Gym results run hot and cold

First, researchers discovered cold water immersion after a workout can ruin your gym gains. Now there's evidence hot water immersion does the same. Hamish McGorm from The University of Queensland School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences will try to resolve the quandary on an upcoming research mission to New Zealand. "After it was shown that cold water immersion inhibits muscle mass development, we did expect that hot water immersion might provide the opposite effect," Mr McGorm said. "Preliminary testing suggested that cold water immersion led to poor muscle regeneration, but heat helped. "However, our testing on 16 human participants over a 10-week period demonstrated no improvements in strength and a reduction in muscle mass development with regular application of hot water immersion. "What needs to be done now is molecular analysis to explain why we are getting these results, which I plan to begin in New Zealand later this year." Mr McGorm collaborated with Dr Llion Roberts and Professor Jeff Coombes , both from UQ.