Should I shower in cold or hot water after exercise?

 

Showering after a workout helps your muscles recover. Of course, knowing tips, how to shower and cool down after a workout, is very important for a better body recovery. Here are all the tips and all you need to know about showering after your workout.

Why do we take a shower after exercising?

Ever wondered why you should shower after exercising?
When you exercise, you sweat profusely, your muscles hurt, your heartbeat goes up, and there are other changes you can improve by taking a shower with water after a workout.

Certainly one of the reasons for showering after exercise is to wash sweat from the body and observe hygiene, but it is true that you should shower after exercise for other important reasons other than this only.

Showering after a workout helps the muscles recover and restore the body's capacity because the body can receive lactic acid after a shower. Lactic acid is a natural chemical that can also cause muscle pain. Cold water after exercise speeds up recovery and restores physical strength. Taking a cold shower helps reduce the heart rate and lower the cardiovascular pressure; Especially if you sweat a lot.

Which is better to shower in cold or hot water after exercise?

A hot shower may make you feel good after a workout, but a cold shower, which of course means lukewarm to cold water, is scientifically a better way to remove sweat from the body. The benefits of taking a cold shower are even greater for post-workout recovery. Cold water may improve your post-workout pain considerably, but it may also cause muscle stiffness and an increased heart rate. For best results, start with a warm, lukewarm shower. Once your body temperature drops, you can lower the water temperature. At the end of your bath time, run cold water to recover again.

Bathing in warm water after a shower stimulates blood flow throughout the body, helps the skin to glow and improves muscle burning, but bathing in cold water lowers the body temperature and calms the heartbeat. These studies usually show that, in addition to its benefits, taking a warm shower after a shower, it also improves blood flow.

Benefits of taking a shower after exercise.

Bathing after exercise has great benefits and positive effects on the body and general health, including:

1- Get rid of bacteria on the skin
Exercising, especially in indoor environments like the gym or even at home, is a factor in attracting bacteria to the skin. In the previous sections related to exercise and fitness, I also read that sweat goes away when you shower and you put soap and water on your body. The dead cells are removed from the skin and the body is cleaned.

2- Preventing clogging of skin pores
When you exercise, your skin pores become filled with sweat and dirt, and as a result, the appearance of the skin and a feeling of heaviness. Bathing, in addition to eliminating sweat, prevents acne or pimples from developing.

3- Strengthening the immune system
When you shower in cold water after a workout, your immune system quickly becomes more productive, more effective, and works more regularly than before.

How to take a shower after exercise?

After you are done with your vigorous exercise, finally try to do a light exercise to cool down your body and calm your heart rate. This cooling off exercise should last 5 to 10 minutes.
When your heart rate slowly subsides, stretch your muscles to get rid of the excess lactic acid and prevent a post-workout burning sensation.
Then run lukewarm water in the shower so that your body is not shocked by the high temperature change. When your body temperature drops, you can cool the water a little to make it work.
Use an antibacterial soap to remove sweat and bacteria from the body. Doing so will reduce your heart rate gradually.
During the last 90 seconds of the bath, slowly lower the temperature of the water to allow your body to cool down and get used to it.
Now dry your body completely with a clean towel and then get out.

 

How to take a shower after exercise?

1. After you are done with your vigorous exercise, finally try to do a light exercise to cool down your body and calm your heart rate. This cooling off exercise should last 5 to 10 minutes.
2. When your heart rate slowly subsides, stretch your muscles to get rid of the excess lactic acid and prevent a post-workout burning sensation.
3. Then run lukewarm water in the shower so that your body is not shocked by the high-temperature change. When your body temperature drops, you can cool the water a little to make it work.
4. Use an antibacterial soap to remove sweat and bacteria from the body. Doing so will reduce your heart rate gradually.
5. During the last 90 seconds of the bath, slowly lower the temperature of the water to allow your body to cool down and get used to it.
6. Now dry your body completely with a clean towel and then get out.

The right way to cool down the body after exercise.

According to experts, cooling the body is one of the most important stages of exercise, and like warming up prevents damage to the body, but this stage must also be done in the correct way, in ways such as: walking, jumping the rope, or performing less intense exercises.

Perform gradual cooling movements
When your heart rate increases, it is very important to prepare and cool your body a little before you shower for the first time. For example, do 5 to 10 minutes of cooling exercises that are less intense and help lower your body temperature.

Take a little warm water shower
As we said, lukewarm showers that gradually lower the temperature are a way to reduce muscle inflammation, excess lactic acid production, and improve muscle recovery.

Nourish the body
Give your body the energy it needs 4 to 5 minutes after a strenuous workout. Eating protein-rich foods or drinking vitamin-rich juices are an ideal way to achieve thermal balance in your body.

 

What if we don't have time to shower after a workout?

If you don't have time to shower after a workout, there are other steps you can take, including:

1. Wipe the sweat off your body with a clean, dry towel to clean your pores.
2. Then clean your body with antiseptic and anti-bacterial wet wipes; Especially in areas where a lot of sweat accumulates.
3. Use clean, soft tissues to remove excess sweat from the forehead, chin and neck, but these wipes do not have to be like the tissues you put on the body.
4. Change your clothes, including underwear.
5. Wash your hands with soap to remove any bacteria from the surface of your hands.

Important notes 

As we said earlier, it is recommended to use a cold shower after showering, but be careful not to shower in one go.

Therefore, you have to do cooling exercises beforehand. Then start with lukewarm water, and as your body temperature gradually decreases, take a shower with slightly cool water so that your body does not go into shock at first.