No effect of repeated post-resistance exercise cold or hot water immersion on in-season body composition and performance responses in academy rugby players: a randomised controlled cross-over design

Horgan, BG; Halson, SL; Drinkwater, EJ; West, NP; Tee, N; Alcock, RD; Chapman, DW; Haff, GG

Abstract

Following resistance exercise, uncertainty exists as to whether the regular application of cold water immersion attenuates lean muscle mass increases in athletes. The effects of repeated post-resistance exercise cold versus hot water immersion on body composition and neuromuscular jump performance responses in athletes were investigated. Male, academy Super Rugby players (n = 18, 19.9 ± 1.5 y, 1.85 ± 0.06 m, 98.3 ± 10.7 kg) participated in a 12-week (4-week × 3-intervention, i.e., control [CON], cold [CWI] or hot [HWI] water immersion) resistance exercise programme, utilising a randomised cross-over pre-post-design. Body composition measures were collected using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry prior to commencement and every fourth week thereafter. Neuromuscular squat (SJ) and counter-movement jump (CMJ) performance were measured weekly. Linear mixed-effects models were used to analyse main (treatment, time) and interaction effects. There were no changes in lean (p = 0.960) nor fat mass (p = 0.801) between interventions. CON (p = 0.004) and CWI (p = 0.003) increased (g = 0.08-0.19) SJ height, compared to HWI. There were no changes in CMJ height (p = 0.482) between interventions. Repeated post-resistance exercise whole-body CWI or HWI does not attenuate (nor promote) increases in lean muscle mass in athletes. Post-resistance exercise CON or CWI results in trivial increases in SJ height, compared to HWI. During an in-season competition phase, our data support the continued use of post-resistance exercise whole-body CWI by athletes as a recovery strategy which does not attenuate body composition increases in lean muscle mass, while promoting trivial increases in neuromuscular concentric-only squat jump performance. [Abstract copyright: © 2022. The Author(s).]

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 8, 2022
• Publication Date: Oct 25, 2022
• Deposit Date: Dec 7, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 7, 2022
• Journal: European Journal of Applied Physiology
• Print ISSN: 1439-6319
• Electronic ISSN: 1439-6327
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Volume: 123
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 351-359
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-022-05075-2
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-022-05075-2