Strength Training Adaptations After Cold-Water Immersion

Abstract

Several studies analyzed the effectiveness of cold-water immersion (CWI) to support recovery after strenuous exercise, but the overall results seem to be conflicting. Most of these studies analyzed only short-term recovery effects, whereas the adaptational aspect has been widely neglected. Therefore, we analyzed the effects of repeated cooling after training sessions (CWI) on adaptations to strength training. Seventeen trained male students volunteered the study. After a 2-week familiarization period, a pretest (T1) of 1 repetition maximum (RM) and 12RM was conducted followed by the 5-week strength training period (within-subject design). After the posttest (T2) and a 2-week detraining period, a retention test (T3) was carried out. Directly after each training session, CWI was applied for 1 randomly assigned leg. Cooling consisted of 3 4-minute intervals with a 30-second rest period. The other leg was not cooled. A significant increase in 1RM and 12RM from baseline to T2 and T3 (p < 0.001), respectively, and a further significant increase in 12RM from T2 to T3 (p ≤ 0.05) were observed. In addition, a tendency for a large leg effect with higher values for the "control leg" in both parameters (p = 0.08 each) and a moderate time × leg interaction in favor of the control leg was found (1RM: p = 0.11; 12RM: p = 0.09). The percentage change differences between both conditions were 1.6% for the increase in 1RM from T1 to T2 and 2.0% from T1 to T3 in favor of the control leg. Long-term strength training adaptations in trained subjects can be negatively affected by CWI. However, effects were small, and the practical relevance relative to possible recovery effects needs to be considered in a sports practical setting.

Cellular, molecular and physiological effects of post-resistance exercise cold water immersion: Implications for subsequent perofrmance

“…Only two investigations have investigated the use of cold water immersion within a resistance training environment exceeding a 1 week period (see table 1.3), namely Yamane et al (2006) and more recently, Fröhlich et al (2014). Limitations exist regarding the practicality of the research designs in both these investigations.…”

“…Yamane et al (2006) used a resistance training protocol that only involved handgrip exercise, and also extrapolated performance results (1-RM) of this small muscle group to whole-body performance. Similarly, Fröhlich et al (2014) only trained the hamstring muscle group, and they only reported for changes in 1-RM and 12-RM strength. Despite these limitations, both studies concluded that regular cold water immersion attenuated training-induced adaptations.…”

“…Limitations of the current knowledge base is The aim of the third study was to investigate how regular use of cold water immersion following resistance exercise influences adaptation within a training environment. Only two previous investigations have investigated the efficacy of cold water immersion within a strength training environment (Yamane et al, 2006;Fröhlich et al, 2014 (Tucker et al, 2012;Gregson et al, 2013) and angiogenic and mitochondrial mRNA responses (Ihsan et al, 2014) muscle function and physiological responses after high-intensity resistance exercise. Using a randomized, cross-over design, 10 physically active men performed high-intensity resistance exercise followed by one of two recovery interventions: 1) 10 min of CWI at 10°C or 2) 10 min of active recovery (low-intensity cycling).…”

“…However, few studies have assessed whether cold water immersion influences long-term training adaptations to resistance training. Two studies indicated that cold water immersion attenuated gains in strength (Fröhlich et al, 2014) and muscle endurance capacity and brachial artery diameter (Yamane et al, 2006) after 4−5 weeks of resistance training. Conversely, another study demonstrated that cold water immersion enhanced strength gains after 5 days of resistance training (Burke et al, 2000).…”

“…Because muscle protein synthesis is dependent on adequate blood supply (Fujita et al, 2006;Timmerman et al, 2010), this decrease in muscle blood flow in response to cold water immersion may have important implications for muscle metabolism during recovery from exercise. Lower blood flow in muscle in response to cold water immersion could reduce muscle protein synthesis, which might account (in part) for previous observations that cold water immersion attenuates gains in muscle strength and endurance capacity following resistance training (Yamane et al, 2006;Fröhlich et al, 2014). No research has investigated whether cold water immersion influences the activity of signal transduction pathways (e.g., mTOR, p70S6K, 4E-BP1) that regulate protein synthesis in muscle after resistance exercise (Mayhew et al, 2009).…”