Athletes and gym members alike have been using ice packs and ice baths for decades to reduce inflammation and pain, both before and after workouts.

While these types of cold therapy work to a certain extent, they’ve never been fun. Holding an ice pack for hours is boring — and submerging your body into an ice bath is downright excruciating.

Thanks to whole-body cryotherapy chambers like the one at AFAC gym, it’s possible to reap all the benefits of cold therapy in about 3 minutes with no downtime!

The cryotherapy chamber at AFAC gym is so fast and convenient that it can be used pre- or post-exercise. Because of this, our members often ask the question, “Is it better to do cryotherapy before or after my workout at the gym?”

The answer is, it depends! Read on to learn the benefits of getting cryotherapy before or after your workouts at AFAC’s Thornton, CO, gym.

Benefits of Doing Cryotherapy Before Your Workout at the Gym

Multiple studies have provided evidence that doing whole-body cryotherapy before a gym workout or other athletic event can help you get your muscles moving and “go the extra mile” during your exercise session. Pre-exercise cryotherapy has been shown to:

• Enhance exercise readiness — An article published by Frontiers in Physiology in 2019 said that the hormonal, anti-inflammatory, psychological, and perceptual responses after a single — or repeated — whole-body cryotherapy session can enhance an athlete’s competitive readiness. This is especially true when cryotherapy is used alongside traditional warm-ups in the hours before a competition. It’s believed that whole-body cryotherapy before exercise alleviates pain and fatigue, which in turn improves performance.
• Increase range of motion — Cryotherapy is often used before workouts at the gym to increase range of motion, blood flow, and flexibility throughout the body. A cryotherapy clinic in Texas reported that, after cryotherapy, their customers felt looser and performed better during workouts. Customers also said their joints didn’t feel as stiff.
• Boost endurance — A 2012 article published in Sport Medicine said that pre-workout cryotherapy is used by athletes to reduce temperature before exercise in order to decrease heat stress and improve performance. The article’s authors located 27 peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials which examined the effects of pre-workout cooling on performance. They found that pre-cooling can enhance endurance exercise, particularly in hot environments. This is likely because of the positive correlation between the increased flow of oxygen that you get from cryotherapy, and the increased anaerobic and aerobic processes that are required for endurance exercises. Therefore, researchers concluded that pre-workout cryotherapy is most effective for endurance exercises like running and cycling, but not as effective for sprint exercises.
• Improve pre-workout mood — Whole-body cryotherapy can give you a boost of energy and alertness that enhances your gym workouts. A chain of cryotherapy facilities in Chicago says that their clients who do cryotherapy prior to workouts can run faster and strength train heavier. They attribute these benefits to the release of endorphins – feel-good hormones that are released by the body after a whole-body cryotherapy session.

Benefits of Doing Cryotherapy After Your Workout at the Gym

One of the top reasons why people at the gym do whole-body cryotherapy after workouts is because it can speed recovery and soft-tissue healing, as well as reduce soreness. This helps gym members get back to their workouts as soon as possible. Here are some of the reasons why whole-body cryotherapy chambers are credited with helping gym members return to their favorite strength training workouts and cardio machines:

• Faster recovery times — A 2017 study published by the International Journal of Sports Medicine reviewed 16 articles on the topic of muscle recovery for study subjects who received whole-body cryotherapy following exercise. Exercise sessions in the studies were performed both in a laboratory setting and during sport-specific training. Results indicated that muscle pain was reduced in 80% of the studies following whole-body cryotherapy. Recovery of athletic performance improved in 71% of the studies that examined the effects of cryotherapy on controlled exercise. Other benefits of whole-body cryotherapy treatment included a reduction in inflammation and lower concentrations of markers for muscle cell damage. These results suggest that whole-body cryotherapy may improve recovery from muscle damage, pain, loss of muscle function, and markers of inflammation.
• Reduced inflammation — Most research supports the claim that whole-body cryotherapy reduces inflammation that affects athletes and gym enthusiasts.
• Pain relief — Research also supports the idea that whole-body cryotherapy reduces pain. It mainly does so by numbing nerves all over your body, similar to how an ice pack numbs pain for a sore muscle or joint.
• Increased flexibility — Whole-body cryotherapy can also help you touch your toes! In one study, participants experienced an immediate improvement in their sit-and-reach stretch after one session of whole-body cryotherapy.

You Can Count on Cryotherapy Before or After Your Workouts at AFAC Gym

Whether you choose to schedule a whole-body cryotherapy session at AFAC gym before an intense cardiovascular workout or after your first day of full-body strength training, it’s beneficial for you both physically and mentally. Are you unsure whether pre-exercise or post-exercise cryotherapy is best for you? Then we suggest you try both to discover which one you prefer.

For more information about our spotless cryotherapy chamber and how to schedule an appointment, please contact our staff and we’ll be glad to help you. You can also contact our gym owner, Susan, at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club for assistance.