Working with the athletic teams in the summer months, we use totes filled with ice water-simpy an "ice bath". It is like the end of the world when you are getting in as your body seems to lose touch with reality. After a couple of minutes, you are numb to the cold and start to tolerate it. I promise this is the only thing I have ever done that helped me recover and start right back where I left off at. I realize most wont have access to something like this, but it works.