Pros & Cons of Showering After a Run

After getting back from an arduous, and maybe a very sweaty run nothing feels more refreshing than walking into the shower to rinse off all the grime with some free-flowing water.

In an ideal world we would love to fit in all of the little things like stretching, core, eating, hydrating, and oh yeah, showering, before moving on with our day.

However, in the busy lifestyles that we all have today, taking the time to shower may mean sacrificing other aspects of your routine. 

Today we will cover the positives and drawbacks of a hot and cold shower after a run, and include some activities that may better serve your needs instead. 

Although there are some comprehensive benefits to showering after a run, one can manipulate these benefits depending on the temperature of your water.

Taking a hot and/or cold shower can offer many benefits as a post-run ritual, and even enhance recovery and health.

Some of these benefits may differ depending on the temperature of the water.

Hot Shower

It is no secret that muscles tighten up after a run, showering in warm water post-run can aid in muscle relaxation and enhance your recovery throughout the day.

A 2017 study investigated the effects of heat therapy vs a control group and found that those who treated muscles with some heat therapy saw a small decrease in muscle and joint pain and tightness over the course of a 3 week period. This may suggest that hot showers can aid in muscle soreness over time...and aid in the recovery process.

This means that hot showers can also promote blood flow throughout the body, which means better recovery after your runs.

Taking a hot shower at the end of the day can relax your brain as well as your body, which could improve sleep. Sleep is thought to be one of the most important aids in recovery, which means as runners we need a lot of high-quality sleep. Hot showers seem to aid in this process.

Cold Shower

Cold showers can also provide a number of benefits to your body after a run, this could be considered as a mini post-run ice bath, which has some proven benefits in terms of recovery.

The first benefit of cold water showers is the decrease in inflammation across the body. Inflammation is the body’s natural healing response to strenuous exercise.

It also aids in the recovery process, but the body often overcompensates with too much of it, which can slow the recovery process between physical activity.

Compounding inflammation can lead to injuries down the line, so mindfully decreasing it can often help manage the build-up and lead to faster muscle recovery. Cold showers are a sensible method to accomplish this goal.

Along those same lines, inflammation also leads to increased muscle soreness, which can decrease performance further adaptation. Cold showers could aid in managing muscle soreness as well by decreasing inflammation in these sore areas of the body.

Furthermore, cold showers can decrease cortisol levels throughout the body. Cortisol is the body’s natural stress hormone that releases for a number of reasons including running and other physical activities.

Build up of cortisol over time can lead to stress responses that may cause injury or burnout. Cold showers may help lower cortisol levels and keep you in the game for longer, so why not give it a try!

This does not have to be a long session, just five minutes of hitting the major muscle groups like calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. One minute stretch for each of these groups can have a tremendously positive impact over time.

As a runner, exercising your core muscles is pretty much a non-negotiable, as it will definitely aid in performance and form improvements.

Often times runners will do a little core workout after a run to cool down and strengthen at the same time. Going right into the shower can often lead to neglecting such an activity, and that seems like a bad habit. 

Bottom line, try to get a little core in a couple of days a week, even if its at the expense of a shower.

Finally, eating and rehydrating after a run is vital for recovery. Most research suggests that you should take in some carbs and protein no more than 30 minutes after physical activity for optimal recovery.

Showering can interfere with this window of time, so make sure to grab and bite and sip of something before hopping into the shower and getting on with the rest of your day.

The bright side is that these activities are not mutually exclusive, and you can fit everything in if your time management is good.

In the end, taking a shower after your run offers a lot of positives in terms of muscle recovery, improved sleep, and washing away sweat and odors. These all mean that it is probably worth hopping in for a rinse off after a good run.

It is worth experimenting with both hot and cold water in the shower, as they both offer some benefits and it would be good to see what works best for you as an individual.

Just make sure not to neglect all of the other important little things that you can do after your run in favor of a shower, there is time for everything over the course of a day or week, and it all makes a difference in terms of staying healthy for your next run.