Do cold-water plunges really speed post-workout muscle recovery?

Post-workout cold plunges may be having a moment, but a new study dunks on the practice. After a tough workout, muscle recovery was no better in women who immersed themselves in chilly water than in women who didn’t. No recovery benefits came from a hot soak, either. The decidedly tepid results appear May 7 in PLOS One.

Thirty women completed five sets of 20 drop-jumps — grueling exercises that require a drop from a thigh-high box followed immediately by a powerful jump…