Sports and psychical exercises are essentially strenuous. Preparing for the game requires some extra effort and physical activities. Do you usually plunge yourself in the ice water? Not necessarily. Well, it is necessary for athletes/players. Let’s see how does it actually work, also, what are the benefits of ice-bath are there to keep players fit.
Into Ice Water
Ice bath is a form of cryotherapy for sports players, athlete, and fitness enthusiasts. It is also formally called cold water immersion (CWI) or cold therapy.
Usually, they take it after putting in huge physical effort in exercise, games, and when it’s humid.
How Does It help?
When you immerse yourself into cold water, it helps you with mainly 5 things. Such as-
Eases Pain
When your body is sore and the muscles are burning after a thorough workout session ice-bath will give your body a great relief. Also, fundamentally, it is for making your body feel good.
Reduce Inflammations
Extensive exercise will put stress on your muscles. As a result, inflammations are inevitable. Ice-bath subsides inflammations and overall, helps you to recover readily.
Better Central Nervous System
Ice bath helps your central nervous system a big deal and it induces better sleep. You will be less fatigued. Also, it allows you to give your best in the upcoming workout session.
Relaxing In Heat and Humidity
You know how hot it feels in summer days when you are trying to exercise or playing a match somewhere. As an instant solution, ice-bath works best and helps you to relax easily.
Works The Vagus Nerve
Going through stressful situations now and then is an essential part of being an athlete/player. Ice bath requires a substantial amount of mental preparation because clearly, it doesn’t seem easy to get into ice water. So, when you take an ice-cold bath you are in a way training your vagus nerve and that enables you to handle stressful situations better way.
How To Take Ice Bath
If you are a player or an athlete, we have a thorough guide for below for taking for dunking you into ice-
Right Temperature
First of all, you have to get the temperature right. It needs to be within 10-14 degrees Celsius/ 50-59 degrees. If it’s more than the specified numbers, it won’t quite help you. It is cold in the ice water, we won’t deny that. But if it’s in an extreme condition, then it will cause you some additional critical damage to your body.
Right Timing
Players should take it after a huge physical activity. Also, it is said that, if player is fit half match is won. That’s why to become ready promptly for the next match/session this is what you should choose to do.
Duration
You should not be submerged in the ice-cold water for more than 10-15 minutes. This is the right duration that brings you by the expected result. Otherwise, the bath neither is simply no use!
Body Exposure
Practically, you can’t dive right in this specific water condition! Also, you should not put your whole body in the ice water abruptly. You are to take your body under the water gradually. So, that’s from the bottom to the neck area.
These are basically a bunch of do’s to take an accurate cold water immersion.
Why Should You Do It Properly?
Now, we will make you aware of some don’ts, because it’s necessary you know the practical details of this special kind of bath.
Longer Ice Bath
If you take the bath more than the allotted time, that will cause hypothermia. In other words, your body will start to lose heat at a rate; you will fall sick instead of attending as a fit player in a game or exercise session.
Low Body Temperature and Cardiac Arrest
When your body temperature drops readily your blood vessels contract and in a contracted blood vessel there’s low blood flow. That can leads to a cardiac arrest.
Prevailing Physical Conditions
If your body already has issues like- asthma, blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, you should be more careful with the bathing process.
To Summarize
It’s is true that ice bath will provide you with an instant fitness, but be wary of the potential dangers. Also, you should avoid taking it at home if you are unsure. In that case you can consult experts.