Dr. Craig Heller

Got it.

Yeah.

But I think getting back to your original question about benefits, you have to keep in mind whether you're talking about aerobic activity or anaerobic activity, if you're referring to performance and exercise and so forth.

So if you're doing aerobic activity that you can sustain for a long time, your production of heat is rising gradually and is being distributed throughout your body.

So eventually your body temperature is going to come up to a level that's going to impair your performance.

So the benefit of a cold bath or a cold shower before aerobic activity is that you increase the capacity of your body mass to absorb that excess heat.

I see.

Sure.

It'll take them longer to get to the sweat point and to heat up.

And what will that translate to in terms of a performance benefit?

Well, it could increase your speed or it depends on how you use that benefit.

Some people are pacers.

They will go at the same pace and then they will go farther.

Or some people are forcers.

They will take that advantage and use it up as fast as they can.

So they will go faster, but not necessarily farther.

For the anaerobic athlete, and let's say they're doing several sets, their core temperature is not going to rise that fast because it's only certain muscles which are being used.

But the temperature of those muscles will go up.

So it's a local effect.

Right.