Contrast Therapy Before or After a Workout?

Contrast therapy timing matters more than most people think, because heat and cold don't do the same job after every kind of workout. Here's what research says about fitting sauna and cold plunge sessions around training: after endurance work, after lifting, on rest days and around events. Time of day is its own topic, covered in the best time of day for contrast therapy.

After runs, rides and games: go soon

• Contrast water, 10 minutes after. In trained cyclists and runners, alternating 1 minute of hot and cold water for 6 to 12 minutes, starting 10 minutes after a hard session, helped performance two hours later and eased soreness (European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2011; International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2012).
• Team sports. Across 23 studies of team sport athletes, cold water immersion helped several recovery measures over the following days, and contrast water therapy helped athletes feel less fatigued (Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2017).
• Faster lactate clearance. In 11 people, alternating hot (about 97°F) and cold (about 54°F) water right after all-out sprints cleared lactate from the blood faster than lying down (Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 2007).
• Heat counts too. In 10 men, 30 minutes in a mild infrared sauna after an all-out endurance session was followed by better jump performance than no sauna (SpringerPlus, 2015).

After lifting: keep the cold away

This is the timing rule with the most research behind it. A meta-analysis of eight studies found that regular cold water immersion after resistance training blunted gains in strength, while it didn't seem to affect endurance training (Sports Medicine, 2021). In one 12-week study, men who took a 10-minute cold bath after lifting gained less strength and muscle than men who did an active cool-down (Journal of Physiology, 2015).

So on strength days, choose heat. Save the plunge for a different part of the day or a rest day, and check with your coach if you follow a structured program.

Heat after training, week after week

• In a small crossover study, six competitive runners who used a sauna after training for three weeks ran 32% longer before exhaustion on a treadmill test, which the authors linked to higher blood volume (Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 2007).
• In a randomized trial of 47 inactive adults, a 15-minute sauna after exercise for eight weeks added gains in fitness and lowered systolic blood pressure beyond exercise alone (American Journal of Physiology, 2022).

Both of our studios make post-workout heat easy: San Diego and Temecula each sit inside Self Made Training Facility.

Same day or rest day?

Both work. It depends on what your week looks like.

• Same day as training. Easy to stack: you're already out, already warm.
• Rest days. A reason to leave the house that isn't a workout, and a good day for a slower 55 or 85 minutes with nothing to rush back to.
• Both. If you train most days, you might do a short 25 after hard sessions and a longer one on your day off.

Before a workout?

Some people like a short session before training: a little heat to start warm, a quick dip to feel awake. Keep it short and easy. Long, hot sessions right before a hard workout can leave you feeling flat and thirsty, so save those for afterward. If a pre-workout session ever leaves you light-headed, skip it next time.

Evenings, mornings and the minutes in between

• Before bed. A meta-analysis of 17 studies found that warm baths or showers of about 104 to 108°F, taken 1 to 2 hours before bed, were linked to better sleep and falling asleep faster (Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2019). No saunas were tested, so treat it as a promising hint. If late cold leaves you wired, finish warm.
• First thing in the morning. In 33 adults, a 5-minute dip at 68°F left people feeling more active, alert and attentive (Biology, 2023). Both studios open at 5am on weekdays, so a session fits before work.
• Between the sauna and the plunge. No study has pinned down an ideal gap. In 93 adults, heart rate settled below its starting level during a 30-minute cool-down after a sauna (Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 2019). Stand up slowly and take a few breaths before the plunge, or sit for a minute first.

Match it to when you train

• Early trainer? A 25-minute session straight after your workout still gets you to work on time.
• Lunch-break trainer? Keep it to 25 minutes, with one good round of heat and a quick dip.
• After-work trainer? A post-workout session can double as your wind-down. If late cold leaves you wired, finish warm.
• Weekend long sessions? Take a 55 afterward, eat first, and don't rush the shower.

Bring your training partner

Training partners make good suite partners. Add a guest when you book, share the heat, take turns in the plunge and compare notes on the week. Plans with someone else are also harder to skip.

The week of a race, game or competition

• If contrast therapy is already part of your routine, keep doing what you know, at the lengths you're used to.
• If it's new to you, try it during a normal training week first, not the night before.
• After the event, a session is a great way to unwind. Drink first, eat something, and go easy if you're wiped out.