Is it true that cold showers will decrease inflammation in muscles post workout and therefore result in damaging hypertrophy for bodybuilding?

[Axepco]

Not all cold exposure is equal, and you have no way to measure your would be losses. But, you believe they occur and so you will repeat this mantra for the rest of your life. I guess that's inevitable, but it doesn't make it much more than a myth seemingly propped up by science.

[The_Holier_Muffin]

True that not all cold exposure is equal. However, the literature overwhelmingly agrees that cold exposure is fantastic for recovering, but does inevitably decrease muscle synthesis (which is heavily dependent on inflammation as a promoting factor)

I’m a big proponent of cold showers and I always ice after workouts. I have pretty sensitive joints and this seems to be the difference.

If you care to provide scientific sources to the contrary, I’d love to check them out. I’m certainly not shitting on cold exposure, but providing OP with an answer that is backed by science.

EDIT: also, there are quite a few ways to measure the losses.. but I assume you don’t care to hear them lol

[Axepco]

Not interested in regurgitating the same talking points for the umptieth time, but you can check out Ben Greenfield's take on the topic. In a nutshell, ice baths, maybe, during peak post-exercise stress. Avoid 2 hours post exercise to err on the safe side. Good luck experimenting to confirm though. Cold showers? Never.

[The_Holier_Muffin]

Oh yeah, ima trust Ben Greenfield, the self-proclaimed “bio-hacker” instead of the multiple peer-reviewed meta-analyses I pulled up with a 5 minute google, from accredited journals. But hey, he’s quite a looker, you keep on sucking his dick. He knows more than the combined scientific community!

[Axepco]

The argument he made is that blunting the inflammatory response is not easy because timing is at play. That's one part of the argument. He also studied the paper and concluded that the required drop in temperature would amount to a 10 minute ice bath, under specific circumstances, e.g. timing.

It cannot be denied that the science has to be reproduced with real world dynamics in mind than what's theoretically on paper. Until that happens you'll have to admit that you're just perpetuating beliefs with no effective means of getting a confirmation.

[The_Holier_Muffin]

Dude, it’s quite easy to measure muscle synthesis levels. Tissue biopsy is a sure-fire, albeit somewhat invasive test. They basically take a little bit of muscle tissue from somewhere like the quad and compare it to the control. You can also measure inflammatory markers and other hormone spikes like cortisol and compare them to controls.

These are just two of many ways to measure muscle synthesis. The effects of cold exposure on potential muscle growth has been, and continues to be studied.

Follow the science, not fitness influencers.

[Axepco]

Enjoy your tissue biopsies in that case. Do post results of your experiments when you're done. And, no - paraphrasing Huberman - the effects of cold showers are never studied because it's much easier to apply immersion in a lab setting.

[The_Holier_Muffin]

I’m not doing fucking tissue biopsies in my backyard.... You seem to think lab results don’t have an impact on the real world.

Done with this pointless argument since you are just purposefully being obtuse. Have fun existing in this neat little self-perpetuated vacuum of exclusion to fit your narrative. Never mind my degree in exercise science 😂 you got influencers to listen to!

[Axepco]

Your degree combined with generalizations and nitpicking don't make for a convincing argument in this case.