Cold Water Immersion
WHAT IS AN ICE BATH?
An ice bath is a short (4 to 10 minute) exposure to cold water, typically somewhere between 10-15 Degrees Celsius.
Cold water immersion has been shown to be an effective method for improving recovery, especially after bouts of strenuous exercise.
The body expends a lot of energy to keep the core and your internal organs at a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius. What this means is that the body has to work hard to keep vital organs at their normal function, which can be quite taxing. By exposing the body to cold water, you are basically telling the body that it needs to expend more energy. This triggers a series of responses that help to expend energy and burn fat.
DO ICE BATHS HELP ME BURN FAT?
Normally, your body regulates its core temperature by constricting or dilating blood vessels near the surface of the skin. When these blood vessels dilate, more blood flows to these areas, and you feel cold. When your body needs to keep your core temperature elevated, it will constrict the blood vessels near the surface of your skin and trap heat.
This is why you feel hot after exercising. When you take an ice bath or cold plunge, your body needs to constrict blood vessels near the surface of your skin to keep your body temperature elevated. This is like a mild form of vasoconstriction. This is the process by which your blood vessels constrict and reduce blood flow.
It’s also one of the ways your body can increase energy expenditure (the number of calories you burn) via something called the thermic effect of activity. Like I said, taking an ice bath or cold plunge is like a mild form of vasoconstriction. Vasoconstriction is a way that your body can increase energy expenditure and thus burn more fat.
