How Long to Ice Bath After a Workout: Times, Temps, Showers

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The final whistle goes, your legs are cooked after 90 minutes of rugby, and someone has filled the tubs with ice. You sit down, gasp, and the big question hits: how long do I actually stay in here? This guide answers how long to ice bath after a workout using what the research found on time and temperature, gives a simple plan for beginners, explains when to skip the ice, and settles the ice bath vs cold shower debate.

The short answer

For most athletes, about 10 to 15 minutes in water around 50–59°F (10–15°C), sitting in up to your chest, is the range that shows up again and again in sports science. If you’re new to cold water, start with 1–3 minutes and build up over a few weeks. Colder water doesn’t mean you should stay longer: the colder it is, the shorter the dip.

What the research says about how long to ice bath

Researchers call it cold-water immersion (CWI), and it’s been studied for decades in runners, cyclists, team-sport players and lifters. A few findings are worth knowing:

• The 11–15 rule. A 2016 meta-analysis in Sports Medicine (Machado and colleagues, nine studies) found the biggest drop in muscle soreness with water at 11–15°C (about 52–59°F) for 11–15 minutes.
• It helps most after hard, fast sessions. A 2022 review of 52 studies (Moore and colleagues, Sports Medicine) found that, compared with resting, cold-water immersion improved recovery of muscular power, muscle soreness and how recovered people felt 24 hours after high-intensity exercise. It did not help strength recover. Shorter times and colder water were linked with the biggest effects on some markers.
• Typical protocols. A 2013 review of water immersion for athletes (Versey and colleagues) describes cold-water immersion as usually 8–15°C (46–59°F) for about 5–20 minutes.
• The first minutes are the hardest. The cold shock response (the gasp and fast breathing) peaks within about 30 seconds and settles over the first few minutes for most people, according to cold-water safety researchers. That’s why beginners start short.

So there isn’t one magic number, but “around ten minutes, cold but not brutal” fits most of the evidence. Longer, colder dips mostly add discomfort and risk.

A simple plan for your first ice baths

Ice Barrel, one of the best-known tub makers, suggests water below 60°F and tells beginners to start with 30–60 seconds and build to 3–5 minutes. Here’s an easy progression that stays inside the research range:

• Week 1: 55–60°F water, 1–3 minutes. Focus on slow breathing out through your mouth.
• Week 2: same temperature, 4–6 minutes.
• Weeks 3–4: 50–59°F, 8–12 minutes after your hardest sessions.
• Afterwards: dry off, put on warm clothes and move gently. Don’t jump straight into a very hot shower if you feel lightheaded.

Use a thermometer rather than guessing; the amount of ice it takes changes with the season. Ice Barrel says its customers report using 40–100 lb of ice per fill. If you don’t have a tub yet, see our best ice bath tub for home picks.

When to ice bath, and when to skip it

Timing matters as much as minutes.

• Good times: tournaments and doubleheaders, two sessions in one day, hot-weather training, the end of a hard week of intervals or games. This is where the 24-hour benefits for power and soreness matter most.
• Think twice after strength training. In a 2015 study in The Journal of Physiology (Roberts and colleagues), men who did 10 minutes of cold-water immersion after every strength session for 12 weeks gained less strength and muscle than men who did an active cool-down instead. If your goal is to get bigger or stronger, many coaches keep ice baths away from lifting days, or wait several hours.
• In season vs off season. Many teams use cold water more during competition, when feeling fresh for the next game is the priority, and less in the off season, when building fitness and muscle is the goal.

Ice bath vs cold shower

A cold shower is free, it’s already in your house, and it’s far easier to face at 6 a.m. But it isn’t the same thing.

• Coverage: an ice bath surrounds your legs and torso at once; a shower only cools the skin it hits, a patch at a time.
• Temperature: tap water in summer is often well above 60°F, so a shower may not get into the range studied.
• What the studies found: in a small 2019 study, a 15-minute, 15°C (59°F) cold shower after cycling in the heat helped heart rate come down faster and felt much more comfortable than sitting in a 25°C room, but it didn’t lower core temperature or cortisol. In elite netball players, contrast showers and contrast baths both made athletes feel more recovered than resting, but neither sped up physical recovery of agility.

Bottom line: a cold shower is a decent, low-cost way to cool down and feel fresher, especially after training in the heat. If you want what the immersion studies measured, sit in cold water. If you like both heat and cold, see our guide to contrast therapy at home.

Safety: who should be careful

Cold water is a real stress on the body. Never ice bath alone when you’re starting out, keep your head above the water, and get out if you feel numb, dizzy or confused, or start shivering hard. Check with a doctor first if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, Raynaud’s, cold allergy, or are pregnant. Ice baths are a recovery habit, not a treatment for injury.

Gear that helps

You don’t need much: a tub big enough to sit in up to your chest, ice, and a thermometer. Three tubs we like for home, from our ice bath tub guide:

The Ice Barrel 300 is a rigid, foam-insulated barrel that holds cold the longest; The Cold Pod XL and the HYDROS pod are cheap, light and fold away. Want water that’s always cold with no ice runs? Compare chilled tubs in our best cold plunges guide, or browse all ice baths. Team-sport players will find more recovery ideas on our soccer page.

Ice bath questions

How long should you stay in an ice bath after a workout?

Most research points to about 10–15 minutes in water around 50–59°F (10–15°C). Beginners should start with 1–3 minutes and build up. In colder water, stay in for less time.

What temperature should an ice bath be?

Studies on athletes mostly use 46–59°F (8–15°C), and the soreness meta-analysis found the best results at 52–59°F. Ice Barrel suggests anything below 60°F. Colder is not automatically better.

How soon after a workout should I ice bath?

Most athletes get in soon after training, once they’ve caught their breath and had a drink. If you’ve just lifted and want to build muscle, consider skipping it or waiting several hours, based on the Roberts study.

Is a cold shower as good as an ice bath?

Not quite. A cold shower cools you down and can help you feel fresher, but it doesn’t surround your body in cold water, and tap water is often warmer than the temperatures studied. It’s a good free option when you don’t have a tub.

How often can I take an ice bath?

Many athletes use them after their hardest sessions or games, a few times a week, rather than after every workout. If you’re in a strength or muscle-building phase, use them less.