Cold shower or hot shower: which one to favor when you are athletic?

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Everyone likes it, and yet the shower divides. There are those who like it hot, and the most marginalized, who prefer it cold. We therefore help you to see more clearly between these two schools in order to choose the one that suits you best!

Before the shower

Before you slip underwater, you should know that a shower is ready! Indeed, after exercise, your body needs some time to lower its temperature and stop the phenomenon of sweating . Also, we advise you to wait about twenty minutes before showering: just enough time to do the stretches that you constantly put off, in fact! You can also take advantage of this time to hydrate yourself well, or even to eat because, in the thirty minutes following the workout, the calories you eat are immediately burned!

In addition, splashing out in your shower immediately after your workout is strongly discouraged . And for good reason, regardless of the temperature chosen, it hinders the body in its process of thermoregulation. While hot water will make you sweat harder while preventing your sweat from evaporating, cold water can cause thermal shock .

So, after twenty minutes of post-workout waiting, when the time comes to immerse yourself completely under the jet of water you have been waiting for, start your shower with lukewarm water… As for the temperature – hot or cold – to choose after a few minutes, we’ll tell you about it just below!

The cold shower for tonicity

Knowing the ice-water baths is already having a touch of Nordic culture. If our neighbors above are fans of the cold, it is because the latter is known, among other things, to strengthen the immune system of those who are exposed to it. By defending itself against the cold that “attacks” your skin, your body makes more white blood cells. Thus, the cold can be interesting for us, athletes, who are sometimes tired and more prone to minor colds and other winter inconveniences. In addition, cold water is a source of energy: it wakes up in the morning! It is also ideal for muscle recovery, reduction of muscle soreness, and for stimulating blood circulation, thus giving you an instant feeling of light legs ! It also seems important to us to note the major and recognized role that cryotherapy plays in the recovery of high-level athletes. In fact, the cold limits ligament and joint inflammation , in addition to soothing pain. (For sports we recommend proviron ) Finally, an advantage that has no link with sport, but no less significant, cold water has the virtue of tightening the pores and therefore preventing the appearance of fine lines: we have the supple and toned skin that we so long dreamed of!

The hot shower for relaxation

We certainly won’t teach you much by telling you that hot water is a source of relaxation and soothing. A few seconds under its flow are enough to end a busy day in the most beautiful way, and to prepare you for a new one! A pleasant hot shower helps relieve stress, release and soothe your tensions and muscle contractions, something you would not refuse after a training, a competition during which you gave the best of yourself. Also, after you sweat properly, your salt and dust covered skin will appreciate being cleaned with ease . In fact, hot water eliminates toxins and dilates the pores, thus promoting absorption by the skin of moisturizers and other masks that you apply during your cocooning moments!

Can we recap? After exercising, give yourself a twenty minute break, stretching, before getting into your shower. Start by washing yourself with lukewarm water before choosing the temperature that suits you: cold water for tone and recovery , hot water for relaxation and muscle soothing . And rather than being a fan of one or the other of these two showers, why not just alternate the two?

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