When you’ve worked up a sweat, your muscles ache, and your heart is racing, there are few things that seem more inviting than a quick rinse in the shower.

Hitting the shower after a workout is good for you for multiple reasons. Getting sweat off your body is essential to your hygiene, and massaging your muscles with soothing jets of water can help keep lactic acid from getting trapped in sore muscles.

But a post-workout shower alone isn’t a quick-fix for workout recovery. Your post-workout recovery routine should include a less-strenuous cool down period before you take a shower or bath.

Let’s cover the do’s and don’ts of showering after a workout.

Does showering or bathing after a workout help you recover?

Showering after a workout does help your muscles to recover, and boosts your body’s ability to bounce back and be ready for your next workout.

That’s because showering can get lactic acid, the natural chemical reaction that causes soreness, out of your muscles.

Cold water immersion (such as an ice bath) has been shown to boost recovery in addition to helping you build muscle and recover faster after a strength workout, according to a 2015 studyTrusted Source of 21 men who were observed for 12 weeks.

A small 2019 studyTrusted Source of nine people showed that a cold shower helps decrease your heart rate and reduce cardiac stress quickly after working out in a high-temperature environment.

However, a study performed in 2017 suggested that active recovery (such as 10 minutes of cycling on a stationary bike after a tough workout) was just as beneficial for building muscle as a cold shower would be.