Cold water therapy has fast become a er, hot, trend on the fitness scene. Thanks to its circulation-boosting benefits and ability to reduce the stresses and strains of daily life, a quick chilly dip does wonders for the body and the mind.
Whether you’re keen to reduce muscle pain and stiffness after a gruelling workout, or work it into your routine to enjoy a little wellness, prepare to get your chill on.
If you’re just getting started, there’s more to it than throwing yourself head first into a tub of ice. Working cold water therapy into your fitness routine takes a little finesse to reap the benefits. Let’s take a look at a few tips to get you going…
Start Slow and Build Up Over Time
Immersing yourself into a cold water therapy tub for an hour isn’t going to give you instant results. You’ll just wind up feeling very wrinkly and running for a warm dressing gown. Plus if you overdo it to the point of discomfort, you’re hardly likely to want to come back for another stint.
Two to three 10 minute sessions each week is a great starting point. This is classed as the minimum for ‘brown fat activation’, giving you a metabolic boost to kickstart that energy burn. It’s also enough time to start boosting circulation and reducing inflammation in the joints.
Start small, if you can only handle a few minutes on your first dip, that’s enough. Increase the time gradually to avoid shocking your system.
Post Workout Dip
Instead of enjoying a dip in the toasty whirlpool after a workout, hit the cold water therapy 1-4 hours after working out.
Cold exposure creates a powerful anti-inflammatory response, great for helping sore muscles to recover more quickly and helping to repair tissues to promote lean muscle growth.
It’s also a great energy booster after a tough workout, to prep you for the rest of the day ahead.
Tough It Out
Cold exposure is a mental resilience game. You’ll find yourself negotiating with yourself prior to getting in, dipping a toe and then retreating for your toasty towel. It’s not designed to be comfortable. But switch on those survival instincts to get you through.
Once you plunge, you’ll experience waves of adrenaline spikes at different time intervals. This is your fight or flight mechanism activating. Rather than resist the cold, focus on accepting it. The perception of pain from cold is always there. Your body wants to protect you and will start to signal danger.
Hopping out the minute it starts to feel uncomfortable takes away all of the benefits. So tough it out, get your mind in gear and build that mental resilience.
Full Body Plunge
First timers might opt to just plunge their feet and legs to test the waters. Though the full benefit comes from full body immersion. Ideally, you’ll sit in the tub with the water up to your chin, to ensure your whole body is submerged.
End with Cold
Contrast therapy involves alternating between hot and cold water immersion to improve circulation, reduce pain, and speed up healing. It's often used in physical therapy and can be done focussing just on specific limbs, or full-body style. The hot water causes blood vessels to dilate, while the cold water causes them to constrict. This repeated process creates a kind of pumping effect that increases blood flow.
If you are performing contrast therapy, alternate dips between the sauna and cold plunge, ending with the cold plunge where you’ll then allow your body to warm up naturally. This will again increase brown fat activation. You can go back and forth as many times as you want, just end with cold exposure therapy for maximum benefit.
How was it for you? Share your cold plunge tips and tricks with us over on the ‘gram!
