(Picture acquired from the Boulder Polar Bear Club website)Apparently causing hot and cold constrasts in the body allow for better blood flow in the body. For instance, when its hot, the body rushes away from your internal organs toward the skin in an attempt to prevent your vital organs from overheating. (Giving a nice red hue on your skin) Imagine after that you jump straight into a cold shower, the blood is then quickly prompted by the body to rush back to your internal organs and keep it safe and warm. Switching from hot and cold will cause the blood to move back and forth between the skin and the internal organs, therefore causing increased blood circulation and therefore faster transportation of nutrients.
It is recommended to alternate between a sauna/steam room and cold plunge after a workout. This will stimulate faster muscle recovery, as well as reducing postworkout inflammation from muscular hypertrophy due to the effects of a cold shower.
Mark Verstegen of Core Performance recommends alternating between 2-3 minutes in a hot tub and 30-60 seconds in a cold plunge, doing this 3-4 times for maximum effect. This would also be an excellent time for a recovery shake due to quick absorption by the body. (Hot tubs can be replaced with sauna, and a cold plunge with a cold shower)
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