Answer
Verdict
Leaning for
Cold-water immersion right after lifting blunts muscle growth.
4 sources: 4 positive
By Arun AgrahriLast reviewed
Short answer
It can. Cold-water immersion after lifting eases soreness but may blunt muscle growth by damping the signals that drive muscle protein synthesis. The advice on the record is to separate cold from strength work by several hours or use different days. The trade-off may still suit athletes who need fast recovery between events.
Deliberate cold exposure is worth doing.
The verdict on Cold Exposure overall. 20 sources: 15 positive, 4 partly, 1 negative
positive partly neutral negative Each researcher and each study counts once per claim, however often they come up.
Cold-water immersion right after lifting blunts muscle growth.
4 sources: 4 positive.
Researchers say
3 positive
Dr. Andy Galpin, on Huberman Lab, at 4:23:18
Positive Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 4:23:18 →“you do not want to get in the ice post hypertrophy training you wouldn't want to do that immediately after the workout”
Andrew Huberman, on Huberman Lab, at 1:04:57
Positive Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 1:04:57 →“I do agree that doing cold water plunging after a workout design to generate hypertrophy or strength gains is not a good idea”
Dr. Luc Van Loon, 2 mentions on this claim
Positive Video
on FoundMyFitness, at 1:37:42 · positive
“the lag in the cold water did not get the same stimulation of muscle protein synthesis”
on FoundMyFitness, at 1:40:04 · positive
“for resistance training or for uh andu training it's you shouldn't be using it at least not acutely after the exercise session”
Studies show
1 positive
1 paper we read
Other primary study, J Physiol, 2020, PMID 31788800
Positive Study
Read the paper on PubMed →In line with our first hypothesis, we hypothesized that postexercise cooling lowers myofibrillar protein synthesis rates during 2 weeks of resistance‐type exercise training in healthy, young men.
Dr. Andy Galpin, on Huberman Lab, at 4:23:18 Video · positive · Opinion
“you do not want to get in the ice post hypertrophy training you wouldn't want to do that immediately after the workout”
Andrew Huberman, on Huberman Lab, at 1:04:57 Video · positive · Opinion
“I do agree that doing cold water plunging after a workout design to generate hypertrophy or strength gains is not a good idea”
Dr. Luc Van Loon Video · positive · 2 mentions
on FoundMyFitness, at 1:37:42 · positive · Their own research
“the lag in the cold water did not get the same stimulation of muscle protein synthesis”
on FoundMyFitness, at 1:40:04 · positive · Opinion
“for resistance training or for uh andu training it's you shouldn't be using it at least not acutely after the exercise session”
Other primary study, J Physiol, 2020, PMID 31788800 Study · positive
In line with our first hypothesis, we hypothesized that postexercise cooling lowers myofibrillar protein synthesis rates during 2 weeks of resistance‐type exercise training in healthy, young men.
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Cold-water immersion right after lifting can blunt muscle growth. It is confusing because the plunge makes you feel better while working against your goal. Cold-water immersion does reduce soreness.
Andy Galpin and Luc van Loon, both guests on Rhonda Patrick's show, explain the catch. Damping inflammation and cutting blood flow to the muscle eases soreness, and that same response helps drive muscle growth. Blunt that signaling right after lifting and you may blunt the growth you trained for.
The window matters, since the growth signaling peaks in the first few hours after a session.
If you are an athlete who needs to recover fast between events, the soreness relief can be worth some lost adaptation. If you are training to build muscle over months, keep cold away from the hours right after lifting. Andrew Huberman's rule on his own show is to wait at least four hours after strength training or to put cold on separate days.
Cold after endurance training is generally treated as more acceptable and may even aid recovery.
The strongest evidence is for cold-water immersion (a plunge or ice bath). A brief cold shower is less studied, so treat the shower-versus-plunge comparison as an open question. And "at least four hours or separate days" is a rule of thumb, not a guarantee.
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