Cold shower or hot shower? Which one is better for your health as soon as you are done with your workout is the most asked question by any bodybuilders, gym enthusiasts and athletes on the internet right now. Some prefer a hot bath or shower after hitting the gym while some prefer taking a cold shower right after they are done with their regular body-building regime. It is very hard to determine the better one for you as the option entirely depends on your muscle and fitness condition right after you are done with your workouts.
Both taking a bath in cold water or hot water is right but choosing the better one actually depends on which suits you the most.
So today in this article we will be comparing cold showers with hot showers and will be analyzing which one is actually better to take right after working out. Let’s begin.
Table of Contents
Cold shower
A cold shower generally means taking a bath in cold water. Especially after working our people generally tends to take a both in cold water because of the benefits of it.
How bathing with cold water helps your body after working out?
When you are doing a high-intensity workout you generally sweat a lot. This is the time when you decide to take a shower be it in a gym or right after you go back to your home from the gym. A cold shower helps in dropping down the rising temperature of your body. Your body which was heated up after working out gets a sudden shock when the cold water is introduced and the temperature of your body starts going down. The blood flow in your muscles becomes slow. Your muscles start getting tighter and stiff. Yes, showering with cold water right after gymming makes your muscles stiff. This is very beneficial for people who have any sort of injury ( during workout, gymming or sports) as this stiffness in your muscle will help you to reduce the inflammation of the injured area.
Benefits of taking a shower in cold water
- Bathing in cold water reduces the inflammation of any injury caused due to the intense workout
- Reduces the pain in joints and ligaments of your body
You have already seen many athletes and sportsmen being introduced to ice therapy when they receive any sort of injury. To get quick recovery from the pain ice therapy is used. The same is the case when you take a bath in cold water after working out.
Hot shower
A hot shower generally means taking a bath in hot water. Hot water here generally signifies warm or lukewarm water and not boiling water. This is again preferred by athletes or someone who is into a high-intensity workout.
How bathing with hot water helps your body after working out?
After hitting the gym or working out your body temperature is already high. If you are taking a hot shower your body starts relaxing. This is the main difference between bathing in cold water and bathing in hot water. Hot water makes your body to relax whereas cold water makes your body and muscles stiff. The blood circulation improves. We all know blood helps in the transport of nutrients to all parts of our body. So when the blood circulation process increases the nutrients ( eggs, protein powder, protein foods that you consume for muscle-building) are delivered quickly to all parts of your body. The delivery speed of the nutrients is increased when you take a bath in hot water.
Benefits of taking a shower in hot water
- A hot shower helps your muscles to relax
- Hot shower helps your skin pores to open up which ultimately helps in the detoxification of your body.
- Helps in loosening up tight muscles
Cold shower vs hot shower – Which shower should you take after working out?
The answer to this question is extremely easy and depends on your muscle condition entirely.
If you are dealing with any sort of muscle injury such as leg pull, muscle spasms, torn muscle, knee pain, ligament injury, joint pains then showering with cold water instead of hot water should be your perfect choice. Even various doctors recommend staying away from any hot massages or baths when you have any sorts of injuries.
But when you do not have any muscle or bone injury after working out you should choose to bathe with hot or warm water. This warm water will help you to relax, cleanses up your entire body system and reduce muscle fatigue.
If you experience crazy pain in your body after a high-intensity workout because of tired muscle you should go for hot or warm shower. It will help your body to relax. But when you experience pain in the joints and bones because of high intense workout especially during your leg days then you should go for a cold water bath.
You can see bathing with either hot water or cold water is a choice and entirely depends on how heavy was your workout that day. Also taking a shower with normal water (neither warm nor cold) is also great and recommended.
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