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Cold Showers?!
Wokka mate
Posts: 16
in General Chat
Right, so I've just got back from my "Saturday Long Run" and after cleaning up I sprayed my calfs with freezing cold water from the shower head ala Paula Radcliffe. Now I've been doing this after runs for a while now and I just realised I don't know why!
I'd heard rumours that it forces the blood to the surface and helps flush lactic acid from your system, but the mountain leader side of me says that blood goes AWAY from the surface when the skin is cold, to keep your core temperature up and keep hypothermia at bay.
So is there some reason why this is good for you or am I just inflicting unnessecary pain on myself? [&:]
I'd heard rumours that it forces the blood to the surface and helps flush lactic acid from your system, but the mountain leader side of me says that blood goes AWAY from the surface when the skin is cold, to keep your core temperature up and keep hypothermia at bay.
So is there some reason why this is good for you or am I just inflicting unnessecary pain on myself? [&:]
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To increase muscle mass you over work the muscle to rupture individual muscle fibres (this is what I remember from college years ago). These muscle fibres then repair and create more muscle mass. To stop the bleeding in the muscle faster after one of these work outs they jump into an ice bath.
I do know that a good massage after each run gets rid of lactic acid better than most other methods. (you don't have to have someone else massage your calves but I find a beautiful Swedish nurse in a bikini works best)
Good luck and I hope this is a little help.