We’ve all been told that icing a sore muscle really helps reduce the swelling and soreness that comes with exercise, and is the best way to speed recovery so you can get back into the gym and back to hard training and rapid growth. But new research seems to turn this idea on its head.

Scientists recently tested whether immersing your quads in ice water after exercise helped keep delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) at bay. The results? “The protocol of ice-water immersion used in this study was ineffectual in minimising markers of DOMS...” The researchers made the startling conclusion that “[t]his study challenges the wide use of this intervention as a recovery strategy by athletes.”

FUSION FACT

For the time being, it looks like you no longer have to immerse your body parts in frigid ice water to speed recovery. In fact, you’d probably be better off just drinking said ice water, according to this study. We think that plenty of stretching, a diet rich in proteins and garlic, and the use of anti-inflammatory enzymes and BCAAs is the way to grow faster than ever.