The Secrets and Strategies of Cold Water Exposure
I couldn’t think of a worse time to write about the benefits of ice baths. Ten years ago you might find a few elites like Tony Robbins and super humans like Wim Hof swearing by cold plunges. But today, every weirdo and his dog harps on about cold water exposure, alongside their (supposedly deliberate) manic breathing episodes. Sadly, I guess I am one of those weirdos now even though I’d love to distance myself as much as possible from those kind of people. You know the kind, the ones that perceive their own farts as bad energy expelling from the body and let out a smile and a deep inhalation as the air escapes through their pursed gluteal eye and enters their nostrils.
Long story short: I tend to avoid weird, hippy juju beliefs and instead am attracted to activities with immediate benefits. I discovered cold showers two years ago and immediately noticed the benefits. And yes, I was the first person to turn the tap to the unknown and wait for the ‘not hot’ water to land on my skin. One of my greatest discoveries to date alongside hot food and warm baths. I graduated from cold showers to ice baths and the benefits doubled.
In a nutshell, cold water exposure can have a huge array of benefits but my favourites are:
- Mental resilience after finishing something you didn’t think you could do (or wanted to do). Being left with a feeling of success and a small win to carry through your day to trigger a further cascade of even more wins.
- Immediate surge in dopamine and adrenaline. This is probably my favourite benefit and takes me out of the aforementioned class of weirdos and puts me in the same bucket as junkies. After an ice bath i feel like I’ve just shot down three espressos and thrown away the glass.
- Any Physiological benefits that go unnoticed but are supposedly doing their thing (improved ability to manage adrenaline and stress hormones, circulation and skin health).
You don’t have to jump straight into an ice bath for these benefits, you can start in the uncomfort of your own shower. If you’re new to this, start with 30 seconds of cold showers. Big deep breaths help and just savage the f*** up and push through it. Continue adding 10 seconds every few days until you reach two minutes. Your body will quickly adapt and you’ll learn to better handle the cold.
If you do have access to an ice bath, start with 30 seconds. The first 30 seconds are going to be the hardest so this is as bad as it gets fortunately. Once you get in your breathing will want to go into shock. You’ll immediately start taking shallow breaths while your brain tells you something is wrong and you are going to die unless you get out. Wrong. Take deep breaths “fully in” and slowly. Calm your mind and override the defensive part of your brain telling you things are horrible. Tell yourself it’s just a sensation on your skin and nothing to worry about. Continue calming the mind through deep, slow breaths. Lean into the sensations on your skin. Take notice as to what it actually feels like such as tingles, numbness or a slight ache instead of “my foot is about to snap off”.
My brother Joel and I have been doing daily ice baths for over a year now and live for them. This week we managed to throw our parents in there (figuratively) and guide them through. Our dad survived one minute thirty before getting out and shivering. Mum survived 20 seconds before screaming in agony and launching out of the tub. To her credit, she redeemed herself a day later with another time of one minute thirty.
It’s amazing how quickly you can see the benefits and I think an important way to start your day pushing through discomfort. We live in a very comfortable world that conditions and rewards mental laziness. So much can happen in your life if you change your relationship with things that make you uncomfortable.
So jump in, start small, increase slowly and get fully in.
What I’ve been eating: This week, I picked up some beautiful grass fed porterhouse steaks. Typically, porterhouse cuts are rough and chewy and I’ll go for eye fillets or scotch fillets BUT when you can see the small veins of fat (marbling) through your steak then it’s probably gonna be a good one. Salt before you cook, allow it to come to room temperature then grill to your liking.
What I’ve been reading: Lying by Sam Harris. VERY interesting read on the merits of never telling a lie. Santa Claus, white lies and full blown lies are all deemed wrong in this book and his justifications for the belief is actually super sound. It might give you some additional options to the question of “do i look fat in this?”
What I’ve been watching: Rabbit Hole (the show, not the literal holes). Kiefer Sutherland, despite looking like someone’s Aunty, is a spy of sorts and has himself caught in a web of sh*t that’s actually a great watch. High drama and action with the classic plot twists and cliff hangers.
