Recovery, Part 4...

Contrast Showers

Contrast Showers are another great recovery technique. Basically they work by improving peripheral blood flow.

Here's the general guidelines;

• Start with water as hot as you can stand for 1-3 min (I've found that about 120° F/48°C is good)
• Turn the hot water down to as cold as you can stand for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
• Repeat 3-5 times
  
• If you have an acute injury more than 24 hours old, you can direct the water to that area

• Make sure you end the shower with a cold cycle

Please note the following contraindications for contrast showers;

• Heart disease or vascular disease, including hypertension, high blood cholesterol, intermittent claudication, weak connective tissue (relating to high risk for plaque rupturing), etc.
• Vascular insufficiency or stasis, including clots, deep vein thrombosis, phlebitis, etc.
• Asthma
• Pregnancy
• Diabetes
• Cold urticaria or cold-induced hemolysis
• Raynaud’s syndrome or phenomenon

You can read more about contrast showers in this article by T-Nation