This study investigated the effects of cold water immersion (CWI) on recovery from anaerobic cycling performance. Seventeen active subjects underwent two maximal cycling efforts, separated by one hour of either CWI or passive rest, with results showing that CWI significantly reduced peak power and total work in the second test compared to the control condition. The study concluded that CWI negatively impacts anaerobic performance when recovery occurred one hour between tests.

1. Introduction
!
Many athletes compete in multiple events on the
same day such as heats and semifinals or round
robin competitions. Under these circumstances,
effective recovery is essential to ensure optimal
performance in a subsequent event or match. A
variety of recovery techniques exist including
cryotherapy (cold water immersion/ice baths,
ice massage, ice packs), whirlpool therapy, mas-
sage and contrast therapy. Unfortunately, little
conclusive research exists to support the use of
these techniques.
The majority of research on cryotherapy has in-
vestigated delayed-onset muscle soreness [5]
rather than performance. The few available per-
formance studies have investigated the effects of
ice bags [14,15], ice jackets [6] and cold water im-
mersion (CWI) [9,13] during recovery. Ice bags
applied to the arm and shoulder between innings
of baseball pitching [15] and between sets of
upper body weights [14] delayed fatigue when
compared to a control. Cryotherapy in these stud-
ies [14,15] was suggested to lower muscle tem-
perature to a more optimal temperature for dy-
namic work. However, this suggestion conflicts
with previous research that suggests dynamic
muscle action is decreased with lower core and
muscle temperatures [2,8,10]. In contrast to Ver-
ducci [14,15], ice jackets worn for 5–10-min in-
tervals before and during rest periods of an inter-
mittent cycling protocol had no effect on work
and power output [6]. The few available perfor-
mance studies investigating CWI recovery also
report equivocal effects. Schniepp et al. [13] re-
ported a significant decrease in anaerobic cycling
performance when the exercise tests were sepa-
rated by 15-min CWI (128C) compared to 15-min
passive rest. In contrast, others have reported
that CWI (15 min at 158C) enhanced intermittent
cycling performance when performed immedi-
ately after the exercise test with 24 hr between
tests [9]. Therefore, the time period between
events is likely to influence the effects of CWI on
recovery.
Given the paucity of research into the effects of
CWI recovery on performance, this study aimed
to investigate the effects of CWI on anaerobic cy-
cling performance. A time period of one hour be-
tween performance tests was chosen to investi-
gate same-day recovery where athletes are likely
to have heats and semifinals or multiple games in
Abstract
!
This study investigated the effects of cold water
immersion on recovery from anaerobic cycling.
Seventeen (13 male, 4 female) active subjects
underwent a crossover, randomised design in-
volving two testing sessions 2–6 d apart. Testing
involved two 30-s maximal cycling efforts sepa-
rated by a one-hour recovery period of 10-min
cycling warm-down followed by either passive
rest or 15-min cold water immersion (13–148C)
with passive rest. Peak power, total work and
postexercise blood lactate were significantly re-
duced following cold water immersion compared
to the first exercise test and the control condition.
These variables did not differ significantly be-
tween the control tests. Peak exercise heart rate
was significantly lower after cold water immer-
sion compared to the control. Time to peak
power, rating of perceived exertion, and blood
pH were not affected by cold water immersion
compared to the control. Core temperature rose
significantly (0.38C) during ice bath immersion
but a similar increase also occurred in the control
condition. Therefore, cold water immersion
caused a significant decrease in sprint cycling
performance with one-hour recovery between
tests.
Cold Water Recovery Reduces Anaerobic Performance
Authors M. J. Crowe1
, D. O’Connor2
, D. Rudd3
Affiliations 1
Institute of Sport and Exercise Science, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
2
Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
3
Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
Key words
l" hydrotherapy
l" cold water immersion
l" anaerobic exercise
l" recovery
l" postexercise
accepted after revision
December 29, 2006
Bibliography
DOI 10.1055/s-2007-965118
Published online May 29, 2007
Int J Sports Med 2007; 28:
994–998 © Georg Thieme
Verlag KG Stuttgart • New York •
ISSN 0172-4622
Correspondence
Dr. Melissa Jane Crowe, BSc
(Hons) PhD
James Cook University
Institute of Sport and Exercise
Science
Institute of Sport and Exercise
Science, James Cook University
4811 Townsville
Australia
Phone: + 61747815610
Fax: + 61747816688
Melissa.Crowe@jcu.edu.au
994
Crowe MJ et al. Cold Water Recovery… Int J Sports Med 2007; 28: 994–998
Physiology & Biochemistry

2. a tournament situation with short recovery periods. It was ex-
pected that CWI would improve power and work output, in-
crease blood lactate and reduce perceived exertion in compari-
son to a passive rest control recovery.
Materials and Methods
!
Subjects
Seventeen healthy, active subjects (13 male, 4 female; mean ± SE
age 21.5 ± 1.3 yr; height 177.1 ± 1.8 cm and weight 77.7 ± 3.1 kg)
participated in the study. The subjects were nonspecifically
trained with the majority regularly participating in team sports
such as netball, rugby union, rugby league and soccer, as well as
resistance training. All subjects underwent medical prescreen-
ing and provided written informed consent prior to participation
in the study. Ethical approval to undertake the study was pro-
vided by the University Human Ethics Committee.
Protocol
A randomised, repeated measures, crossover design was em-
ployed, whereby each subject participated in two testing ses-
sions at the same time of day, 2–6 days apart. Each subject was
randomly allocated to a CWI or control recovery condition at
each testing session. The subjects were asked to abstain from
moderate to intense exercise for 24 hr prior to testing.
The subjects underwent the same protocol at each testing ses-
sion with the exception of the recovery treatment. The protocol
involved two 30-s maximal cycling tests separated by a period of
60 min with an active warm-down after the first test (l" Fig. 1).
After completion of the warm-down, either passive seated re-
covery (control) or CWI was performed. Details of the exercise
test, recovery procedures and blood testing are outlined below.
Exercise test
The 30-s “all-out” maximal cycling test immediately followed a
5-min warm-up on an air-braked cycle ergometer (Repco Ergo,
Repco Cycle Co., Huntingdale, Australia) at low to moderate in-
tensity (50–100 W). The 30-s test was performed in a standing
position from a stationary start with verbal encouragement
throughout. The relative peak power (W• kg–1
), time at which
peak power was achieved (s), and relative total work (J• kg–1
)
were recorded using a Repco Supermonitor (Repco Cycle Co.,
Huntingdale, Australia). Data were recorded at 5 sample/s with
peak power determined from the maximum power averaged
over one crank revolution. Peak exercise heart rate (HRpeak;
beats• min–1
) was recorded during the test (Polar Electro OY,
Kempele, Finland) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) [4] ob-
tained upon test completion.
Warm-down and recovery procedures
Recovery commenced after blood testing with a 10-min active
warm-down on the cycle ergometer (heart rate 130–150 beats•
min–1
; l" Fig. 1). Within one minute of completing the active
warm-down, subjects underwent seated CWI up to the level of
the umbilicus at 13–148C for 15 min. Maximum surface area ex-
posure to the cold water was obtained by keeping the legs apart.
In the control recovery condition, the same period of time was
spent in seated rest at room temperature (20–228C). Tympanic
core temperature (Campbell Scientific, Brisbane, Australia) and
perceived thermal discomfort (1 = comfortable, 5 = extremely
uncomfortable) [7] were assessed within the first and last min-
utes of the cold water bath. Core temperature was also assessed
in a subsample of subjects (n = 10) at the same time points in the
control condition. The remainder of the recovery time for both
conditions was spent in passive seated rest at room temperature.
Blood sampling
Blood pH and lactate concentration were determined at the time
points indicated in l" Fig. 1. The peak value from 2.5- and 5-min
postexercise lactate samples was used in the analysis to increase
the likelihood of obtaining a true peak lactate given the high var-
iability in blood lactate over time [12]. Lactate concentrations
were determined using an Accusport lactate analyser (Boeh-
ringer Mannheim, Sydney, Australia) from 20 µL of finger prick
blood. The single trial and day-to-day intra-class reliability for
the Accusport have previously been reported to be R = 0.992
and R = 0.993 respectively [3]. Blood from a finger prick was
drawn into a 100-µL, heparinised micropipette (Bayer Diagnos-
tics, Brisbane, Australia) and kept on ice until analysis (Bayer Di-
agnostics 288 blood gas analyser, Bayer Diagnostics, Brisbane,
Australia) for blood pH determination.
Statistical analyses
All data were analysed using SPSS software (SPSS Inc., Chicago,
IL, USA). A one-way ANOVA (time factor only) was used to ana-
lyse the thermal discomfort data. All other variables were ana-
lysed using a two-way (recovery condition × time) repeated
measures ANOVA with a 2 × 2 design for the exercise test param-
eters and core temperature, a 2 × 4 design for blood pH and a
30 s cycle test 1
Blood lactate and pH
Active warm-down (10 min)
Blood lactate
OR
CWI (15 min,
13–14°C)
Passive rest
(15 min)
Blood lactate and pH
Passive rest
Blood lactate and pH
30 s cycle test 2
Blood lactate and pH
Warm-up (5 min)
60min
Warm-up (5 min)
Fig. 1 Schematic rep-
resentation of the tim-
ing of the experimental
protocol. CWI = cold
water immersion.
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Crowe MJ et al. Cold Water Recovery… Int J Sports Med 2007; 28: 994–998
Physiology & Biochemistry

3. 2 × 5 design for blood lactate. The Greenhouse-Geiser correction
was used where sphericity was violated. Post hoc analysis was
completed using the Tukey test. Alpha was set to 0.05 and all da-
ta are presented as mean ± SE with statistical power reported for
each significant finding.
Results
!
Performance variables
There were no significant differences in any performance varia-
bles between the two conditions in the first exercise test prior to
the recovery treatments. However, peak power (p = 0.004; statis-
tical power = 0.88) and total work (p = 0.001; power = 0.97) were
significantly lower in the second exercise test after CWI but were
unaffected by the control treatment (l" Table 1). Time to peak
power (statistical power = 0.13) and RPE (statistical power =
0.08) were not significantly affected by either recovery treat-
ment (l" Table 1). HRpeak was significantly lower in the second
exercise test (177.8 ± 2.3 beats• min–1
) compared to the first test
(181.9 ± 2.4 beats• min–1
) for both recovery conditions (p = 0.039;
power = 0.56) but was not significantly affected by either recov-
ery treatment (l" Table 1). However, a main effect for condition
showed a significantly lower HRpeak for the CWI treatment over
both exercise tests (178.1 ± 2.6 beats• min–1
) compared to that of
the control treatment (181.7 ± 2.0 beats• min–1
; p = 0.036;
power = 0.58).
Blood variables
A lack of peripheral blood flow following CWI made it difficult to
obtain blood samples from all subjects at all time intervals.
Therefore, data from nine and twelve subjects were analysed
for pH and lactate, respectively. There was a significant main ef-
fect for time on blood pH. Post hoc analysis showed that pH sig-
nificantly decreased following the first exercise test (7.11 ± 0.04),
significantly increased after the recovery treatments (7.31 ±
0.04) and the final passive rest (7.35 ± 0.03) before a second sig-
nificant decrease following the second exercise test (7.06 ± 0.06;
p < 0.001; power = 1.00). A statistical trend for a significant main
effect for condition suggested a significantly lower blood pH
with the CWI recovery (7.13 ± 0.07) compared to the control re-
covery (7.28 ± 0.01; p = 0.052; power = 0.52). However, the inter-
action results showed no significant effect of recovery condition
on blood pH (power = 0.54; l" Fig. 2).
A significant main effect for time showed that blood lactate sig-
nificantly increased following the first exercise test (18.8 ±
0.8 mmol• L–1
), then significantly decreased following the active
warm-down (13.9 ± 1.2 mmol• L–1
), the recovery treatments
(8.5 ± 0.8 mmol• L–1
) and the final passive rest (6.3 ± 0.6 mmol•
L–1
) before a further significant increase following the second ex-
ercise test (17.0 ± 0.7 mmol• L–1
; p < 0.001; power = 1.00). A sig-
nificant interaction effect revealed that blood lactate was signif-
icantly lower for the CWI condition following the second exer-
cise test compared to the control (p < 0.001; power = 1.00;
l" Fig. 3).
Core temperature and thermal discomfort
Core temperature significantly increased (p = 0.015; power =
0.76) from 36.56 ± 0.088C at the commencement of CWI to
36.77 ± 0.178C at completion of immersion, which was not sig-
Table 1 Peak power, total work, time to peak power, RPE and HRpeak data for
each recovery condition during exercise tests 1 and 2
Variable Control Cold water immersion
Peak power (W• kg–1
)
Test 1 14.8 ± 0.7 14.8 ± 0.8
Test 2 14.5 ± 0.7 13.7 ± 0.7*
Total work (J• kg–1
)
Test 1 311.3 ± 16.0 310.7 ± 14.6
Test 2 315.1 ± 15.4 297.6 ± 13.8*
Time to peak power (s)
Test 1 4.4 ± 0.3 4.3 ± 0.2
Test 2 4.0 ± 0.2 4.3 ± 0.3
RPE
Test 1 17.2 ± 0.3 17.2 ± 0.4
Test 2 17.5 ± 0.4 17.3 ± 0.4
HRpeak (bpm)
Test 1 183.2 ± 2.5 180.6 ± 2.9
Test 2 180.1 ± 1.9 175.5 ± 3.1
Values are mean ± SE. RPE = rating of perceived exertion; HRpeak = peak heart rate;
* significantly lower than all other values
Fig. 2 Blood pH values during the control and cold water immersion con-
ditions (n = 9). Post-ex 1 = postexercise test 1; Post-rec = post-recovery;
Pre-ex 2 = prior to second exercise test; Post-ex 2 = postexercise test 2.
Fig. 3 Blood lactate concentrations during the control and cold water im-
mersion conditions (n = 12). * Significantly lower than the corresponding
value for the control condition. Post-ex 1 = postexercise test 1; Post-
WD = post-warm down; post-rec = post-recovery; Pre-ex 2 = prior to sec-
ond exercise test; post-ex 2 = postexercise test 2.
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Crowe MJ et al. Cold Water Recovery… Int J Sports Med 2007; 28: 994–998
Physiology & Biochemistry

4. nificantly different for the same time period in the control con-
dition (36.07 ± 0.158C to 36.35 ± 0.188C; n = 10).
The thermal discomfort rating was high (3.9 ± 0.2) upon initial
submersion in the cold water bath but was significantly de-
creased by the end of the bath (2.0 ± 0.2; p < 0.001; power =
1.00).
Discussion
!
The results of the current study showed that anaerobic perfor-
mance was negatively affected by CWI recovery when perfor-
mance tests were one hour apart. The main findings were a sig-
nificant decrease in peak power, total work and blood lactate
concentration after CWI recovery compared to the passive rest
control. Furthermore, peak exercise HR was significantly lower
after CWI compared to the control. Therefore, the hypothesis
that CWI recovery would improve performance was not upheld.
Adequate recovery between events/games and between training
sessions is essential for optimal performance and many elite ath-
letes employ CWI believing it will enhance recovery. Little re-
search exists to support or dispute the use of CWI in recovery.
The negative effects of CWI shown in the current study support
previous findings [13], where maximum and average power sig-
nificantly decreased when maximal 30-s cycle sprints were sep-
arated by 15 min of CWI (128C) compared to passive rest. How-
ever, few athletes would use CWI with only 15 min between
events. The results of the Schniepp et al. [13] and current studies
indicate that athletes need to consider the timing of events
when deciding whether or not to employ CWI recovery. It is
likely that exposure to cold water caused peripheral vasocon-
striction and a decrease in blood flow to the prime mover
muscles in both the current study and that of Schniepp et al.
[13]. Theoretically, this decrease in muscle blood flow and tem-
perature has been suggested to cause an anti-inflammatory ef-
fect to aid muscle recovery [19]. However, when the athlete
must compete again within a short time of using CWI, this de-
crease in muscle blood flow and temperature could be detrimen-
tal to performance, even when another warm-up is performed.
Decreased muscle temperature and decreased core and muscle
temperatures have been shown to significantly decrease muscle
strength and power [2,8,10] and exercise heart rate [1], respec-
tively. A significant decrease in peak exercise heart rate also oc-
curred with CWI in the current study. The negative effects ob-
served in the current study indicate that athletes need to allow
sufficient time for muscle re-warming if CWI is employed be-
tween events. However, the time required between CWI and
subsequent performance is unclear. Cold water immersion
(15 min,158C) has previously been reported to enhance recovery
for intermittent cycling compared to passive rest when 24 hours
elapsed between performance tests [9]. However, these findings
need to be interpreted cautiously as a Bonferroni correction was
not applied with the use of multiple statistical comparisons.
The blood testing results of the current study also suggest a neg-
ative effect of CWI on recovery. The peak postexercise blood lac-
tate concentrations showed a significant decrease following CWI
when compared to the first exercise test and the control tests.
This effect was most likely the result of the significant decrease
in peak power and total work [17] in the exercise test following
CWI. The blood pH data showed no significant difference be-
tween the CWI and control recovery conditions. Blood and
muscle pH may provide more valuable information on recovery
compared to blood lactate as lactic acid has recently been shown
to have little role in muscle fatigue [11]. Therefore, future recov-
ery studies should further examine pH changes within the
muscle and blood.
Very few of the subjects had used a cold water bath prior to par-
ticipation in this study, which may explain their high ratings of
thermal discomfort upon initial exposure to the cold water.
However, this discomfort abated over the 15-min period to
slightly uncomfortable immediately before exiting the bath. This
reduction in thermal discomfort is most likely due to the pain
numbing sensation associated with cold exposure, which is one
of the suggested therapeutic benefits of cryotherapy [19].
Although not formally recorded, many of the subjects were shiv-
ering during CWI. This shivering response may explain the small
but significant increase in core body temperature during CWI.
However, a similar increase in core temperature occurred during
the control condition over the same time period. Therefore, it is
more likely that exercise (warm-up, exercise test, and active
warm-down) caused the increase in core temperature in both re-
covery conditions.
In addition to the immediate effects of CWI on performance, ath-
letes and coaches need to consider the long-term effects of cold
water recovery on training adaptations. A recent study [18] re-
ported that training adaptations, for both resistance and endur-
ance training, were reduced when CWI was utilised for recovery
compared to passive rest. This is an important preliminary study,
which has implications for the use of CWI in recovery from daily
training.
Future studies into the use of cryotherapy in recovery treat-
ments should further investigate the long-term effects of CWI
on the training response. In addition, little is understood of the
mechanisms underlying the effects of cryotherapy on recovery.
Suggested mechanisms include a reduction in oedema if muscle
damage has occurred [19], possible increases in intracellular pH
[19] and a decrease in nerve transmission speed resulting in de-
creased pain perception [16]. Further research is required to
understand these mechanisms and clarify the types of exercise
that could benefit from cryotherapy. The exercise test utilised
should also be carefully considered. Recovery from the 30-s
maximal cycling test in the control condition of the current
study was complete within the one-hour time period. Further
information could be gained from studies where the control con-
dition did not result in full recovery prior to the next exercise
session.
In conclusion, the use of CWI for recovery from anaerobic exer-
cise was associated with a significant decrease in peak power, to-
tal work and postexercise lactate concentrations when com-
pared to passive rest recovery. Athletes participating in high-in-
tensity, short duration exercise should be cautious about using
CWI for recovery when events are separated by short periods of
time.
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