If you ever took a cold shower you know it can be equal parts exhilarating and cruel. In this video, I’m going to discuss the benefits of showering with cold water when it comes to building muscle and recovering from your workouts. There is just as much science and research that supports that idea of taking cold showers after workouts as there is to avoid them all together if building muscle is your goal.
First, it helps to discuss the available science on the topic of cold showers and working out. Most of the studies that have been done on this subject have had their participants immerse themselves in ice baths rather than apply the cold water in a shower. There is a big difference in the effect this has on lowering core body temperature. First it can be done to a greater degree through submersion and second, it can be done at a faster rate.
That said, in many of these studies they have found that the use of cold water submersion following a hard workout can be detrimental to muscle growth. The reason for this is due to the blunting of the inflammatory processes and growth mediators that are spawned from the reactive inflammatory signaling that happens following a hard workout. When you train, your muscles react in a way that your body perceives as inflammation. This is not the typical form of inflammation that you would associate with an injury or even an abrasion to the skin.
That said, the cell mediators that initiate the healing process that allow the muscles to grow back bigger and stronger are interrupted and never allowed to fully be expressed. This has been theorized by researchers to limit the amount of muscular hypertrophy that you can see if you make regular application of cold water a habit following your workout.
That said, as with everything else that occurs in and out of the gym, the timing and specific application matters.
What about cold showers? Do they have the same negative effect? If they are not done immediately following training do they have the same negative gains killing effect as shown in the studies?
The answer is no.
In fact, taking a cold shower at a time that isn’t immediately following your workout can have a muscle growth inducing effect. The exact opposite response as was experienced with the submersion after working out. This is due to an important hormonal response that occurs in some people, particularly those that have high baseline levels of cortisol.
When you are a natural lifter, the number one thing you can do to increase muscle growth is prioritize your recovery. This comes in the form of improved nutrition, better sleep, following a proper training split and even the right form of supplementation. Having high levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, is something that you may not even be aware of unless you have bloodwork that shows the issue.
The use of cold showers at a time not immediately following your workouts has been shown in a 2021 study to significantly blunt the levels of cortisol. Lower baseline levels of cortisol will likely lead to increased anabolic signaling and an easier time for building muscle. I always recommend, if you are doing everything right with your recovery right now but don’t seem to be building muscle as quickly as you should from your hard work, try incorporating cold showers into your daily routine.
Now, this does not mean that you have to take only cold showers.
There are many applications and protocols that involve alternating periods of cold and hot water (in a contrast setting) or simply applying the cold water and then stepping out of the water all together for alternating bouts.
If you haven’t tried to boost your stalled muscle gains by taking a cold shower, it is definitely something you will want to give a shot. Remember to commit to it for about 4 weeks at minimum if you decide to try it. It takes the body some time to adjust to the shock of cold showers at the beginning.
It will also allow your body more time to notice the benefits in your recovery and the resulting muscle growth that might happen if you are in that state of lower cortisol levels that are holding back your muscle gains.
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Chris Wright
Because you’re not doing face pulls while showering that’s why
lol
Jeff: handsoaping your body is killing your gains
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Hahaha, the start
Me!!!
Jeff, All I’m gonna say is, you have to go on Andrew Huberman’s Podcast as guest! #HubermanLab
Jeff caught on and beat the trolls and memes to it lol.
Ask Jeff: How to calculate maintenance calories?
Don’t calculate, test it. Formulas don’t work and in the clinic we actually measure CO2 output for basic expenditure and factor activity. Basically, just get a minimal food (yeah food not calorie) intake you can live with, calculate what calories that makes and increase by 100 for two weeks, if you don’t see any change, increase again until you see weight gain. Then drop by 200 and stay there unless you increase your activity.
Jeff doesn’t really believe in counting calories
Use Eric Helm’s method from The Strength & Muscle Pyramid books.
Yess please
Why would you want to calculate “maintenance calories”? Are you a bomb calorimeter?
Next: Why NOT killing your gains is KILLING Your Gains!
Why NOT not killing your gains is killing your gains
Waiting for the DVD “How to kill your gains”
90 seconds of hEEHOOhaaAahOO cOLD is 12 hours of being more awake than ever
Lol
Can confirm that it makes you very present, at least for some hours
Jeff is the kinda guy who uses 2 hands for arm wrestling to avoid muscle imbalance
“Some joke about how Jeff does something do avoid muscle imbalance”
Intellectual.
Just made one…..hahahahaha
He switches on/off with alternating hands to avoid muscle imbalances
The “Jeff had twins so he could carry both at the same time and avoid muscle imbalances” is the funniest one
Literally got the notification on my phone as soon as I stepped out of the shower.
Jeff I swear I was using cold water. Please don’t kill my gains.
Same here i was enjoying my cold shower till he posted this and I don’t think i will change my mind in cold showers
Begging is KILLING YOUR GAINS.
We know you didn’t take a cold shower.
The council has decided if you do 5×10 of Facepulls for your next workout, ye shall be spared.
@Salih Seif NOT begging Jeff not to kill your gains might also kill your gains though.
LOL
But IF you beg, make sure you use BOTH hands to avoid muscle imbalances.
The people also should take into context that they need to have burned most of their glycogen stores in their workout for cortisol to be greatly released. Your body isn’t going to try breaking down protein for energy if glycogen is still available
Edit: It takes around an hour of exercise to consume your glycogen stores and begin consuming your protein for energy. Anyone working out less than this shouldn’t bother with cold showers in an attempt to lower post exercise cortisol excretion.
@David Cooper You’re supporting my point.
Jeff is not addressing primarily the people who achieve high cortisol levels through glycogen consumption, but also everyone else who for whatever reason may have chronically high cortisol levels, of which the majority is because of sleep deficiency, poor nutrition, anxiety etc.
That’s why he talked about blood testing.
You were simply trying to find an excuse to put down people because you think they don’t train hard enough.
Wait but Jeff literally just says not to take a cold shower right after your workouts? So which is it? Do I take a cold shower when I get exhausted or not? Or before my workout??
@ErebosGR mate I genuinely think you’re completely missing his point. He isn’t arguing against anything you are saying, or saying that cortisol isn’t caused by stress or anxiety. He isn’t talking about the causes of cortisol or any one solution to reduce cortisol over any other one. He’s simply talking about what Jeff said in the video about cold showers lowering cortisol after a gym workout and making a point on that.
@Dan K jeff says cold shower right after workout = bad. But cold shower a bit later, not after workout has been shown to reduce cortisol and cortisol is bad for gains. Though there are many factors in that cortisol and when it’s present etc.
Evil Jeff be like: Why gummy bears are boosting your gains
Evil Jeff be like: How carrot cake destroys man titties.
Evil jesse be like: i hate gummi bears
Ya, your fat gains
They actually can be. Collagen and calories yo. Might help lift heavy
Ah yes, the classic “Why X is killing your gains!”
Almost forgot to watch this series today.
I think everything I am currently doing is killing my gains. Time to binge these !
Ask Jeff: Is doing a „deload week“ where you train at half the volume or not at all useful?
If you tired… rest. Video over.
Deload weeks are about reducing volume AND intensity. The norm is every 6 weeks, but it depends on how much intensity and volume is used in the first place.
Making use of ACWR (acute chronic workload ratio) to track your weekly sessions in the first place would give better indication of whether you’re close to over training or under training. It’s a great tool to use. Do some research about it, try to understand it, and draw one up for yourself.
Just take a week off if you’re tired or about every 6 weeks is a common practice
Yes it can be helpful for active recovery
Deload week means break all PR’s week
Jeff in a nightmare: knowing the fact that something kills your gains is killin’ your gains!
Ask Jeff: What are your thoughts on putting plates under your feet while squatting to help with form as a long term approach? I think I have range of mobility and imbalance issues.
Not good. You’re fucked bro.
Jeff: “…and no gummy bears.”
Me: “We are in the endgame now.”
Ask Jeff: what is your opinion about knees over toes guy and his training methods
I would love to see this answered. As someone with knee issues for far too long, I’d love to see Jeff’s opinion on this guys training methods before I jump into it.
Me: water heater just went out.
Wife: Going to fix it?
Jeff: why your wife is killing your gains!
Is Jesse’s soap on that shelf Johnson and Johnson “no more tears”? Baby shampoo? I don’t think it’s working… he still cries a lot.
Much love fellas! Thanks for the content and the laughs!
Ask Jeff: Hello Jeff and community. In short: I have observed that dividing my total reps and total rest time for an exercise over more sets (from 4 to 8) led to being able to do 33% more total reps for a given exercise within the same time period.
An example: I was doing 4 sets of chin-ups with 2 minutes rest between with around 8-9 reps each set totaling 34 total reps. Then, I divided the 34 reps between 8 sets with 1-minute rest between, and at the end I was able to do 1 last 9th set to failure pumping out another 9 reps, totaling 45 reps (32% more total reps) and reaching the same tiredness level as 4 sets. So I reformed this exercise to 45 total reps (instead of 34) divided about equally over 8 sets with 1-minute rest between. The total rest was the same 8 minutes. And the total exercising time was also about the same 3 minutes.
Conclusion: I haven’t found anyone addressing this and if this way of increasing volume with the same rest and total workout time has the same/ better/ worse effect on muscle. Any answer is appreciated. Like this if you have the same question.