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Wim Hof - Feel the Cold and do it Anyway

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Comments

  • Three minutes is pretty good. I'm not that dedicated yet. I commit to jumping in as soon as I turn the water on but I turn it to hot and it only takes about a minute or a little longer before it starts to warm up. It's certainly not as easy in winter as it was in summer. Maybe exercise prior to shower? Get the blood circulating? That's my "cheat" at times.

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    @person said:
    I've been trying to push past the 3 minute mark. About that time is when my muscles start to get sluggish and the sensation can be painful rather than just shocking or uncomfortable.

    Anyone have any insight or suggestions about these effects?

    Dance.
    Or, begin with a barely lukewarm shower, and gradually turn it to fully cold.
    I can easily go 8 - 10 minutes at the moment, fully cold. I guess it's a gradual acclimatisation...

  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    @FleaMarket said:
    Three minutes is pretty good. I'm not that dedicated yet. I commit to jumping in as soon as I turn the water on but I turn it to hot and it only takes about a minute or a little longer before it starts to warm up. It's certainly not as easy in winter as it was in summer. Maybe exercise prior to shower? Get the blood circulating? That's my "cheat" at times.

    If you breathe deep and fast as you get under the cold water stream, it helps a lot.

    FleaMarket
  • marcitkomarcitko Veteran
    edited December 2022

    I spent several days in a cottage in the mountains with friends. There was quite some snow and we had a jacuzzi and a sauna. Walking to the jacuzzi in the snow, my feet hurt like hell. I could not imagine lying in the snow or jumping into the cold pool. But after the sauna, walking in the snow was very easy and I lay in the snow with little difficulty. Now I understand the Northern Europeans (Fins, Swedes, etc) that combine saunas and snow, that way it's WAY easier.

    Shoshin1
  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran
    edited April 2023

    Just had my first cold shower in ages, it was really good! Just 3-4 minutes, but it was nice.

    marcitkoShoshin1FleaMarketlobster
  • I've cold-showered for most of the winter.

    With the warmer weather, I'm up for more of a challenge, so am back to taking occasional cold baths. I finally figured out a way to simply and cheaply have a lot of ice handy: doh, just put a few plastic bottles of water in the freezer.

  • personperson Don't believe everything you think The liminal space Veteran

    I start with a warm-cool shower first. I've found that when my mind is in an agreeable state towards a cool shower when I turn the water to cold I want to get out sooner. But when my mind is resistant to the idea when I turn the water cold I'm more tolerant of it and want to stay in longer. Its weird, I'm not sure why that is.

    On another note, I've read that "cold" is somewhere between 60F(15C) and 50F(10C), my water is about 48F(9C), its hard to get it just a touch warmer without it jumping up in temp more than 60, but there is a big difference in staying in 60 vs 48. 60 feels like I could stay in indefinitely, 48 really turns my body numb and becomes painful at around 4 minutes now.

    I live in a cold climate and started cold showers this winter, I'm curious to see what the water is like this summer.

  • Tis the season of the cold tap-water for us in the Northern hemisphere.
    How are we doing Wim Hoffer's?

    I find myself doing cold-showers regularly, but in a half-assed manner, taking brief showers and not showering every day as it's - cold! :)

    But for me that's the whole point of the showers - to train in discipline and facing hardship - so I won't quit but will aim to redouble my efforts.

    I am also trying to get a friend to accompany me into a lake-swim next week. I've only done this once before and it was GREAT!

    lobsterfederica
  • personperson Don't believe everything you think The liminal space Veteran

    Sometimes its a dread facing the cold, and sometimes it comes with some, maybe not quite eagerness, but some sort of neutrality. I almost always feel satisfied, or grateful that I did the cold shower though.

    The temp has been getting noticeably colder and going by last winter it'll drop several more degrees still.

    I've begun getting into a cool shower for maybe a minute before turning it all the way down. Then washing up in the cold, the time seems to go faster that way and it distracts from the cold. By the time I'm done with that my body has adjusted and I stay in a minute or so longer, it usually ends up being about 3 minutes total. When the water gets its coldest at 3 minutes my hands start to slow down and it can get painful on the skin. At that point though its pretty pleasurable to get under a blanket and sit, paying attention to the bodily sensations as I warm back up.

    This summer I felt more motivated and energetic than usual. Its hard to draw a firm connection between the two, but its possible.

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    After my hip operation, I managed a shower once I got home. The pain in my hip became excruciating, and I kind of regretted the folly, but it felt, oh! SO good to grab a cold one...! 3 minutes 38 seconds.
    Then, LAST Saturday, I tore a ligament, going up the stairs. Missed my footing, You'd think I'd have bloody learnt by now, right, where to put my feet?! So am now recovering from a self-inflicted delay in healing. But am doing better than I thought I would...
    Am going to venture another shower mid-week. Watch this space!

    marcitkolobster
  • personperson Don't believe everything you think The liminal space Veteran

    The cold weather hit this week and the water temp is hitting around 50F (10C) now. 3 minutes is fairly normal, at that point it starts to get a bit painful but I decided to push past today. After a bit I just became numb and it wasn't that bad but then at just under 5 minutes I became a bit dizzy and it felt a little dangerous (didn't want to pass out in under frozen water). I feel fine now, it was just after sticking my head under again, I'm guessing too much blood retreating from the head. Anyway, not sure there's really much more benefit from the added time, though it always feels nice as the warmth returns, so not sure if I'll try going longer again.

  • IMO, no need to push it too far @person. We want to be in uncomfortable/growth zone, not panic/dangerous zone. The uncomfortable/growth zone expands with time. As you note, there is probably not much benefit from going too long in very cold temps.

    My friends in Norway have discovered cold plunges. They have opportunities I don't have: cold baths in public pools and the sea/lakes. They report that VERY short plunges in temperatures around 0C are lots of fun and have many benefits. The way they do it in Norway is to first go into the sauna, then take a cold plunge, then rinse and repeat. From my one experience with this method, it makes a lot of sense, since the subjective experience of cold is then much less.

    person
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