Cold Plunges & Saunas for Muscle Growth

Muscle Growth from sauna and cold plunge

Gains You Haven’t Got Yet: Why Weightlifters Should Use Cold Plunges and Saunas For Muscle Growth

Read time: 4 minutes

Coming up: veins, vessels, weird health hacks, some useful resources, a bunch of strange metaphors, the science of when muscles are built, and many reasons why weightlifters should use cold plunges and saunas.

You lift weights.

… and like anyone who likes lifting weights, you want to get bigger and stronger.

But: you’ve partially plateaued, and you’re desperate for anything to boost your gains and beef up your body.

So, you’re wondering: can cold plunges and saunas help?

Well, the fast answer is yes.

I’ve been plunging and sauna-ing for a LONG time (and for many years, I operated a plunge and sauna business). So, coming up, here’s everything I know about why they help hypertrophy, how to maximize your gains, and surprising things to avoid.

On we go!

ice bath locations

Point #1: muscles don’t grow in the gym—they grow during recovery

Sorry in advance to patronize you here…

… but in case you don’t already know:

When you’re in the gym, you’re actually breaking your muscles down.

❌ Your muscles don’t grow in the gym.

✅ They actually grow when you’re resting and recovering (ie, when you’re away from the gym)

Protein plays a crucial role in helping lifters. Quality sleep significantly benefits lifters. Similarly, deload periods and rest days are essential for lifters’ progress.

… and for the same reasons, that’s why saunas and cold plunges can help weightlifters.

Here’s the thing: saunas and cold plunges are actually just recovery tools. And they can be super effective if used properly.

Cold plunges aren’t just for Wim Hof fanboys

(there’s no hate for Wim Hof here—I’m a fanboy too)

In plain English, here’s what a cold plunge actually does to the body:

Inflammation is reduced: plunges are like a massive ice pack for your giant swole muscles.
After you leave the cold water, your body and brain go from panic mode to rest mode. This helps your body enter a state of real rest.
When you plunge, your blood vessels constrict. When you leave the plunge, your blood vessels dilate. This shrink-and-expand process gives your blood vessels a workout—and reduces both muscle soreness and inflammation.
Cold plunges can increase dopamine by 250%. And increased dopamine can increase motivation… which means more desire to train.
It trains your mental grit (especially the part where you get over the initial shock of the cold plunge). And if you want to get big and juicy in the gym, your mental grit is important.

So, for you, that means cold plunges can lead to: reduced DOMS, quicker recovery, improved rest, more motivation to train, and the ability to bounce back more quickly. Not bad for a few minutes of cold water a week.

Saunas for weightlifters: even more benefits

Many sauna benefits are similar to cold plunge benefits.

(Like improved recovery, reduced soreness, and improved blood flow… but we won’t bore you with those details again).

Other benefits include:

Saunas can boost growth hormone. Which obviously means more growth.
Improved cardio. In a sauna, your body is working harder to keep you cool—so your heart beats faster. This higher heart rate mimics the effects of low-level cardio… so you can spend less time on the Stairmaster.
A potential reduction in cortisol, the body’s stress hormone. And lower cortisol means more gains.
Improved sleep, in many ways and for many reasons. And if you don’t get good sleep, you aren’t gonna make big gains.

Sauna-Plunge-Method-Miami-FL

Lifehack: using hot AND cold

Next up, contrast therapy.

(Which is when you alternate between hot and cold).

For example, you might hop between a cold shower and a warm sauna. Or between a steam room and a cold plunge. Or… I’m sure you get the idea.

Anyway, if you alternate between hot and cold, you get all the benefits of both (obvs).

But you also get two extra big boosts:

Even faster recovery: remember what we said about cold plunges making your blood vessels flex and contract faster and harder? Well, contrast therapy doubles-down on that; boosting recovery, and increasing blood flow.
While cold plunges reduce inflammation, the heat of saunas relaxes muscles. Combine that juicy combo, and your DOMS are hugely reduced. So: you get less pain, and you can go harder next time you hit the gym.

traditional sauna

Saunas and cold plunges for weightlifters: dos and don’ts

Frequency: try to hit 2-7 sauna sessions per week, and at least 11 minutes of cold-plunging per week.
Duration: for cold-plunge beginners, start with sessions of 30 seconds to 2 minutes—and you can eventually increase to 3-5 minutes. For saunas, 10-20 minutes per session is best.
Timing: early-morning plunging is great for a mental boost, while plunging after exercise is better for recovery. For the sauna, immediately after a workout is great for recovery, while saunas before bed are ideal for improving sleep.
Timing part 2: the above said, don’t plunge within the first 4 hours after exercise, as this can actually reduce gains. In the words of the legendary Andrew Huberman, “the problem is that cold water immersion (but not cold showers) can limit some of the gains in hypertrophy, strength or endurance if done in the 4 hours or so after training.” Broadly speaking, most research tells us that hypertrophy and strength are affected more than endurance and overall fitness (at least in this respect). So, a cold plunge immediately after yoga or running might be okay. A cold plunge right after lifting isn’t so good.
Importantly, not all plunges and saunas are good plunges and saunas. Some don’t work properly, some are poorly-maintained, and some aren’t as hot or cold as they should be. To find the best places, use a reliable database (like ours!).

Saunas and cold plunges for weightlifters: final thoughts

So: for weightlifters, there are MANY benefits to saunas and plunges (and I recommend using them both). They can improve recovery, sleep, motivation, hypertrophy, vascular efficiency, and more.

To quickly sum up, my main tips are:

Get your timings right: don’t plunge immediately after a workout if your focus is strength or hypertrophy, and consider a sauna before bed to improve your sleep
Consider using contrast therapy (where you hop between hot and cold) for the most gains
Use a good resource (like our site!) to find the world’s best saunas and plunge pools

For more, check out:

Thanks for reading, thanks for visiting Sauna n Plunge, and we’ll see you next time. Happy hypertrophy!