swimming/hot tubbing after workout

[razor99]

I've been trying to find some information on this subject and havent had much success so i thought id bring it here. im sorry if this has been done before.

ive heard alot of myths about hot tubbing after a workout(directly after or during same day). Some say its bad because it relaxs your muscles and destroys the work you just did. others say it increases blood flow(or something along those lines) and helps and others still say it has no effect. what is the truth about hot tubs being detrimental after a workout? what about a normal swimming pool?

thanks in advance.

[.V.]

The reason you can't find much info is because there isn't much. Why? Because it's not a real issue The effect of a hot tub on your post workout is negligible. If you like it, do it. If you don't...skip it. It won't hurt you, and to be perfectly honest, if your workout was of the proper intenisty, it's not gonna help you either. You will still be sore later.

[tim_mcf]

A COLD water bath can help quite a bit with recovery, though...

[Merrida]

One thought that comes to mind sort of related, sort of not, is,....if you hit the hot tub after a truly intensive workout that is of a proper caliber, you'll need to fortify yourself and you have a limited window of time post workout to get those nutrients into your blood. Spending 20 minutes in the hot tub (incluidng the pre- and post- shower, changing, and getting home to make a shake or eat some food,....may put too much time between workout and post-workout recovery intake.

I may be nitpicking depending on how long you linger and how intense your workouts are but I've seen some people linger for 40 minutes in those suckers,.....

[EliteLift]

after being a hottub maintenance tech last winter all I can say hottubs are disgusting sess pools. unless you have an unhealthy amount of chlorine.. or its your private hotub.

a little off topic but I thought I would share..

I personally don't see the negitive effects on muscle gains though. infact I agree it would probably increase blood flow to your extremitys, alowing for faster waste removal and ultimatly, recovery, as well as loosening up muscle and tendons witch might be good as a pre stretch.

I still prefer a hot bath after a good post workout meal though.

Back in my younger partying days, my wife and I were good friends with a client of mine and his wife. When we would get together for drinks, several drinks later my client would say to all of us "let's go $hit in the hot tub", his way of expressing that we should all jump in the hot tub.

That utterance sure made him and me belly-laugh really hard. The ladies did an "ewwww".

[Merrida]

We have three hot tubs at work and they creep me out. "Public" ones always have,.....in fact, the only one I've used is my Mothers (and she lives in Florida,.....but it's outdoors and it's sort of "attached" to their indoor/outdoor pool. So at night, it's gorgeous, especially when lit, and I know only my family goes in there....) So it's a treat, not a regular thang.

But I'm off topic aren't I, about the pro's or con's in relation to muscles.

Like a hot bath, it'll probably make you feel better in the short term, but once your internal core temperature returns to normal and your body begins to regulate itself again, you may feel tightened up again.

But if you like it, and you derive pleasure from it, knock your socks off.

[.V.]

Since mine is at home and outside too...sometimes not so fun in the winter during that quick run back into the house I didn't even think of the health aspects vs muscle building vs some nice relaxing recovery time.

Use a public one and get a UTI. I wonder how long the abdominal and back pain will take you out of or at least limit the effectiveness of your workouts?

Just a thought.

[CF-OC_gal]

Originally Posted by tim_mcf

A COLD water bath can help quite a bit with recovery, though...

Good advice Tim. That and alternating temperature showers are highly recommended amongst the local CF crowd.

[gcs118]

One thing no one mentioned was that hot tubs can dehydrate you. You may not even notice you're sweating because you're wet from the water. Drink plenty of water surrounding the hot tub experience to help out your muscles.

[.V.]

Thanks Greg...good point.

[Merrida]

Same with saunas. One of my first days at my club, of course it was my first closing shift, I found a member passed out in the sauna,....(hellloooooo!) Couldn't emphasize hydration enough, good point.

[cursor]

Workout (honestly) hard (while sucking down the fluids), have your post-workout nutrition, then take a tall glass of ice water out with you in the back yard, while you soothingly slip into that marvelous (private & sanitary) hot tub. You'll no doubt feel like a million (and a half) bucks.

[.V.]

Hey cursor, good to see you are still around.

[cursor]

Always "around" ... despite my twisted political views .