Some research has indicated that cold water immersion can have an effect on our hormones, which can ultimately impact mood, as you have noticed!
Check out this episode of the Science of Getting Faster Podcast where I talked with Dr. Laura Wilson. We covered many of the points raised in this thread!
Sometimes science can’t answer questions. My story:
Nowadays I get 3-4 whole body massages a week, 20 minutes each, it’s like getting a professional massage. Hands, forearms, lats, back, glutes, hamstrings, calves, and feet. Has improved relaxation and reduced soreness. Performance? Maybe, if you consider I sleep more soundly after getting into the chair before bed. But I would rephrase and say we are a hell of a lot happier. We both lift weights, and between the two straddle the 6 decade mark, so in addition to soreness from lifting we are at that age where we also wake up to mystery aches and pains.
Empirical evidence > science
Great point, although I am not sure how much inflammation you would have just after the start and onwards into a taper? The taper itself takes care of that???
Empirical evidence > science
Genuinely; how did you type this with a straight face and without feeling embarrassed?
The earth is flat… I’ve seen it. Spirit levels prove it.
Because I come from the exact or hard sciences (math, physics, engineering), where there is extremely high predictive power, carried out in repeatable experiments, with precise measurements and agreement.
Empirical evidence often precedes the science. In sports science studies, it is pretty common to see interventions with some non-responders and athletes that decline rather than improve. However some studies do provide a compass, but “your mileage may vary” as they say.
Of course there are a good collection of first principles, however this is a branch of science with less predictive power and fuzziness which gets more into discussing the probability of an intervention. In other words, a fancy way of saying “it depends.” Which is perfectly fine.