Taking cold baths or cold showers after working out might slightly lower a marker of muscle damage in healthy people, but the benefit could be smaller than studies suggest because of biased reporting.

You don’t need to dunk your whole body in cold water after a workout—just cooling the sore muscles works just as well for recovery.

Taking a cold-water bath after exercise probably helps reduce muscle soreness, especially in the first day, and the effect seems real even when accounting for biased studies.

Taking a cold water bath after a soccer game might help female players reduce muscle soreness and inflammation more than sitting in lukewarm water.

Taking cold water baths after working out might make your muscles feel less sore, but it won’t help you recover faster and could actually slow muscle growth by blocking the body’s natural healing response.

Taking a 10-minute cold bath at 10°C after a hard strength workout doesn’t help young, active guys bounce back faster in terms of muscle power or strength within a few hours.