Arnold Schwarzenegger is always looking for any recovery edge he can get at 78 years old. In his July 10 Arnold’s Pump Club newsletter, he broke down whether ice baths prevent you from building muscle after a gym session.
“Use It Or Lose It: The Post-Workout Ice Bath – The practice: You finish your lift and then decide to climb straight into a cold plunge or ice bath to speed recovery. It’s popular, seemingly proven (icing has been around forever, right?), and plenty of biohackers and “experts” swear this is the move for anyone serious about training.”
As a seven-time Mr. Olympia champion, Arnold Schwarzenegger is familiar with just about every fitness fad on the planet. Whether it’s a new diet or a science-based workout, he’s seen it all, giving him the foundation needed to help anyone. This journey has led him to take a closer look at ice baths and cold plunges, which have quickly gained popularity as a go-to recovery tool in the fitness and bodybuilding community.
Arnold Schwarzenegger on Post-Workout Ice Baths & Building Muscle
In the newsletter, Schwarzenegger warned that ice baths right after training can blunt muscle growth signals.
“Let’s break it down: Cold water after a hard session does feel great, and it genuinely blunts soreness. The problem is what it’s doing to the exact thing you lifted for.”
“If you’re training to build muscle, jumping into a cold plunge right after lifting can shrink your results because the cold interrupts the growth signal your muscles send in the hour after a workout.”
He cited a 2024 meta-analysis and a separate study, both of which found that ice baths can reduce the muscle growth response.
“When you lift, you kick off a cascade of “build” signals that help your muscles grow. If you think of the muscle-building process as a light with a dimmer switch, applying the cold right after turns down the intensity.”
“In 2024, the first meta-analysis on the question pooled eight studies and found that cold plunging after resistance training blunts the muscle-growth response. A separate training study that tracked participants for weeks observed the same pattern at the muscle-fiber level, even as their maximal strength improved.”
Depending on your training goals, an ice bath might be worth the trouble. For a runner, it could be ideal for minimizing soreness, but for hypertrophy, it’s worth a second look.
“To be clear, this isn’t all-or-nothing. The effect hits muscle size harder than raw strength. Second, cold water doesn’t seem to hurt endurance training as much. If you’re a runner, or you’ve got two sessions in one day, or you’re deep in a season and just need to recover fast for tomorrow, a plunge can earn its keep.”
“The verdict: If you like it for recovery, keep the plunge but change the timing. You don’t need ice baths or cold exposure. That’s the first thing you need to know. You will bounce back from your training — even the hardest workouts — just fine without it.”
If you’d still like to include an ice bath and lift weights, Schwarzenegger said to time it six hours after the session:
“But it can reduce perceived soreness, and that can help you recover. Plus, some people just love it. So, the ice bath isn’t inherently bad. However, if you’re training hard to build muscle, cold exposure within 6 hours of your lift doesn’t support your main goal.”
“If you want, do it much later, or do it on off days to get the recovery and mood boost without stepping on your gains.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t the only top-tier bodybuilder to discuss the value of ice baths. Men’s Open veteran Lee Priest recently opened up about ice baths. Mostly, Priest sees ice baths as a trend, but does argue that cold exposure can help sore muscles.
For those engaging in resistance training, Schwarzenegger advises waiting six hours after a workout before taking an ice bath. However, if your goal is running or endurance performance, it might be worth taking that plunge much sooner.
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