Cold Plunges?

[uncastan]

Been doing the cold plunge just with cold water in the bath tub for a few months. I love the feeling when you get out and begin to warm up, seems like this continues for at least an hour. Great start to the day.

 

[lamarclark09]

Well, I have heard a lot about them too. I even heard that many athletes and fighters use ice baths too for recovery. Ice baths are really good in reducing muscle soreness and inflammation. It also improves metabolism. So yes this can actually be a good thing for you. This is gonna be difficult in the beginning but trust the process, your breathing will be under control with time. And then you can extend the time for as long as you want.

 

[D S 319]

What are the studies on doing this daily, long term, on things like lung, heart, kidneys, etc.

We used to ice bath our legs/ knees, and shoulder packs on ice as needed after hockey games. Trainers told us not to fill the ice bath higher than waist high so large internal organs weren’t in the ice bath.

Studies are good. Trainers are far from MDs.. skin is our largest organ ironically.

 

[khart_6882]

It’s gotta be good for you. Think about it this way; eating junk food or drinking a bunch of alcohol makes you feel good for a very short term then feel like trash for hours and hours. A cold plunge is rough for 3 minutes then you feel amazing for hours. Simple science! Hahaha


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[colby12]

Going on day 20 now for at least 5 min to the longest being 15 with the water averaging 44 deg. I ordered an ice pod for $120 then got the insulated lid. Inflatable and pvc pipe combo that works fine. Ice gets pricey so I took vacuum sealed bags, put enough water in them so they don’t pop and freeze them. Have about 20lbs or so and I put them in if the water is above 50 and let it cool. I think it has been beneficial for a few different reasons.

 

[khart_6882]

Going on day 20 now for at least 5 min to the longest being 15 with the water averaging 44 deg. I ordered an ice pod for $120 then got the insulated lid. Inflatable and pvc pipe combo that works fine. Ice gets pricey so I took vacuum sealed bags, put enough water in them so they don’t pop and freeze them. Have about 20lbs or so and I put them in if the water is above 50 and let it cool. I think it has been beneficial for a few different reasons.

Do you notice much difference in how you feel after 5 min vs 15 min? My water has been 34° and I’ve been doing 3 minutes, might go for 5 today.


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[colby12]

Nah, not really. I might be a little colder for a little longer. If you haven’t yet, look into the huberman labs podcast, I think episode 66. Interesting info on it, I listened to it a few days ago. Go for 5, I’m sure it will be enjoyable!

 

[3325]

I turn the shower to cold at the end.

Same here. Hot shower to soap up and then a cold rinse.

This is sometimes called a Scottish shower and Ian Fleming always had Bond doing it in his novels. So if anyone needs motivation, singing Secret Agent Man can help.

 

[3325]

I’ve been doing that for a while. Start it at luke warm and every few seconds turn it a little more to the cold until it’s as cold as it’ll go.

I just go for it. Turn it all the way down at once and rinse cold. It’s invigorating. I also shave cold.

 

[Dos Perros]

I just bought a 100 gal Rubbermaid stock tank for this purpose. I've done the Scottish shower thing. Can't say I'm looking forward to it but I'm going to do it.

 

[silasbowhunter]

One thing when we started was we would put the hot towels around the back of our necks and get in the ice bath. Really helped your body acclimate and be able to stay longer as your core temperature wasn’t dropping but you were still getting the cold benefits.

In college me and my teammates used to 9 minutes in the ice bath (cold tub circulating) and then 9 minutes in the hot bath (hot bath circulating) always first thing when they opened the training room at 7am. Takes a little while to get used to, but dang does it make your body feel great!!

Told my wife yesterday whenever we get out of the apartment we are living in we are gonna start doing ice baths again!


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[steeleb3]

I did a quick search on here and didn’t find much discussion so I’m curious, does anyone do regular ice baths/cold water plunges?
I initially wanted to try it just to help with mental toughness and willpower but the more I read about it there seems to be a lot more benefits. From reduced inflammation to improved circulation and even improved fat burning.
I tried it for the first time this morning at 5:15am. It was 21° outside and I had to use my kids toy shovel to chop the thin layer of ice off the stock tank I set up in the back yard. I was calm, cool and collected when I sat down in the tank but my lung’s immediately went into panic mode of short, rapid breathing. I tried to slow my breath down but to no avail, probably had something to do with the immediate shock of the cold and having never done it before. My goal was 90 seconds and I believe I made it about 20 seconds before I got out and was immediately very very disappointed in myself.
I feel like I could have easily done 90 seconds or a few minutes if I could have gotten my breath under control. I’m gonna keep at it every morning, but does anyone have any tips to getting your breathing under control??


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Lottttta hype, not nearly enough clinical support to substantiate the hype or claims.

That said, I’ve seen nothing to suggest it’s harmful, so why not try it. If 10% of the hype is real, then you’re in the positive.

 

[Johnny Tyndall]

If you want the background and research on it, I'd check out the Huberman Lab's cold exposure stuff. I don't follow them regularly, but their episode on booze was very good (although the news was bad). He seems to be a very research/data driven guy, as befits a Stanford prof.

 

[Marbles]

I’ve been doing that for a while. Start it at luke warm and every few seconds turn it a little more to the cold until it’s as cold as it’ll go.


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Step out of the shower, turn it all the way to cold and give it time to get cold, take a deep breath and hold it while stepping into the shower and insuring all your skin gets wet, including under the arms.

At least that is how I got to where I can control my breathing with sudden cold water emersion.

I don't do it regularly, my goal was to be able to fall into freezing water from hight and not be gasping. It has been years, but I can still jump into mountain lakes or the ocean and never loose control of my breathing.

Never felt high after swimming in sub 40 degree water, but never felt bad either.

 

[Braaap]

I started doing cold plunges in late January this year and have grown to really like them, specifically how I feel after them. So far just using a stock tank in the backyard and water temp ranges from 33-38 depending on weather outside. Not sure what I’ll do once it warms up. Maybe try converting a chest freezer.

 

[Fatcamp]

Lottttta hype, not nearly enough clinical support to substantiate the hype or claims.

That said, I’ve seen nothing to suggest it’s harmful, so why not try it. If 10% of the hype is real, then you’re in the positive.

Guarantee it increases your toughness level.

 

[Trybendr]

Been doing them regularly for a few months now and think they really help with the inflammation in my knees. Could just be placebo but if it works it works. I figured the ice method could get expensive long term so just built a DIY one with a chest freezer. Simple concept and much cheaper than the commercially sold ones.

- acquire deep freezer
- seal all the seams
- I painted mine with epoxy pond liner since ozone eats metal
- temp regulator to turn freezer on/off set at 34
- ozone generator set on 30min daily cycles
- spa filter to circulate the water

There’s tons of info online for doing this but if you’re interested I can share some photos of my setup.

 

[Braaap]

Been doing them regularly for a few months now and think they really help with the inflammation in my knees. Could just be placebo but if it works it works. I figured the ice method could get expensive long term so just built a DIY one with a chest freezer. Simple concept and much cheaper than the commercially sold ones.

- acquire deep freezer
- seal all the seams
- I painted mine with epoxy pond liner since ozone eats metal
- temp regulator to turn freezer on/off set at 34
- ozone generator set on 30min daily cycles
- spa filter to circulate the water

There’s tons of info online for doing this but if you’re interested I can share some photos of my setup.

Please share some pics and any other details! I think I’m going to go this route soon.

 

[Trybendr]

If you like and if allowed I can add some links to each item. Nothing is really secured hose or wire wise since I’m renting right now and plan to set it up permanent when I move.

- spa pump to circulate water. The temp prob is tied to it…. It sits on the bottom

- pond liner paint but I’m sure any pool paint will work

- temp regulator set at a 3 degree dead band to kick the freezer on and off and regulate at 33 degrees

- ozone generator set on a timer to come on 30 mins a day. I’d say not to skimp and spend the 200-250 on a good one. I went cheap the first time and water got nasty. Stays perfect now.

- GFCI surge protector but always unplug before hoping in.

 

[khart_6882]

I started doing cold plunges in late January this year and have grown to really like them, specifically how I feel after them. So far just using a stock tank in the backyard and water temp ranges from 33-38 depending on weather outside. Not sure what I’ll do once it warms up. Maybe try converting a chest freezer.

I’m in the same boat. Still getting down to the low 20’s here at night but summer is always 90+ during the day. I’m a bit of a cheap o when it comes to this kind of stuff so I was thinking some frozen gallon jugs in the freezer for the warmer months.


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