Recovery Pools

At the Adams Centre we believe that an athlete's recovery is just as important as their training. We have three therapy pools available for athletes to use that have a wide range of benefits.

The two cold pools are set at 12 degrees and the hot pool is set at 40 degrees. Pools can be accessed by any of our academy members, tenants and also visiting teams. Pool availability is posted each week in the weekly schedule.

Note:

• Groups of 10 or more need to book pool space in advance.

• Pool use is subject to venue heath and safety requirements

• Pools are not to be accessed alone, must be used in pairs or under supervision

Cold Water Therapy

Getting into cold water has both pain-reducing and anti-inflammatory benefits:

Pain Reducing

Unsurprisingly, immersing yourself in cold water reduces body temperature (core, skin & muscle) which, depending on the protocol used, can continue to drop (slowly, with no harmful effects) for 30 min afterwards. This has the following benefits, including an overall reduction in muscle pain:

• Reduces nerve activity, which decreases pain & soreness and therefore improves muscle function

• Reduces swelling & inflammation caused by exercise

Anti-inflammatory

When immersing yourself in cold water, your body wants to protect its vital organs, so moves blood to the core by closing blood vessels in the hands and feet, through a process known as vasoconstriction. This has the following benefits:

Improves blood flow to the muscles, which reduces swelling & inflammation caused by exercise, decreases pain & soreness and improves muscle function.

Hot Water Therapy

When immersing yourself in hot water, the body wants to lose heat, so moves blood to the skin by opening blood vessels in the hands and feet through a process known as vasodilation. This has the following benefits:

Improves blood flow to muscles, which;

• Shuttles metabolic by-products of exercise away

• Brings in inflammatory molecules and protein to help with repair

• Delivers glycogen, which has been depleted during exercise

Contrast Water Therapy

When you alternate between immersion in cold and hot water, your body alternates between closing and opening blood vessels, which stimulates blood flow and has the following benefits:

Improves blood flow to muscles, which;

• Shuttles metabolic by-products of exercise away

• Brings in inflammatory molecules and protein to help with repair

• Delivers glycogen, which has been depleted during exercise

• Reduces swelling & inflammation caused by exercise, which decreases pain & soreness and therefore, improves muscle function

• Stimulates the central nervous system, which reduces fatigue