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Consecutive days of cold water immersion: effects on cycling performance and heart rate variability

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Abstract

We investigated performance and heart rate (HR) variability (HRV) over consecutive days of cycling with post-exercise cold water immersion (CWI) or passive recovery (PAS). In a crossover design, 11 cyclists completed two separate 3-day training blocks (120 min cycling per day, 66 maximal sprints, 9 min time trialling [TT]), followed by 2 days of recovery-based training. The cyclists recovered from each training session by standing in cold water (10 °C) or at room temperature (27 °C) for 5 min. Mean power for sprints, total TT work and HR were assessed during each session. Resting vagal-HRV (natural logarithm of square-root of mean squared differences of successive R–R intervals; ln rMSSD) was assessed after exercise, after the recovery intervention, during sleep and upon waking. CWI allowed better maintenance of mean sprint power (between-trial difference [90 % confidence limits] +12.4 % [5.9; 18.9]), cadence (+2.0 % [0.6; 3.5]), and mean HR during exercise (+1.6 % [0.0; 3.2]) compared with PAS. ln rMSSD immediately following CWI was higher (+144 % [92; 211]) compared with PAS. There was no difference between the trials in TT performance (−0.2 % [−3.5; 3.0]) or waking ln rMSSD (−1.2 % [−5.9; 3.4]). CWI helps to maintain sprint performance during consecutive days of training, whereas its effects on vagal-HRV vary over time and depend on prior exercise intensity.

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Abbreviations

CI:

Confidence interval

CWI:

Cold water immersion

ES:

Effect size

HR:

Heart rate

HR(ave) :

Mean heart rate

HR(peak) :

Peak heart rate

HR(post-recovery) :

Heart rate immediately following the recovery intervention

HR(post-session) :

Heart rate immediately following the laboratory training session

HR(wake) :

Heart rate upon waking

HRV:

Heart rate variability

ln rMSSD:

Natural logarithm of the square-root of mean squared differences of successive R–R intervals

ln rMSSD(post-session) :

ln rMSSD immediately following the laboratory training session

ln rMSSD(post-recovery) :

ln rMSSD immediately following the recovery intervention

ln rMSSD(sleep) :

ln rMSSD during estimated slow wave sleep

ln rMSSD(wake) :

ln rMSSD upon waking

PAS:

Passive recovery

PPO:

Peak power output

RPE:

Rating of perceived exertion

TT:

Time-trial

VO2peak :

Peak oxygen uptake

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge and thank the cyclists for their generous time commitment and effort throughout the study. This study was supported by the Centre of Excellence for Applied Sport Science Research at the Queensland Academy of Sport, Brisbane.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre of Excellence for Applied Sport Science Research, Queensland Academy of Sport, Brisbane, Australia

    Jamie Stanley & Jonathan M. Peake

  2. School of Human Movement Studies, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Jamie Stanley

  3. School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

    Jonathan M. Peake

  4. Physiology Unit, Sport Science Department, Aspire, Academy for Sports Excellence, Doha, Qatar

    Martin Buchheit

Authors
  1. Jamie Stanley
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  2. Jonathan M. Peake
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  3. Martin Buchheit
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jamie Stanley.

Additional information

Communicated by Narihiko Kondo.

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Stanley, J., Peake, J.M. & Buchheit, M. Consecutive days of cold water immersion: effects on cycling performance and heart rate variability. Eur J Appl Physiol 113, 371–384 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-012-2445-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-012-2445-2

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