Key Takeaways

Cold showers or cold water immersion can reduce muscle inflammation and soreness after a workout.

Hot showers or hot water immersion after a workout can improve performance on the same day or the next.

Hot showers should be about 104 degrees Fahrenheit, never painfully hot.

You finish a great gym session and are ready to hit the showers, but should you take a hot or cold shower after a workout? Cold water can reduce muscle soreness and inflammation, but hot water after exercise might improve your physical performance the next day.

What Happens When You Take a Cold Shower?

Taking a cold shower —or even a cold plunge—right after you exercise can decrease your muscle soreness and fatigue, research shows.

That’s likely because cold water has been shown to reduce creatin

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