Hot or cold bath after exercise.

[Bloke]

Which do you think is best ? I hear conflicting advice.

May be wrong, but I figure cold water would reduce swelling for niggling injuries etc. And hot for muscle recovery.

Which is best ?

Exercise includes pushups, situps, pullups, 5km run & swimming if that helps.

 

[Colossus]

Cold will shunt blood away from your extremities into your core. In a nutshell this will essentially slow all chemical processes that are necessary for muscle repair and recovery.

If you have an inflammatory injury, then ice or cold water will reduce swelling and inflammation in the area.

Sounds like you are just doing cardio and calisthenics, so I would just take a cool shower afterward and then relax. Avoid cold or hot temps; let your body temp equilibrate on it's own. If you have nagging soreness or joint inflammation then ice it locally.

 

[Bloke]

Thanks mate.

 

[noodle]

Actually, both will work wonders. Submerge yoursefl in cold water for a few minutes; then immediately run yourself a hot shower.

Doing this supposedly dialates the blood vessels, which means you're going to feel invigorated. It's not for the light of heart, but I've done this several times, and it's helped minimize recovery time.

What about a steam room. Dilates your blood vessels alot I presume and rids your body of toxins/waste by sweating.