Article - The Power Shower by Vincent Dizenzo

[Joe Black]

Hi there,

We're just getting ready to send out the Wannabebig Serious About Muscle Newsletter and I wanted to make everyone aware of an article that wrote for this issue!

If you beat yourself up training like I do, you are going to love this article. A great way to reduce muscle soreness is with contrast showers. I am a huge believer in the healing properties of the cold. I frequently use ice directly on inflamed or injured parts of my body. I love ice baths, but it’s rare that I can find a trough big enough to hold me. So I started taking contrast showers and am very pleased with the results.

The first thing we need to discuss is how to take a contrast shower. There are varying opinions on this, so I will share what has worked for me. Before you begin, you’ll need some sort of timer. I have a stopwatch hung in my shower for this. Keeping time is important because you need to be in the hot water at least twice as long as the cold. You start with hot water and then switch to cold. This will be done for three rounds. Each time I make the hot, hotter and the cold, colder. By the last round I can barely stand in the heat and am begging for the cold. It is important to always end with cold water. After the shower, briskly rub your body with a towel to warm up.

The duration of these showers can vary. After a really grueling training session I’ll go three minutes in the hot water to one minute of cold. If you need a quick fix you can go one minute hot and thirty seconds cold. The quick sessions are good after things like a light workout, cardio, and conditioning. They are also helpful for stress relief and even as an invigorating wakeup in the morning.

Contrast showers offer many benefits. Alternating between the hot and cold water improves circulation. This can help reduce muscle soreness by moving lactic acid out of the muscle. Some people also think this type of shower can help detoxify the body and improve the immune system.

As I have gotten older, I realize how important recuperation is to my training. Contrast showers have been a part of my program for a while now. I only wish I knew about them when I was younger. I take them for all the varying reasons I stated above. I know they work because if I fail to take one, especially after a really hard workout, I’ll pay for it the next day. Try them in your program, and you’ll be glad you did; well, after you’re done shivering you will.

This thread is for Vincent to answer any questions!

The full newsletter is here - Wannabebig Serious About Muscle Newsletter - September 6th, 2009

[joey54]

Great write up Vin. These can work wonders.

[LuNa]

This is great information. I was already alternating hot and cold, but i am sure not with the effectivity i could get when doing it like this. Great article!

[vdizenzo]

Thanks everyone. I really use these as part of my program. They make a huge difference.

[rbtrout]

Great write up, V. I'll have to try it out.

[brihead301]

I will give it a shot today. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Kuz]

I've tried these before, but it's pretty helpful to have the 3:1 ratio of hot to cold as a guideline. I train bench tonight, so I will give this a shot afterwards (with some foam rolling too).

Vin, what are a few other techniques you keep in your recovery arsenal?

[KarlMarx]

I tried the power shower today! I roasted myself on hot and then went to put the shower on cold. Doh! I forgot I live in South Texas. The water that comes out of the ground is warm enough that you don't even have to heat it to take a shower in it! Oops. No cold water!

Even so, I don't think I'll be moving north to anywhere freezing just to get colder water! I like it HOT!

[geordie1986]

I tried one of these yesterday after the gym, to be honest I had reservations about how helpful a shower can be to my recovery but I tried it and am realy pleased with how it made me feel and help my recovery think Ill be using these from now on, great article.

[Judas]

I tried the power shower today! I roasted myself on hot and then went to put the shower on cold. Doh! I forgot I live in South Texas. The water that comes out of the ground is warm enough that you don't even have to heat it to take a shower in it! Oops. No cold water!

Hah! Thats hilarious. I've been to Texas, i doubt doubt it one bit. Good contrast showers in Canada!

Funny i see this thread now... i survive by the grace ov contrast showers at times. I ****ed my lower back pretty bad last night under a heavy squat and i dont know whether it was the handful ov ibuprofin or the triple contrast shower, but i went from barely being able to stand or walk to getting around just fine in minutes. I swear, i've turned injuries into tweaks and tweaks into nothing using this method. I usually only do two cycles ov hot/cold though... last night was the first time i tried three. Then i turn on my computer and read this... funny.

[getfit]

I've been doing this for years.Great read

[Nicky]

I tried this but with my cold water all the way on cold, set as cold as cold gets, its only cool

[cphafner]

I told you I was looking forward to this read. I'll be taking one shortly.

[kmagnuss]

I would love to try this, but in the summer my cold water here in FL is only about 80 degrees. = not very cold.
If I'm lucky, it might get into the mid 50's in the winter. Brrrrr.

[vdizenzo]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. For you boys and girls who live in hotter areas, if you can fit in a tub, take an ice bath. I only wish I could fit in one. If I try to take an ice bath in a regular tub the only thing recuperating would be my big fat ass.

[DMedley]

Even so, I don't think I'll be moving north to anywhere freezing just to get colder water! I like it HOT!

Big Mistake nothing like going from the steam room and jumping into a half frozen pond in the winter time.

[twm]

great read, thanks!

vin, you need one of these.. 100 gallon tub! 72x54x21

[Lones Green]

I've been doing these since you mentioned them awhile back Vin, I really like them. Great article.

[mweav6387]

Vincent you are definitely on to something! After my first lifting workout today I followed your routine, and I feel great!

[Clover]

Did some heavy squats this morning, then took one of these showers and I feel great. Thanks for the tip.

[Mark!]

Did day 4 of WBB 1 today, deadlift was brutal, got a new PR of 405, stoked! Gonna definitely try out one of these bad boys once I get home. Thanks for the great write up!

[vdizenzo]

Did day 4 of WBB 1 today, deadlift was brutal, got a new PR of 405, stoked! Gonna definitely try out one of these bad boys once I get home. Thanks for the great write up!

Congrats on the pr.