Cold Therapy Anyone?
Discussion
mcelliott said:
Sea swim everyday, mental clarity, setting up a more productive day when done early morning some mobility benefits zero fat loss, cold showers too, they’re just a bit boring, get out into nature is my advice
I would debate that as the type of person who wants to sea swim you already have a get up and go attitude. I swim all year round in Finland. The main criteria are:
no wind, at least 2 dry towels, don't put your head under, stay calm and let the cold do the work for you.
The wind chill is magnifying the effect, so a clear day is easier to control your skin temperature.
You use a dry towel to stand on, the other you dry yourself off. Some people wear rubber shoes/crocs but this keeps the water next to your skin and that is what will freeze. If the water is liquid its ok, even if you have to chop thru the ice to get it.
I use a small towel to dry my hands before I grab the handle instead of gloves. I then stand on the towel as your boots can freeze to the jetty.
Surfers ear is where the bone in your ear for hearing grows due to the cold. Some get around this by wearing earplugs or a cap. Me I just wear a beanie and don't put my ears under.
Its water, so no matter how cold it is, the water is its above freezing. You want to be as calm as possible when you enter the water. Deep breaths in and concerntrate on the heat in your inner core.
Don't dive in, just lower yourself into the water and think calm. I just doggy paddle or even move one limb at a time as you hold onto a jetty ladder and squeeze my torso tight. Its more effective to stretch and move than frantically swim as it helps joints.
You don't have to prove it to anyone by swimming anywhere or how long you can stay in. Shut your eyes and listen to your body. Its a bit woo woo sounding. But I actually find the build up to getting in and then the dry off and stretch more useful, i am only in the water for a few seconds.
I am quite happy doing some stretches on the jetty and letting the cold work the brown fat in your body. This is the hard stuff to burn. After you have stopped swimming, dry off your feet and get changed into dry clothes walk back to your car.
Don't go crazy with how long you swim or even if at all. You find that starting now before it gets cold allows your metabolism to learn rather than doing it once in the thick of winter and expecting the same results.
no wind, at least 2 dry towels, don't put your head under, stay calm and let the cold do the work for you.
The wind chill is magnifying the effect, so a clear day is easier to control your skin temperature.
You use a dry towel to stand on, the other you dry yourself off. Some people wear rubber shoes/crocs but this keeps the water next to your skin and that is what will freeze. If the water is liquid its ok, even if you have to chop thru the ice to get it.
I use a small towel to dry my hands before I grab the handle instead of gloves. I then stand on the towel as your boots can freeze to the jetty.
Surfers ear is where the bone in your ear for hearing grows due to the cold. Some get around this by wearing earplugs or a cap. Me I just wear a beanie and don't put my ears under.
Its water, so no matter how cold it is, the water is its above freezing. You want to be as calm as possible when you enter the water. Deep breaths in and concerntrate on the heat in your inner core.
Don't dive in, just lower yourself into the water and think calm. I just doggy paddle or even move one limb at a time as you hold onto a jetty ladder and squeeze my torso tight. Its more effective to stretch and move than frantically swim as it helps joints.
You don't have to prove it to anyone by swimming anywhere or how long you can stay in. Shut your eyes and listen to your body. Its a bit woo woo sounding. But I actually find the build up to getting in and then the dry off and stretch more useful, i am only in the water for a few seconds.
I am quite happy doing some stretches on the jetty and letting the cold work the brown fat in your body. This is the hard stuff to burn. After you have stopped swimming, dry off your feet and get changed into dry clothes walk back to your car.
Don't go crazy with how long you swim or even if at all. You find that starting now before it gets cold allows your metabolism to learn rather than doing it once in the thick of winter and expecting the same results.
From all the data I've seen, it's pretty unequivocal that it's got a host of benefits attached to it. The same as heat exposure. Just a shame I can't bring myself to partake 
https://podcastdisclosed.com/dr-susanna-soberg-how...
https://podcastdisclosed.com/dr-susanna-soberg-how...
Having gone for a swim today I thought of some of the things I do that I did not mention. I walk to the swimming spot, enough to get my body temperature warm, but not so much that I am sweating or breathing through my mouth.
I take a couple of deep breaths whilst I am getting undressed and stretch, i have my cozi on before I head out so I don't need to go commando.
My most beneficial dips are just quiet moments where I am not trying to get to a point where I am uncomfortable. I am just trying to enjoy the heat of the sun and the cool water.
The reason I do it is also psychological, I am not trying to do it for anyone else, I am not trying to do it every Tuesday or with a friend. The only time I have gone with anyone was my kids wanted to photograph me in January at -10°C for the iconic hole in the ice moment. But that was my limit, there are lots of chubby old ladies who swim around as though its a heated pool.
This is not a gym membership, its free and weirdly it does what it says on the tin. I don't get a cold or flu anymore, joint pain has gone away and I have lost weight around my waist, chin and legs. All the hard to lose places. I have a shower when I get home and give the car a drive too.
I take a couple of deep breaths whilst I am getting undressed and stretch, i have my cozi on before I head out so I don't need to go commando.
My most beneficial dips are just quiet moments where I am not trying to get to a point where I am uncomfortable. I am just trying to enjoy the heat of the sun and the cool water.
The reason I do it is also psychological, I am not trying to do it for anyone else, I am not trying to do it every Tuesday or with a friend. The only time I have gone with anyone was my kids wanted to photograph me in January at -10°C for the iconic hole in the ice moment. But that was my limit, there are lots of chubby old ladies who swim around as though its a heated pool.
This is not a gym membership, its free and weirdly it does what it says on the tin. I don't get a cold or flu anymore, joint pain has gone away and I have lost weight around my waist, chin and legs. All the hard to lose places. I have a shower when I get home and give the car a drive too.
fridaypassion said:
I got into a routine of having a cold shower on a morning but find it pretty uncomfortable now the summer has gone. I should get back into it it does seem to set you up for the day. Doesn't seem to have done Wim Hoff any harm.
Hmm, Wim Hoff... "interesting" character for sure but like a lot of these self proclaimed "gurus" there's a lot muddy water around the edges.It's the latest thing on the 'gram for sure, now all the old sesh heads can't outdo each other with their Wainright hikes they need to up their game.
There's something in it, an exhilaration at least and I like the poster above saying about it waking you up and setting you off for the day but long term health benefits I'm not as sure. My wife is a biologist and she maintains it's snake oil and there are some studies that prove the complete opposite. I haven't looked into any of that but she reckons any study that claims it's beneficial is very, very vague in it's results whereas the risks are pretty clear.
Is it doing anything, or anything extra over and above what the users are doing? On a peak performance athlete if it aids recovery (wasn't that the original goal?) it might be marginal gains.
On your mate who posts all his fitness goals and food on the 'gram, doing two sessions a week after his high intensity training with his personal trainer? I'm not so sure.
The other boast is the mental health aspect. I've seen those boasts and if I'm honest the people making them sound an awful lot to me like people who need to believe in something helping their mental health.
Getting back to Wim Hoff, I like listening to him but I wouldn't buy a second hand car off him never mind have him as my medical advisor.
I am into my training and cardio etc, tried most things, but one thing I cannot bring myself to try is an ice cold shower. Especially in winter.
I'm guessing if you lived in a hot country and your body spent most of the time hot, then some cold therapy would be beneficial, living here in blighty, I seem to be permanently cold anyway, so jumping in an ice cold shower is not high up my wishlist.
It just seems an unnecessary discomfort I don't need to put myself through, being just an average gym rat.
I'm guessing if you lived in a hot country and your body spent most of the time hot, then some cold therapy would be beneficial, living here in blighty, I seem to be permanently cold anyway, so jumping in an ice cold shower is not high up my wishlist.
It just seems an unnecessary discomfort I don't need to put myself through, being just an average gym rat.
Very unlikely that a scientific study can gauge wether cold water immersion helps with mental health, but what I can say it’s helped a lot of people I know, particularly sea swimming, discipline and goal setting are very useful when battling mental health, personally I love the challenge, the colder and wilder the weather the better, 20 minutes of discomfort in our otherwise risk free and cosseted world is no big deal.
Bottom line is it’s works for some and not for others.
Bottom line is it’s works for some and not for others.
If you are ever in Helsinki you are welcome to visit Allas Sea pool. They have a filtered sea water pool, the wooden lined one in the centre of the photo. It has the pump outlet under the wooden steps, drawn from the lower part of the harbour so the water is always bracing, but also so the entry point won't freeze over.
Just don't make the same mistake I did and sit down on the edge of the kiddie pool in January and realise my togs had frozen to the wooden bench. Waiting patiently for the old ladies to finish their aquajog length i gave myself a crack and sack getting up.
Others find the cold shower more practical as you just turn the dial to cold, take a deep breath and exhale.
Just don't make the same mistake I did and sit down on the edge of the kiddie pool in January and realise my togs had frozen to the wooden bench. Waiting patiently for the old ladies to finish their aquajog length i gave myself a crack and sack getting up.
Others find the cold shower more practical as you just turn the dial to cold, take a deep breath and exhale.
I just get out of bed in winter. Thermostat set to 9C. Apparently "under 10C" is cold water level.
Mindfulness also helps with many of the benefits eg discipline, improved mental health, focus... although as mentioned before, it takes discipline to do mindfulness so... ?
Mindfulness also helps with many of the benefits eg discipline, improved mental health, focus... although as mentioned before, it takes discipline to do mindfulness so... ?
Edited by Hoofy on Tuesday 14th November 10:05
mcelliott said:
Very unlikely that a scientific study can gauge wether cold water immersion helps with mental health, but what I can say it’s helped a lot of people I know, particularly sea swimming, discipline and goal setting are very useful when battling mental health, personally I love the challenge, the colder and wilder the weather the better, 20 minutes of discomfort in our otherwise risk free and cosseted world is no big deal.
Bottom line is it’s works for some and not for others.
If it works for some people, what does it do? Without that proof it's all here-say.Bottom line is it’s works for some and not for others.
And it's incredibly unlikely anyone can show with proof that it is doing anything beneficial. Those you claim it's helped with their mental health, even if they are doing absolutely nothing else to improve themselves except cold water therapy (which is pretty unlikely) the proof any improvement is down to cold water shock is anecdotal at best.
As you say, discipline, goal setting and exercise are well known to help all sorts of mental health and addiction issues. Is the cold water shock just part of that discipline or some miracle cure they can't do without?
Anecdotally, most of the average joes I see partaking are simply following their addictive behaviour patterns I've seen throughout their lives. It used to be drink and drug addictions, now it's health and fitness and just like their more corrosive addictions they end up chasing the latest "extreme". At least it's now apparently healthier activities.
I do know a few open water swimmers which appears on the face of it a very different activity than simple cold water shock therapy. They seem to do it out of a very different type of enjoyment and more as an individual sport, no different to fell runners or anything else.
There's a local bathing pool in my river that I walk past most days and do see people in there and even spoke to a couple in the summer who invited me in! I can see the appeal, it's secluded and a beautiful spot, getting at one with nature would be beautiful there but it's not without it's risks-if nothing else it flashes there occasionally-a boy was drowned when I was young there. But my days of river swimming are well and truly behind me.
As a child I'd be in the water no f
ks given like some sort of Otter. Now I hate having it anywhere near my privates and then my nipples so have to jump in to get it over with. Even then I don't enjoy it but should go swimming more especially as I have access to a free pool.
Not tried cold therapy myself but it seems recently that as soon as a woman gets to middle age she's out swimming in the winter sea. Bonus points for a paddleboard and bob haircut.
ks given like some sort of Otter. Now I hate having it anywhere near my privates and then my nipples so have to jump in to get it over with. Even then I don't enjoy it but should go swimming more especially as I have access to a free pool.Not tried cold therapy myself but it seems recently that as soon as a woman gets to middle age she's out swimming in the winter sea. Bonus points for a paddleboard and bob haircut.
Nothing hardcore like some on this thread, but last December I started turning the shower onto cold for the last few minutes. I've kept it up when I can (sometimes hotels etc don't really go cold).
No idea if it's doing me any good, but touch wood I haven't had any cold, COVID etc in the last 11 months.
No idea if it's doing me any good, but touch wood I haven't had any cold, COVID etc in the last 11 months.
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