Cold-water immersion showed no clear added benefit after interval training
Fitness and several muscle measures improved over time, but the small trial detected no additional effect from post-exercise cold-water immersion.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
In this small trial, adding cold-water immersion after interval sessions did not produce detectable extra gains in maximal oxygen uptake, running time to task failure, or the measured muscle adaptations. Both groups trained, with several outcomes improving over time. The findings leave uncertainty about smaller effects and do not establish that the approaches are equivalent.
Only 16 healthy men took part. The abstract does not provide effect estimates or confidence intervals for the between-group differences, making the range of plausible effects difficult to judge.
What researchers found
Maximal oxygen uptake and running time to task failure
Training plus cold-water immersion versus training alone, assessed in weeks four and five; neither condition nor interaction effects were statistically significant.
Training changes and added effects
The researchers measured maximal oxygen uptake, a running test continued until task failure, and muscle-biopsy markers. Improvements over time were distinguished from differences attributable to adding cold-water immersion after the training sessions.
Muscle findings were also limited
Muscle inflammatory markers did not show significant changes over time or between conditions. Other muscle measures changed over time, but the added cold-water exposure did not produce a detected extra effect in this experiment.
The original publication
Regular Cold-Water Immersion Following HIIT Does Not Affect Intramuscular Adaptation Markers, Inflammatory Profile or Endurance Performance.
Malta ES, Neto JCR, Beck WR et al.
Scand J Med Sci Sports · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41742004
- Record checked
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