What Order To Cold Plunge, Exercise, And Sauna In

When you work out, you want to induce microinflammation. You’re breaking down muscles so you can build them up stronger. The muscle fibers tear a little, and that’s how you get gains and build lean muscle mass.

If you're wondering what to do before your workout, I would suggest you do a cold plunge before exercising. A cold shower would work well, too. Do that first thing in the morning, then allow your body to warm up afterwards. Cold-induced vasodilation, or the widening of blood vessels, will increase your blood flow, which is a great lead-in to your workout.

Do some stretching, then get your workout in. Following your workout, head for the sauna. I personally have an mPulse infrared sauna from Sunlighten that I love. If you’re interested in getting one yourself, use the code DrWillCole when you purchase to get a discount of up to $600.

You don’t have to use the sauna afterwards. It can be done pre- or post-workout because the heat facilitates the maintenance of the workout benefits. The benefits of working out and sitting in the sauna are congruent, so group them together when you can.

Why You Shouldn’t Follow A Workout With A Cold Plunge

I get it; a workout makes you all sweaty, and a cold plunge might sound pretty nice. Here’s why you shouldn’t: it can have a negative effect on your muscle gains. Even a cold shower could end up compromising some of the muscle-building benefits of your workout, so I wouldn’t recommend that.

If you were to do a cold plunge right after a workout, you wouldn’t be able to maintain the micro-inflamed state I mentioned earlier that is necessary to benefit from the workout. I try to put at least 6-8 hours between my workout and any kind of cold plunge. If you have muscle-building as your main workout goal, you might want to consider making that window of time even longer.

Now, there could be one exception to this guidance. If you’re an endurance athlete who isn’t looking to build any muscle, but your main goal is to calm inflammation or working through an injury from exercise, then a cold plunge after a workout is fine. You’re doing it therapeutically to calm the inflammation from an injury, and that can definitely help you feel better.

You can even utilize your cold plunge on rest days, to make sure you don’t compromise any benefits of working out. I do them every day in my Plunge tub. If you use the code drwillcole at checkout, you can get $150 off an at-home cold plunge tub.

READ MORE: Is Cold Therapy Worth It? A Functional Medicine Guide To Cold Plunges, Cryotherapy + More