{"id":12272,"date":"2026-05-01T00:00:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T04:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/?p=12272"},"modified":"2026-05-05T15:05:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T19:05:44","slug":"ace-sponsored-study-explores-hot-and-cold-water-immersion-as-simple-at-home-recovery-strategies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/suppliers\/ace-sponsored-study-explores-hot-and-cold-water-immersion-as-simple-at-home-recovery-strategies\/","title":{"rendered":"ACE Sponsored Study Explores Hot- and Cold-Water Immersion as Simple, At-Home Recovery Strategies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/American-Council-On-Exercise-1-300x73.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"73\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2769\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/American-Council-On-Exercise-1.png 300w, http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/American-Council-On-Exercise-1-200x49.png 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>ACE<\/p>\n<p><strong>SAN DIEGO, CA<\/strong> &#8211; The American Council on Exercise (ACE) announces new ACE-sponsored research, conducted by the Applied Exercise Science and Performance at Western Colorado University, examining the effectiveness of hot- and cold-water immersion as post-exercise recovery strategies. The study indicates that brief immersion in either hot or cold water, using temperatures easily achieved in a standard household bathtub, may offer more effective next-day recovery than passive rest alone. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cRecovery plays a vital role in supporting performance and long-term physical activity participation, yet many people rely on recovery methods without clear guidance,\u201d said Dr. Lance Dalleck, lead researcher and professor at the Applied Exercise Science and Performance. \u201cWith this research, we sought to better understand whether simple, accessible recovery strategies meaningfully influence performance outcomes.\u201d  <\/p>\n<p>The study compared hot water immersion (104\u00b0F \/ 40\u00b0C), cold water immersion (54\u00b0F \/ 12\u00b0C), and passive recovery following identical, high intensity workouts. Each water-based recovery protocol lasted 12 minutes and was completed immediately after exercise. <\/p>\n<p>Nine participants, men and women aged 16 to 50 years old, who were deemed healthy and physically active were selected for this study. Each participant completed three identical workouts designed to assess cardiorespiratory fitness, anaerobic power, and muscular fitness, and each workout was paired with a different recovery condition. Performance was reassessed 24 hours later to evaluate how each recovery method influenced performance the next day. <\/p>\n<p>Key findings from this study include: <\/p>\n<p>Both hot and cold-water immersion outperformed passive recovery across all exercise types. <\/p>\n<p>Participants were approximately twice as likely to maintain or improve performance after hot or cold-water immersion compared to passive recovery:  <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hot-water immersion: 63%;<\/li>\n<li>Cold-water immersion: 67%;<\/li>\n<li>Passive recovery: 33%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Hot water immersion resulted in a statistically significant improvement in muscular strength during the leg press test. <\/p>\n<p>A key takeaway from this research is the practicality of the recovery protocols. Both hot- and cold-water immersion used moderate temperatures and short durations and can be easily replicated at home using a standard bathtub. Extreme ice baths, prolonged exposure, or specialized equipment were not required. Notably, the findings may be especially encouraging for individuals who dislike cold exposure, as hot water immersion demonstrated comparable, and in some cases stronger, effects. <\/p>\n<p>While the study\u2019s small sample size (n=9) means the results should be interpreted cautiously, ACE views the findings as a valuable contribution to the evolving conversation around evidence-based recovery. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt ACE, our mission is to bridge the gap between research and real-world practice,\u201d said Sabrena Jo, PhD ACE Senior Director of Science and Education. \u201cThis study reinforces that recovery strategies don\u2019t need to be extreme, expensive, or inaccessible. What matters most is using methods that are safe, sustainable, and grounded in science and ultimately suited to the client\u2019s preferences.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>SAN DIEGO, CA<\/strong> &#8211; The American Council on Exercise (ACE) announces new ACE-sponsored research, conducted by the Applied Exercise Science and Performance at Western Colorado University, examining the effectiveness of hot- and cold-water immersion as post-exercise recovery strategies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2769,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[45],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12272"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12272"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12273,"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12272\/revisions\/12273"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}