Should you shower before or after a workout? While it may seem counterintuitive to shower before exercising, it can help warm up your muscles before your pre-workout stretch. Showering after a workout allows you to wash off sweat or dirt while soothing your muscles, which is more beneficial.
Etiquette aside, some evidence suggests that a hot shower before exercising can increase your body temperature, encouraging blood flow and loosening any tense muscles, which should theoretically result in an easier workout.
A quick rinse pre-workout kickstarts, then a post-workout shower revitalizes. Post-workout skin issues struggle with sweat, causing irritation. A gentle cleanser works wonders.
Experts say that if you plan to shower at night, ninety minutes before bedtime provides the best result. Hot water raises your overall body temperature. Although that's not good for morning showers, it's great for evening showers.
While there is no ideal frequency, experts suggest that showering several times per week is plenty for most people (unless you are grimy, sweaty, or have other reasons to shower more often). Short showers (lasting three or four minutes) with a focus on the armpits and groin may suffice.
Essentially, it comes down to what works for you. Some people might not experience any stomach discomfort from eating after a workout and then showering, whereas others may. According to some experts, waiting 20–30 minutes after eating to shower can prevent indigestion.
You should cold plunge after a workout if you're looking for recovery benefits. The cold water may help reduce perceived muscle soreness and potentially speed up how long it takes your muscles to return to their baseline strength. But frequent cold plunging after strength training could limit your gains over time.
With all that sweat beading on foreheads from Washington to Boston, one Explainer reader wonders: Should you wipe away your sweat, or does that just keep you from cooling off? Don't wipe unless you're drenched. Sweat releases heat by evaporative cooling.
For your heart health, ACSM guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity each week. In a given week, that works out to 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days per week. Or if you're looking to do more with less time, ramp up the dial.
Post-exercise, your body undergoes repair and rejuvenation, and a nap can help in muscle recovery and fatigue reduction. It can also help replenish your energy levels. However, it's important to keep naps short—typically around 20-30 minutes—to avoid entering deep sleep cycles which might leave you feeling groggier.
Ideally, you should wait until you've stopped sweating profusely to hit the shower; otherwise, you run the risk of still being hot and sweaty after you've washed. This will vary from person to person, but in most cases, this will take between five and 30 minutes, depending on the intensity of the exercise.
Boosts Metabolism and Weight Loss
Regular cold showers stimulate the production of brown fat, a type of fat that generates heat by burning calories. Over time, this can aid in weight management and potentially support weight loss efforts when combined with a balanced diet and exercise.
Relaxing muscles
Outside of the mental game, there are physical benefits to a pre-workout shower. If you take a warm shower, then the warm water will relax you. This is actually why a lot of urologists and experts recommend peeing in the shower.
At the cellular level, cold can impair contraction kinetics in muscle and reduce the rate of excitation–contraction coupling. This practice significantly enhance body health, especially the skin, by balancing sebum levels, reducing acne and blocked pores, and releasing norepinephrine to modulate sebum production.
These results suggest that physical exercise increases TS level in serum by increasing LH and NA levels, but these tendencies were not found with cold water stimulation.
The final verdict? Exercising in a fasted state may burn some quick body fat, but it's not the best option for your body in the long-run. Eat a small snack or meal before and after your workout to ensure that you're properly fueled to perform your best in the gym and recover quickly when you get home.
Many experts, including the American College of Sports Medicine, recommend cold instead of heat therapy to aid muscle recovery. That might give cold showers the edge after exercise. But again, there's a lack of scientific evidence to support either option. It's best to experiment and see which you prefer.
There's no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Many doctors say a daily shower is fine for most people. (More than that could start to cause skin problems.) But for many people, two to three times a week is enough and may be even better to maintain good health.
How Long Should You Be in a Cold Shower? Keep it short: When first trying cold showers, aim to spend no more than 30 seconds under the cold water. You can increase the time as your body adapts. Ease in: Instead of jumping into a cold shower, start with the water warm, then gradually adjust the temperature downwards.