Influence of Cooling on the Effect of Strength Training (IceAge)

The aim of this study is to investigate if regular cold water immersion after strength training has a negative influence on the desired training-induced performance enhancement.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Strength Training Effects
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: cold water immersion

Detailed Description

Recovery strategies represent a not sufficiently investigated chance in elite training control to optimize the complete training process. Coaches and athletes are confronted with numerous potentially effective recovery methods, e.g. cooling, warming, active recovery, compression, massage or power naps. However, the effectivity of these methods has rarely been investigated under controlled scientific conditions. Based on the state of the art,so far hardly any definite practical conclusions regarding effective recovery methods can be drawn, especially regarding sport-specific strategies and settings. Currently, cold water immersion is a particularly popular recovery strategy. However, there are hints that repeated cooling interventions after training can impair the training effect. This could potentially be caused by a faster reconstitution of homeostasis due to cooling. For fast recovery of performance, this effect would be desirable, but at the same time these homeostatic disturbances are the basis of signal processes leading to training adaptations.

The aim of this study is to investigate if regular cold water immersion after strength training has a negative influence on the desired training-induced performance enhancement.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 11
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Germany
  • Saarland
    • Saarbrücken, Saarland, Germany, 66123
      • Saarland University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 40 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• healthy, 18-40 years, strength training experience, 8 weeks no leg strength training

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: cooling; strength training and cold water immersion	Other: cold water immersion; 10 min at 12-15°C
No Intervention: control; strength training and no cold water immersion

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
1 Repetition Maximum	Maximum weight in kg that can be successfully moved in a leg press	8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Counter Movement Jump	Maximum jump height in cm in a counter movement jump, measured with a force plate	8 weeks
blood parameters	CRP, CK, IL-6, IGF-1	8 weeks
muscle biopsy	p70S6, PAX7+, NCAM+	8 weeks
muscle thickness	upper leg circumference in cm	8 weeks
subjective restfulness of sleep	5-point Likert scale on subjective restfulness of sleep (1: very, 5: not at all)	2 weeks
time in bed	Questionnaire recording time of going to bed (time in hh:mm), sleep onset latency (duration in min), waking time (time in hh:mm), and time of getting up (time in hh:mm). From these items, the average time in bed per day is calculated, starting at "time of going to bed" and ending at "time of getting up".	2 weeks
sleeping time	Questionnaire recording time of going to bed (time in hh:mm), sleep onset latency (duration in min), waking time (time in hh:mm), and time of getting up (time in hh:mm). From these items, the average sleeping time per day is calculated, starting at "time of going to bed + sleep onset latency" and ending at "waking time".	2 weeks
questionnaire on recovery and stress	Short Recovery and Stress Scale for Sport (SRSS): assessing recovery (physical performance capability, mental performance capability, emotional balance, overall recovery) and stress (muscular stress, lack of activation, negative emotional state, overall stress), each item is rated on a 7-point rating scale (0: does not apply at all, 6: fully applies). For evaluation, two outcome values ("recovery" and "stress") are calculated as the sum of the corresponding subvalues, i.e. each outcome value is on a 25-point scale (0: does not apply at all, 24: fully applies).	2 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Universität des Saarlandes
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Tim Meyer, Prof., Universität des Saarlandes

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: August 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2017
• Study Completion (Actual): July 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 29, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 1, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): November 6, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 17, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 14, 2017
• Last Verified: November 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: cold water immersion, strength training, training effect
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2512BI1901

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED