“New Drug of Choice”: Gary Brecka Comes Clean on the Effects of Cold Plunges for Recovery

Intense exercises often bring muscle wear and tear with them. If one doesn’t take enough precautions, it could lead to long-term negative effects. That’s where recovery methods like cold plunges come in, which help enhance muscle conditions, especially after heavy-duty workouts. Biologist Gary Brecka once spoke about it.

However, every activity comes with certain limitations and a sweet spot that provides an optimum output. Regarding cold plunges, Brecka talked about how long one should take a dip and how low one could crank the temperature. Since it plays an important role in recovery, it was crucial to understand how one could efficiently use it as a tool.

The sweet spot for an effective cold plunge is three to six minutes. According to his experience performing the recovery activity, Brecka takes cold plunges, oscillating between these two periods. He also specifies that the lower temperatures should range anywhere between 48 and 50°F.

“I haven’t seen much research that colder is better or longer is specifically better. So 48-50°F, three minutes minimum, six minutes maximum seems to be the sweet spot.”

Talking about the frequency of the activity, Brecka clarified that one could perform cold plunges every single day without negative effects. And if one didn’t have access to a system that enabled it, they could use the shower to stimulate the cold environment as well.

“It will become your new drug of choice if you haven’t done it.”

For cold showers, Brecka advised easing into the environment. Start with the regular shower routine, lather up, step out for a minute, and crank the shower temperature to as low as possible. He recommends spending a minute before working one’s way up the clock. Recovery from physical strain could manifest itself in many forms. While cold plunges were one of the techniques that Brecka addressed, he has also dived deep into the world of supplements for the same.

Gary Brecka slams supplement consumers for not being mindful

In today’s world, where almost every ailment comes with a solution in the form of supplements, it’s easy to get lost in the giant wave. However, Brecka wasn’t too happy about Americans having cabinets full of these additional pills and powders.

According to the biologist, supplements have to have a particular purpose. They were there to replenish deficiencies and assist the functioning of the body. However, with the ready availability of such additions to one’s meal or routine, it wasn’t difficult to go overboard. He wanted consumers to stop supplementing for the sake of supplementing and start supplementing for deficiencies.