Recovery Strategies: Part 3

Fitness
Written by Larry Betz

Cold Plunges, Contrast Therapy, and Cryotherapy

By Larry Betz | Prepared Not Paranoid https://www.preparednotparanoid.com/

Updated November 9, 2026

Heat helps you relax. Cold gets your full attention.

In Part 1 and Part 2, we covered heat. Now we go the other direction.

Cold plunges, also called cold water immersion or ice baths, have exploded in popularity. From easing muscle soreness to building mental toughness, cold exposure can be a powerful tool. But it's also the recovery tool where timing and safety matter most.

Cold Plunges: Embracing Discomfort

Physical Benefits

When you get into cold water, your blood vessels narrow, your skin and muscle temperature drop, and your body slows down. As you rewarm afterward, circulation returns.

  • Less soreness. Reviews of the research show cold water immersion reduces how sore you feel after hard exercise compared with simply resting. The best results in studies came at about 52 to 59°F for roughly 10 to 15 minutes, but you don't need that much to feel the effects.

  • Short-term pain relief. Cold numbs nerve endings, which can temporarily ease pain.

  • A big lift in alertness. In one study, sitting in 57°F water for an hour raised norepinephrine about 530% and dopamine about 250%. Many people describe feeling energized, focused, and in a better mood after a plunge.

What about immunity? Cold is not a proven immune booster. In one large Dutch study, people who ended their daily shower with 30 to 90 seconds of cold called in sick about 29% less often, though they weren't actually sick fewer days.

One Important Exception: Building Muscle

If your goal is getting stronger or building muscle, don't plunge right after lifting. In a 12-week study, men who took a 10-minute cold bath after each workout gained less strength and muscle than men who did an easy active cooldown instead. The cold appears to blunt some of the signals your muscles use to adapt.

The fix: Plunge on non-lifting days, or wait several hours after strength training. Save the post-workout plunge for when you need to recover fast between games, events, or hard back-to-back days.

Mental Toughness and Discomfort Training

This is where cold plunging really shines for me. Cold water pushes you outside your comfort zone and asks you to stay calm while your body is telling you to get out. Learning to breathe steadily through that first shock is practice for staying composed under pressure in the rest of your life.

That first gasp is called the cold shock response. It fades as you get used to the cold. Slow, controlled breathing helps you get through it.

A serious warning about breathwork: Some people use breathing methods like the Wim Hof Method, with rounds of deep breathing and breath-holding. Never do breath-holding or hyperventilating in or near water, including cold plunges, tubs, or pools. It can cause a blackout without warning, and it has led to drowning deaths, even among strong swimmers. The Wim Hof organization itself warns against it. If you do breathwork, do it on dry land, well before you get in.

Temperature, Time, and How to Start

  • Water temperature: about 50 to 59°F.

  • Beginners: start with 1 to 2 minutes and build up over time.

  • Experienced: 5 to 10 minutes is a common target.

  • Enter slowly, keep your head above water, and stay seated or hold on until your breathing settles.

  • Rewarm gradually with a warm shower, dry layers, or gentle movement.

Cold Plunge Safety

  • Never plunge alone, especially when you're starting out. Have someone within arm's reach.

  • Get out right away if you feel numbness, dizziness, confusion, or shortness of breath.

  • Talk to your doctor first if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure. Cold shock spikes heart rate and blood pressure in the first few minutes.

  • Skip it or check with your doctor if you have Raynaud's, cold sensitivity, neuropathy, or are pregnant.

Choosing a Cold Plunge Setup

Portable cold pod. Compact, budget-friendly, and easy to set up almost anywhere. You cool it yourself with ice or frozen water jugs, which takes effort and freezer space, but it's an inexpensive way to start. Example: Portable cold pod on Amazon

Plunge tub with a water chiller. A built-in chiller holds the water at a steady temperature with no ice. It costs more and takes more space, but the convenience makes regular use much easier. Example: Chiller-equipped plunge tub on Amazon

Both deliver the same cold exposure. The difference is convenience and how often you'll realistically use it.

Contrast Therapy: Alternating Cold and Heat

Contrast therapy means switching between cold and hot, such as moving from a cold plunge to a sauna or hot tub. The cold narrows blood vessels and the heat opens them back up.

What the research says: A review of the studies found contrast therapy eases soreness better than doing nothing, and about as well as a cold plunge alone, stretching, or compression. It's a good option if you enjoy it and have access to both.

Many people also find the back-and-forth leaves them feeling calm but focused, and the discomfort of switching extremes is great practice for staying composed.

A Practical Contrast Routine

  • Cold: 1 to 3 minutes at about 50 to 59°F (start short if you're new)

  • Heat: 5 to 10 minutes in a sauna, or a hot tub at 104°F or below

  • Repeat 3 to 4 rounds

Most research used shorter rounds, about 1 minute cold and 1 to 3 minutes hot, so treat this as a practical routine rather than the exact research protocol.

Finish cold or warm? Many people like to finish cold for alertness. Finish warm if it's evening and you want to sleep. No study shows one ending is better.

Contrast Therapy Safety

  • Hydrate before, during, and after.

  • Build tolerance slowly, especially with the cold.

  • Stop if you feel dizzy, numb, or overly uncomfortable.

  • Talk to your doctor first if you have a heart condition, blood pressure issues, neuropathy, or are pregnant.

Cryotherapy: Extreme Cold Air

Whole-body cryotherapy means stepping into a chamber of ultra-cold, dry air, typically about -166 to -220°F (-110 to -140°C), for 2 to 3 minutes. The cold is usually produced with liquid nitrogen or refrigeration. You wear minimal clothing plus dry gloves, socks, slippers, and ear coverings to protect against frostbite.

What the Research Says

People report less soreness, more energy, and a better mood after sessions. But the evidence is thin:

  • A Cochrane review found too little good evidence that whole-body cryotherapy reduces muscle soreness. The studies were few and small.

  • The FDA has not cleared any cryotherapy device to treat any medical condition, and it has warned about the risks.

  • Claims about arthritis, mood, skin, and metabolism rest on small or early studies.

If you enjoy it and can afford it, it can be part of your routine. Just know that a cold plunge delivers similar benefits with more research behind it, at a fraction of the cost.

Cryotherapy Safety

  • Never use a chamber alone. Choose a staffed facility.

  • Keep your head above the nitrogen vapor in open-top units. Nitrogen can lower the oxygen you breathe and cause fainting.

  • Wear dry protective gear. Frostbite, burns, and eye injuries have been reported.

  • Check with your doctor first if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, cold sensitivity, or are pregnant.

The Prepared Protector never plunges alone. Cold shock hits hardest in the first minute, and that's exactly when you want someone within arm's reach. Start short, keep breathwork on dry land, and if a family member wants to try it, be the person standing next to the tub until they're comfortable.

Ask Yourself

  • What's my goal right now: building strength, or recovering fast between hard days?

  • Do I have someone with me when I plunge?

  • Am I using breathwork safely, on dry land only?

Remember

Cold is a powerful tool when you use it with a plan. Start short, never plunge alone, never hold your breath in water, and if you're building muscle, keep the plunge away from your lifting sessions.

Get Started Today

Get my free Dynamic Warm-Up Guide, a 16-move, head-to-toe warm-up with a video demo for every move. Warm up before you train, recover after. Get it here: Dynamic Warm-Up Guide

Be ready for more than the gym: My free Emergency Preparedness bundle includes the Go Bag Checklist, the Mobile Command Center Checklist, and the First Aid and Trauma Checklist. [Get it here: LINK]

Go Deeper

The Family Safety Toolkit includes 20 ready-to-use checklists across home, family, travel, and preparedness, so your whole family has a plan. [Get the Toolkit here: LINK]

Coming soon: my complete fitness guide. Full programs for building strength, endurance, and mobility at home, plus simple weekly recovery routines that show you when to use heat, when to use cold, and how to time them around your training.

Tools I recommend: You'll find the cold pods, plunge tubs, and recovery gear I recommend in my Amazon store. https://link.amazon/B00AACEyH

Related reading:

References

Disclaimer

These suggestions are intended to help you and your family build awareness, confidence, and safer decision-making habits. No safety plan, checklist, or training can guarantee 100% protection. The goal is not to create fear, but to help guide families toward more informed, prepared, and practical safety decisions in everyday life. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Product mentions reflect my own experience.

This article is for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not a substitute for guidance from your physician. Cold exposure places real stress on the heart and body. Talk to your doctor before trying cold plunges, contrast therapy, or cryotherapy, especially if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, Raynaud's, neuropathy, or are pregnant. Never plunge alone, never practice breath-holding or hyperventilating in or near water, and skip the cold after drinking alcohol. Children and older adults lose body heat faster, so keep any cold exposure short, supervised, and cleared with their doctor first.

If someone becomes unresponsive, confused, or slips under the water, get them out and call 911.

Awareness gives you time. Time gives you options.

The Prepared Protector is someone who's decided that loving someone means being ready for them, not just hoping things go fine.

Prepared Not Paranoid. Protecting the Most Vulnerable Among Us.

Larry Betz https://www.sedonastrengthandmobility.com
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Recovery Strategies: Part 2
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Recovery Strategies: Part 4