutes.

The ideal duration for submersion in ice water is: temperatures between 50 and 59 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes.

Five minutes may be helpful for those who are attempting a cold soak for the first time.

Try different temperatures and note which one helps you recover the fastest, Putrino advised, regardless of your preference for hot or cold soaks.