The claim

“Ice baths after lifting weights blunt your muscle gains.”

Likely. In several trials, people who got into cold water right after their strength sessions for weeks built less muscle and strength, and three pooled analyses point the same way. Most studies put only the legs into water at about 10°C for 10 to 20 minutes.

Updated Sep 24, 2026 · 2 studies reviewed

The evidence points this way, and a careful reader should know where it runs thin.

People say it in places like these

Huberman Lab newsletter
Wait six to eight hours after strength training before you get in the cold.
See an example ↗
National Geographic
Brad Schoenfeld points to a meta-analysis that found cold plunges after lifting blunt muscle growth.
See an example ↗
Vox
Ice baths after exercise may blunt how your body adapts to training.
See an example ↗

The research found this

The best-known trial came from the University of Queensland in 2015. Twenty-one young men with at least a year of strength training completed 12 weeks of leg training twice a week.Source 1 · Randomized trialPost‐exercise cold water immersion attenuates acute anabolic signalling and long‐term adaptations in muscle to strength trainingRoberts LA, Raastad T, Markworth JF, et al.. The Journal of Physiology, 2015.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗ After each session they either sat with both legs in 10°C water up to the waist for 10 minutes or rode an exercise bike gently for 10 minutes. MRI scans showed the cycling group adding 309 grams of quadriceps muscle and the cold group adding 103 grams.

Strength moved the same way. The most weight the men could leg-press once rose by 201 kg with cycling and by 133 kg with cold water, and only the cycling group's type II (fast-twitch) muscle fibers grew.Source 1 · Randomized trialPost‐exercise cold water immersion attenuates acute anabolic signalling and long‐term adaptations in muscle to strength trainingRoberts LA, Raastad T, Markworth JF, et al.. The Journal of Physiology, 2015.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗ In another Australian trial, 16 men trained the whole body three times a week, and 15 minutes at 10°C held back the growth of their type II fibers. Their leg press strength improved about equally with or without the cold.Source 2 · Randomized trialCold water immersion attenuates anabolic signaling and skeletal muscle fiber hypertrophy, but not strength gain, following whole-body resistance trainingFyfe JJ, Broatch JR, Trewin AJ, et al.. Journal of Applied Physiology, 2019.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗

Three reviews have pooled the trials. Across 8 studies, cold water reduced gains in strength (a standardized effect size of −0.60) and in explosive performance, and it had no effect on the gains from endurance training.Source 3 · Meta-analysisThe Effects of Regular Cold-Water Immersion Use on Training-Induced Changes in Strength and Endurance Performance: A Systematic Review with Meta-AnalysisMalta ES, Dutra YM, Broatch JR, et al.. Sports Medicine, 2021.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗ A 2023 analysis of 10 studies with 170 people found a smaller strength effect of −0.23. It reached significance when only the trained limbs went into the water, and whole-body immersion made no significant difference.Source 4 · Meta-analysisEffects of post‐exercise cold‐water immersion on resistance training‐induced gains in muscular strength: a meta‐analysisGrgic J. European Journal of Sport Science, 2023.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗

The third, from 2024, focused on muscle size and used Bayesian statistics to estimate how likely an effect was. Training alone grew muscle by a standardized 0.36, and training with cold water by 0.14. The analysis put the probability that cold water reduces growth at 0.957.Source 5 · Meta-analysisThrowing cold water on muscle growth: A systematic review with meta‐analysis of the effects of postexercise cold water immersion on resistance training‐induced hypertrophyPiñero A, Burke R, Augustin F, et al.. European Journal of Sport Science, 2024.Read the paper ↗ Six of its eight studies used 10°C water, and five immersed only a limb.

Endurance training came through intact. A 2026 Brazilian trial had participants spend 15 minutes in 11.2°C water after interval sessions for five weeks, and the cold changed neither their aerobic fitness (VO2max) nor markers of muscle adaptation.Source 6 · Randomized trialRegular Cold‐Water Immersion Following HIIT Does Not Affect Intramuscular Adaptation Markers, Inflammatory Profile or Endurance PerformanceMalta ES, Neto JCR, Beck WR, et al.. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2026.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗

The dial reads 22°H for four reasons

How the reading adds up

4 + 6 + 4 + 8 = 22°H

EvidenceWhat kind of human evidence exists?
4/25
Randomized trials measured muscle size and strength over 4 to 12 weeks, and three reviews have pooled them.Source 3 · Meta-analysisThe Effects of Regular Cold-Water Immersion Use on Training-Induced Changes in Strength and Endurance Performance: A Systematic Review with Meta-AnalysisMalta ES, Dutra YM, Broatch JR, et al.. Sports Medicine, 2021.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗Source 4 · Meta-analysisEffects of post‐exercise cold‐water immersion on resistance training‐induced gains in muscular strength: a meta‐analysisGrgic J. European Journal of Sport Science, 2023.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗Source 5 · Meta-analysisThrowing cold water on muscle growth: A systematic review with meta‐analysis of the effects of postexercise cold water immersion on resistance training‐induced hypertrophyPiñero A, Burke R, Augustin F, et al.. European Journal of Sport Science, 2024.Read the paper ↗ The trials were small and mostly in young men.
ConsistencyHave other studies found the same thing?
6/25
Separate trials and pooled analyses found smaller gains after cold water.Source 1 · Randomized trialPost‐exercise cold water immersion attenuates acute anabolic signalling and long‐term adaptations in muscle to strength trainingRoberts LA, Raastad T, Markworth JF, et al.. The Journal of Physiology, 2015.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗Source 3 · Meta-analysisThe Effects of Regular Cold-Water Immersion Use on Training-Induced Changes in Strength and Endurance Performance: A Systematic Review with Meta-AnalysisMalta ES, Dutra YM, Broatch JR, et al.. Sports Medicine, 2021.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗Source 5 · Meta-analysisThrowing cold water on muscle growth: A systematic review with meta‐analysis of the effects of postexercise cold water immersion on resistance training‐induced hypertrophyPiñero A, Burke R, Augustin F, et al.. European Journal of Sport Science, 2024.Read the paper ↗ Whole-body immersion didn't significantly blunt strength in one analysis, and a trial found smaller muscle fiber growth with no loss of strength gain.Source 4 · Meta-analysisEffects of post‐exercise cold‐water immersion on resistance training‐induced gains in muscular strength: a meta‐analysisGrgic J. European Journal of Sport Science, 2023.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗Source 2 · Randomized trialCold water immersion attenuates anabolic signaling and skeletal muscle fiber hypertrophy, but not strength gain, following whole-body resistance trainingFyfe JJ, Broatch JR, Trewin AJ, et al.. Journal of Applied Physiology, 2019.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗
MagnitudeDoes the claim match the size of the effect?
4/25
Legs that got cold water still added 103 g of quadriceps muscle, against 309 g after light cycling, so “blunt” is the right word.Source 1 · Randomized trialPost‐exercise cold water immersion attenuates acute anabolic signalling and long‐term adaptations in muscle to strength trainingRoberts LA, Raastad T, Markworth JF, et al.. The Journal of Physiology, 2015.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗ The pooled effects on strength ranged from −0.23 to −0.60 in standardized units.Source 4 · Meta-analysisEffects of post‐exercise cold‐water immersion on resistance training‐induced gains in muscular strength: a meta‐analysisGrgic J. European Journal of Sport Science, 2023.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗Source 3 · Meta-analysisThe Effects of Regular Cold-Water Immersion Use on Training-Induced Changes in Strength and Endurance Performance: A Systematic Review with Meta-AnalysisMalta ES, Dutra YM, Broatch JR, et al.. Sports Medicine, 2021.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗
DoseDoes the studied dose match how people use it?
8/25
The trials usually immersed only the legs in about 10°C water for 10 to 20 minutes, and the cold started within minutes of each session.Source 5 · Meta-analysisThrowing cold water on muscle growth: A systematic review with meta‐analysis of the effects of postexercise cold water immersion on resistance training‐induced hypertrophyPiñero A, Burke R, Augustin F, et al.. European Journal of Sport Science, 2024.Read the paper ↗ A home plunge covers the whole body, and one pooled analysis found whole-body immersion had no significant effect on strength.Source 4 · Meta-analysisEffects of post‐exercise cold‐water immersion on resistance training‐induced gains in muscular strength: a meta‐analysisGrgic J. European Journal of Sport Science, 2023.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗

The claim drifts from the data here

Most of the trials enrolled young men and immersed only their legs.Source 5 · Meta-analysisThrowing cold water on muscle growth: A systematic review with meta‐analysis of the effects of postexercise cold water immersion on resistance training‐induced hypertrophyPiñero A, Burke R, Augustin F, et al.. European Journal of Sport Science, 2024.Read the paper ↗ The cold came within minutes of finishing and lasted 10 to 20 minutes at about 10°C. Whole-body immersion, which is closer to a home plunge, showed no significant effect on strength in one pooled analysis, and no trial has tested a short plunge taken hours after lifting.Source 4 · Meta-analysisEffects of post‐exercise cold‐water immersion on resistance training‐induced gains in muscular strength: a meta‐analysisGrgic J. European Journal of Sport Science, 2023.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗

The best-known trial compared cold water with light cycling and had no resting group, so it can't show how cold water compares with doing nothing.Source 1 · Randomized trialPost‐exercise cold water immersion attenuates acute anabolic signalling and long‐term adaptations in muscle to strength trainingRoberts LA, Raastad T, Markworth JF, et al.. The Journal of Physiology, 2015.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗

Put it to use

If you're training for size or strength, keep cold water away from the minutes after your lifting sessions. Trials that put the cold after endurance sessions found no such cost, so a plunge fits better on those days.Source 3 · Meta-analysisThe Effects of Regular Cold-Water Immersion Use on Training-Induced Changes in Strength and Endurance Performance: A Systematic Review with Meta-AnalysisMalta ES, Dutra YM, Broatch JR, et al.. Sports Medicine, 2021.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗Source 6 · Randomized trialRegular Cold‐Water Immersion Following HIIT Does Not Affect Intramuscular Adaptation Markers, Inflammatory Profile or Endurance PerformanceMalta ES, Neto JCR, Beck WR, et al.. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2026.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗

From our sister magazine

Sauna Monthly explains how to fit a plunge around lifting

Sauna Monthly · Guide

Time your plunge around your training

Keep a hard plunge a few hours away from heavy lifting.

Read it on Sauna Monthly

Check these claims next

30°H

Likely

Cold

“Ice baths help you recover faster after exercise.”

Across dozens of small trials, cold water after hard exercise eased soreness and helped muscle power recover by the next day. The soreness benefit averaged about 0.3 points on a 0–10 scale in one pooled analysis, and the largest review found strength came back no faster.

81°H

Hot air

Cold

“Cold plunges boost testosterone.”

The studies that measured testosterone found it falling or holding steady after cold water. A few minutes in water below 4°C lowered total testosterone by about 19% in young men, and a 15°C soak after squats blunted the usual post-workout rise.

65°H

Stretched

Heat

“Sauna helps you build and keep muscle.”

Heating one muscle for hours a day slowed its loss in immobilized legs and gave small strength gains in some trials. The one sauna trial that measured muscle growth found no extra gain from post-workout infrared sessions.

We cited these sources

01Roberts LA, Raastad T, Markworth JF, Figueiredo VC, Egner IM, Shield A, et al.. Post‐exercise cold water immersion attenuates acute anabolic signalling and long‐term adaptations in muscle to strength training. The Journal of Physiology. 2015;593(18):4285-4301. doi:10.1113/JP270570 PMID 26174323
02Fyfe JJ, Broatch JR, Trewin AJ, Hanson ED, Argus CK, Garnham AP, et al.. Cold water immersion attenuates anabolic signaling and skeletal muscle fiber hypertrophy, but not strength gain, following whole-body resistance training. Journal of Applied Physiology. 2019;127(5):1403-1418. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00127.2019 PMID 31513450
03Malta ES, Dutra YM, Broatch JR, Bishop DJ, Zagatto AM. The Effects of Regular Cold-Water Immersion Use on Training-Induced Changes in Strength and Endurance Performance: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine. 2021;51(1):161-174. doi:10.1007/s40279-020-01362-0 PMID 33146851
04Grgic J. Effects of post‐exercise cold‐water immersion on resistance training‐induced gains in muscular strength: a meta‐analysis. European Journal of Sport Science. 2023;23(3):372-380. doi:10.1080/17461391.2022.2033851 PMID 35068365
05Piñero A, Burke R, Augustin F, Mohan AE, DeJesus K, Sapuppo M, et al.. Throwing cold water on muscle growth: A systematic review with meta‐analysis of the effects of postexercise cold water immersion on resistance training‐induced hypertrophy. European Journal of Sport Science. 2024;24(2):177-189. doi:10.1002/ejsc.12074
06Malta ES, Neto JCR, Beck WR, Cornachione AS, de Poli RAB, Sigoli E, et al.. Regular Cold‐Water Immersion Following HIIT Does Not Affect Intramuscular Adaptation Markers, Inflammatory Profile or Endurance Performance. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. 2026;36(3):e70241. doi:10.1111/sms.70241 PMID 41742004

People say it in places like these

The research found this

The dial reads 22°H for four reasons

EvidenceWhat kind of human evidence exists?

ConsistencyHave other studies found the same thing?

MagnitudeDoes the claim match the size of the effect?

DoseDoes the studied dose match how people use it?