Championship season is the most physically demanding part of the season. Full weekends of back-to-back races and working on maintaining a taper can take a huge toll on a swimmer\u2019s body and mind. Often, swimmers look for the best ways to recover as quickly as possible in between races to gain an edge over their competitors. With so many recovery drinks and materials coming out, some swimmers choose to go the old-fashioned route: ice baths. However, some believe<\/a> that ice baths are actually detrimental to the performance of swimmers.<\/p>\n

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Photo Courtesy: twitter.com\/missyfranklin<\/p><\/div>\n
While ice baths seem to have been the go-to for athletes in the past, recently experts have begun to question whether this method is as effective as once thought. However, Men\u2019s Journal<\/em><\/a> – who backs the method of ice therapy – claims that taking an ice bath after a workout is important because it helps to flush metabolic waste products from your body by making your blood vessels constrict, relieving your muscles of exhaustion and pain. This allows you to be able to be ready for your next competition quicker.<\/p>\n
However, it seems that ice baths are not completely beneficial for athletes. According to recent studies, ice baths may have some negative effects on muscle development. While taking an ice bath is great for pain relief, the quick recovery of the muscles causes them to not be able to grow to their full potential. In order to build muscle and strength, you need to tear muscle down, which is what you do when you work out. After the workout, it is essential that the muscles heal on their own, because that is the best way for them to grow. By ice bathing after workouts, athletes are getting less out of their workouts.<\/p>\n
Jo Pavey<\/strong>, former Olympic runner, settled the debate<\/a> between hot versus ice baths. While some people think that because ice baths hurt muscle development they should take a heated bath, Pavey shoots this idea down. He claims that a hot bath can be useful a few days after the tough workout or race but not immediately after. So while heated baths can help with recovery, they are far from useful when it comes to quick<\/em> muscle recovery.<\/p>\n
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A post shared by Ryan Lochte (@ryanlochte)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n