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Should you take an ice bath or a sauna after training, and does either cost you gains?

Ice Bath or Sauna After a Workout? What the Trials Show

Reviewed · 9 sources · By Anthony Falcone

The short answer: If you lift to build muscle, skip the ice bath straight after: in a meta-analysis of 8 trials, muscle grew less when people sat in cold water after every session. After cardio or HIIT, a regular ice bath (cold plunge) neither helped nor hurt fitness gains, and it eases soreness a little. The sauna has been studied less: in small trials it eased next-day soreness, and over 8 weeks it added fitness and lowered blood pressure on top of exercise.1,2,5,6,3,7,8

Before you start

  • If you have heart disease, high or low blood pressure, take blood-pressure or heart medication, or have ever fainted in heat or cold, ask your doctor before using an ice bath or a sauna.
  • Pregnancy, Raynaud's, cold allergy or nerve problems in the hands and feet are reasons to check with a doctor first. Never combine either with alcohol, and never use an ice bath alone.
  • This guide is for healthy adults who train. Children and teenagers are outside it.
  • 8 trials pooled: muscle grew less when an ice bath followed every lifting session1
  • 17% vs none growth in fast-twitch muscle fibres over 12 weeks: active cool-down vs ice bath4
  • 0 differences in fitness or muscle markers after 5 weeks of HIIT with or without an ice bath5
  • 11–15 °C, 11–15 min the ice-bath range that eased soreness most in a meta-analysis3
  • −1.1% vs −5.0% jump height 14 hours after training: infrared sauna vs sitting at room temperature7
  • −8.0 mmHg systolic blood pressure after 8 weeks of exercise plus sauna, compared with exercise alone8

Ice bath after lifting: the muscle-growth problem

A 2024 meta-analysis pooled 8 randomised trials in which people did strength training with or without cold-water immersion after every session, in water of 10–15 °C for 10–20 minutes. Lifting alone grew muscle by a small but clear amount. With the ice bath added, growth was smaller and less certain, and the direct comparison favoured lifting without cold water, with a 95.7% probability that the ice bath really did reduce growth.1

The size of the loss is modest. People still built muscle with the ice bath, just less of it, and the review found no sign that being trained or untrained changed that.1

The longest trial ran for 12 weeks. Physically active men trained their legs twice a week, then spent 10 minutes either in cold water or cycling gently. Strength and muscle mass rose more with the gentle cycling, and fast-twitch fibres grew by 17% in that group but not in the cold-water group.4,1

Strength follows the same pattern. A 2021 meta-analysis of 8 studies found that regular cold-water immersion during strength training reduced gains in maximum strength, strength endurance and explosive efforts. A 2026 umbrella review of 15 meta-analyses came to the same view: used regularly after lifting, cold water impaired strength and muscle gains.2,6

Cold plunge after HIIT or cardio

Endurance training looks different. The same 2021 meta-analysis found no effect of regular cold-water immersion on endurance results such as time trials or maximal aerobic power.2

A 2026 trial checked it inside the muscle. Sixteen untrained men did interval running three times a week for 5 weeks; nine of them sat waist-deep in water at about 11 °C straight after every session. Everyone got fitter, and muscle biopsies showed the same changes in both groups: the ice bath neither added to the gains nor took anything away.5

The authors' conclusion: an ice bath can't be recommended as a way to get more from training, but it remains a reasonable tool for short-term relief such as soreness.5

So, cold plunge vs HIIT: they do different jobs. The intervals are what build fitness; a cold plunge afterwards neither added to those gains nor took them away. A 2026 umbrella review of 15 meta-analyses (161 studies) agrees: regular cold-water immersion had no positive effect on endurance adaptations, and endurance performance was better only within about an hour of the plunge, with no benefit later. Its authors rated the overall quality of those meta-analyses low to critically low.5,6

Does an ice bath help soreness, and how long should you stay in?

A little. A meta-analysis of 9 randomised trials with 169 people found cold-water immersion slightly better than sitting still for muscle soreness, both straight after and a day or two later. The exercise was mostly running, team sport, intervals and jumping, not lifting.3

The authors concluded that water of 11–15 °C for 11–15 minutes worked best. Colder water did no better, and the one study that used 5 °C for 20 minutes came out worse than sitting still. Even in the best case they estimate soreness fell by only about 5%.3

Sauna after a workout: what it does

In a randomised crossover trial, 16 male basketball players did a heavy strength and jump session, then sat for 20 minutes either in an infrared sauna (air at about 43 °C) or at room temperature. Fourteen hours later, jump height had dropped by 1.1% after the sauna and by 5.0% after sitting, and muscle soreness was lower after the sauna. Sprint time and leg-press strength didn't differ.7

The heat is a stress while you sit in it: heart rate averaged 85 beats a minute in the sauna against 72 at room temperature. Overnight heart rate, heart rate variability and sleep were the same after both.7

The same authors note that earlier studies of traditional, hotter saunas found lower strength for 24 hours afterwards and slower swimming the next morning. If you have a hard session or a race the next day, that is worth keeping in mind.7

Regular sauna after training: fitness and heart

In a Finnish trial, 47 inactive adults aged around 49 with at least one heart-disease risk factor exercised three times a week for 8 weeks. One group then sat in a sauna for 15 minutes after every session, starting at 65 °C and going up 5 °C every two weeks. Compared with exercise alone, the sauna group gained 2.7 mL/kg/min more in fitness, had 8.0 mmHg lower systolic blood pressure and lower total cholesterol.8

It is not a fix for everything. In a report from the same research group with the same design (38 people analysed), adding the sauna gave no extra benefit on any heart rate variability measure over exercise alone.9

None of these sauna trials measured muscle growth over months. They looked at next-day recovery, fitness and heart markers, so whether a regular sauna changes muscle gains is still open.7,8

Sauna or ice bath: which to choose

If muscle growth or strength is the goal, the ice bath is the one with a known cost when it follows every lifting session. The sauna trials showed no such cost on the outcomes they measured.1,2,7

If you mainly do cardio or intervals and like the cold, a regular ice bath didn't change fitness gains, and it may take the edge off soreness.2,5,3

Timing is the open question. Every lifting trial put people in cold water within about 15 minutes of training. Nobody knows yet whether an ice bath hours later, or only now and then, has the same effect. The review authors advise skipping it straight after lifting and thinking about how often and when you use it.1

What to do with this

  • Building muscle or strength? Don't take an ice bath straight after lifting. Every trial that showed the cost used it within about 15 minutes of training.1,2
  • If you like the cold, put it after cardio or on days you don't lift; after interval running it didn't change fitness gains.5,2
  • For soreness, aim for water of 11–15 °C for 11–15 minutes. Colder or longer didn't work better.3
  • A sauna after training is the gentler option: 15–20 minutes was what the trials used, and over 8 weeks it added fitness and lowered blood pressure on top of exercise.7,8
  • Before a hard session or race the next day, think twice about a hot traditional sauna: in earlier studies it lowered strength for 24 hours and slowed swimming the next morning.7

How sure is this?

  • The ice-bath trials are small and short, and nearly all men. In the muscle-growth meta-analysis, all 8 trials were in adults aged 20–26, 7 included only men, only one ran longer than 8 weeks, and by the authors' own quality tool none was of good quality.1
  • Several of the muscle-growth trials only trained small muscles such as the forearm or grip, which is not how most people lift. Removing them changed the result little but made it less certain.1
  • The soreness meta-analysis rated 6 of its 9 trials as poor quality, and it gives the best water temperature as 10–15 °C in its summary and 11–15 °C in its results and conclusion. We use the conclusion.3
  • For two studies we could read only the summary: the 12-week lifting trial and the 2021 strength and endurance meta-analysis. We use only the numbers in those summaries.4,2
  • The HIIT trial's summary gives the immersion as 15 minutes and its methods as 11 minutes, so we leave the time out. The 2026 umbrella review rated the quality of its 15 meta-analyses low to critically low and the certainty of the evidence low to very low.5,6
  • The sauna trials are small too. The infrared study had 16 male basketball players and one session; the 8-week trial was mostly middle-aged women, had no sauna-only group and didn't control diet.7,8
  • Industry ties: the infrared-sauna study was supported in part by Harvia, a sauna maker; its authors declare no conflict of interest. The other studies we could read in full (the muscle-growth and soreness meta-analyses, the HIIT trial, the umbrella review and the 8-week sauna trial) declare no conflicts of interest.7,1,3,5,6,8

Common questions

Is an ice bath after a workout good or bad?

It depends on the workout. After lifting, a regular ice bath meant less muscle and strength gain; after cardio or HIIT it made no difference to fitness, and it eases soreness slightly.1,2,5,3

Should you do a cold plunge after HIIT?

It won't cost you fitness, but it won't add any. In a 5-week trial, a cold plunge after every HIIT session left fitness and muscle markers the same as no plunge, and a 2026 umbrella review found no positive effect on endurance adaptations.5,6

Does an ice bath after a workout stop muscle growth?

It doesn't stop it, but it slows it. In a meta-analysis of 8 trials, people still built muscle with an ice bath after every session, just less than without one.1

How long should you stay in an ice bath after a workout?

For soreness, a meta-analysis found 11–15 minutes in water of 11–15 °C worked best. A study that used 5 °C for 20 minutes did worse than simply sitting still.3

Is a sauna after a workout good for muscle growth?

It hasn't been measured in these trials. A post-workout infrared sauna improved next-day jump recovery and soreness, and regular sauna after exercise added fitness gains, but muscle growth wasn't tested.7,8

Should I do a sauna or an ice bath after a workout?

After lifting, the sauna: the ice bath is the one with a known cost to muscle gains. After cardio, either is fine; neither cost fitness gains in the trials.1,5,8

Sources

  1. Piñero A, Burke R, Augustin F, et al. Throwing cold water on muscle growth: A systematic review with meta-analysis of the effects of postexercise cold water immersion on resistance training-induced hypertrophy. European Journal of Sport Science, 2024. Meta-analysis. doi.org/10.1002/ejsc.12074
  2. Malta ES, Dutra YM, Broatch JR, Bishop DJ, Zagatto AM. The Effects of Regular Cold-Water Immersion Use on Training-Induced Changes in Strength and Endurance Performance: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine, 2021. Meta-analysis. doi.org/10.1007/s40279-020-01362-0
  3. Machado AF, Ferreira PH, Micheletti JK, et al. Can Water Temperature and Immersion Time Influence the Effect of Cold Water Immersion on Muscle Soreness? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine, 2016. Meta-analysis. doi.org/10.1007/s40279-015-0431-7
  4. Roberts LA, Raastad T, Markworth JF, et al. Post-exercise cold water immersion attenuates acute anabolic signalling and long-term adaptations in muscle to strength training. Journal of Physiology, 2015. Randomised trial. doi.org/10.1113/JP270570
  5. Malta ES, Neto JCR, Beck WR, Cornachione AS, et al. Regular Cold-Water Immersion Following HIIT Does Not Affect Intramuscular Adaptation Markers, Inflammatory Profile or Endurance Performance. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2026. Randomised trial. doi.org/10.1111/sms.70241
  6. Berjisian E, Miraftabi H, Ihsan M, Homer KA, Kendall K, Roberts L, Abbiss C. Strategic Application of Post-exercise Cold-Water Immersion to Enhance Performance Recovery and Adaptation: An Umbrella Review of 15 Published Systematic Reviews with Meta-analysis. Sports Medicine - Open, 2026. Review. doi.org/10.1186/s40798-026-01116-8
  7. Ahokas EK, Ihalainen JK, Hanstock HG, Savolainen E, Kyröläinen H. A post-exercise infrared sauna session improves recovery of neuromuscular performance and muscle soreness after resistance exercise training. Biology of Sport, 2023. Randomised trial. doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2023.119289
  8. Lee E, Kolunsarka I, Kostensalo J, et al. Effects of regular sauna bathing in conjunction with exercise on cardiovascular function: a multi-arm, randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 2022. Randomised trial. doi.org/10.1152/ajpregu.00076.2022
  9. Lee E, Ketelhut S, Wiklund P, Kostensalo J, et al. Regular postexercise sauna bathing does not improve heart rate variability: A multi-arm randomized controlled trial. Physiological Reports, 2025. Randomised trial. doi.org/10.14814/phy2.70449

The Cold & Heat Exposure Protocol covers a 4-level cold exposure progression, a sauna protocol, a contrast therapy schedule, and safety guidelines and contraindications, with 7 peer-reviewed references. If building muscle is the goal, the Hypertrophy Protocol adds 3 training split options (3, 4 or 5 days a week), a mechanical tension guide, nutrition timing and recovery. Cold & Heat Exposure Protocol · Hypertrophy Protocol

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