After an ice bath, it is essential to follow a proper post-ice bath routine to maximize the health benefits and minimize discomfort. This article covers the essential steps to take after an ice bath, along with some common post-ice bath scenarios and what to do if you notice any strange responses.
Step 1 – Get Out Safely
After emerging from the cold water, it is crucial to get out of the ice bath slowly and safely. Shivering is a natural response of the body to cold exposure, and embracing this as part of the body's natural recovery process is important. To get out safely, lower your stance to keep your center of gravity near the ground and hold onto a chair or step stool that is beside the ice bath. Avoid rapid movements that could lead to falling.
Step 2 – Dry Up Completely
If your ice bath was not cold enough or you want to continue冷暴露 session, you can try to evaporatively cool by letting the water on your skin evaporate naturally. However, this method cannot be continued indefinitely, especially on a humid day or if the wind does not reach you. To achieve a colder experience, you can add more ice cubes.
After you have finished your cold exposure session in a cold plunge tub, make sure to have some towels ready to dry yourself completely.
Step 3 – Warm Up Naturally
Avoid immediately taking a hot shower or going somewhere with the heat turned up after your ice bath. To warm up naturally, you can use light movement, such as warm-up stretches, walking, light yoga, or jumping jacks. Additionally, doing some light mobility exercises like yoga or walking can help increase blood flow and get the blood flowing.
Step 4 – Do Some Light Mobility Exercises
To get the best out of your ice bath session, you can do some light mobility exercises like yoga or walking to get the circulation going. Try taking a brisk walk or engaging in some motion after your ice bath, but avoid stretching when cold, as it may cause damage and tearing to your muscle fibers.
Step 5 – Eat a Light Meal or Snack and Rehydrate
Ice baths can be tiring, so after you do some cold exposure, whether it's a deep cold-water immersion in a pool or a 10-minute ice bath, you'll likely feel like you have just finished a really good workout, feeling tired and exhausted, but with that dopamine high of having accomplished something challenging and good for your health and wellbeing. That said, it can really work up an appetite.
Therefore, a light snack and some water can help re-energize without shocking the body with too much food intake after the stresses of cold exposure therapy. Additionally, drinking some warm liquid like coffee, tea, or lukewarm water can help heat up your body temperature from the inside.
Step 6 – Use a Foam Roller or a Massage Gun
Although if you use a foam roller, we recommend doing it before your ice bath, but you can still "warm up" using them, which can be a relaxing way to end your cold therapy session. However, we think muscle massagers are more effective in targeting specific, hard-to-reach muscles, and are more convenient and feel more effective to use when releasing tight muscles (check out our muscle gun).
If you keep these tips in mind on what to do after your ice bath, your Deliberate Cold Exposure should end with your body back into its normal state within 1 or 2 hours at the most, and our ice bath – plunge is the easy, affordable way to enjoy the short and long-term benefits of an ice bath, all from the comfort of your own home.
