The weather is unseasonably warm here in South East England, so I’m adding a few kg of ice every day to try to keep the temperature around 6 °C (~43°F)
The proper ice bath is here, but I’m waiting on the chiller unit which will be able to maintain the bath temperature at 2°C (36°F)
The chiller is coming from a different company than the ice bath supplier. Theirs has a lower ambient operating temperature limit (-15°C vs 1°C), a better filter system and a titanium (rather than copper) heat exchanger. I’ll have to do some surgery on the ice bath to adapt it to the different fitting size, but I’m not expecting that to be too taxing.
Bloody hell, I am shivering just looking at that! I am in the South West of the UK, and it is warm recently when I am out walking the dog as you say. I had to show my other half both your pop-up and ‘proper’ ice baths. I know when she was swimming at the weekend it was 6c in the water.
I love the idea of this, but can’t quite bring myself to do it!
She’s proper hardcore! I can do about 4 - 5 minutes at 6°C.
It takes time to acclimatise. A few weeks of cold showering after a warm shower would get you into it, gradually increasing the time in the cold shower.
Breathing is key. Breath control suppresses the gasp response and allows you to tolerate the cold water much more easily.
I may be able to last about a minute max in those temperatures after the sauna, but get ice bite on ankles, shin, hips, wishbones, basically everywhere where there‘s thin skin over the bone - not something related to wrong breathing, I’d say, so how do you overcome that sensation, not to call it pain…
I wouldn’t say it’s comfortable immersed up to your chin in cold water, but conversely I wouldn’t describe it as painful. Acclimatisation and breathing are key to being able to tolerate it. Suppression of the sympathetic nervous system and stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system is the aim. Without breath control, this part doesn’t happen. Once the breath is under control, it’s surprisingly easy.
Strangely, I have suffered from very cold hands in winter for the last few years. Since beginning proper cold plunging (not the cold showers), my hands now stay warm outdoors, without gloves on, and even when carrying out tasks where they become wet.
Interesting to hear this. Due to my many years freezing my extremities while working ar my local ski mountain I have severe numbness and circulation issues. Dr. told me to move to the Caribbean. I never thought about this kind of therapy.
My niece up in the NW took up cold water swimming in local lake to them. She’s been doing it through winter. She swears by it and says she feels so much better for it. She swam during the big freeze recently. Brrrr!
I remember how warm it was in Singapore when we last visited.
A cold shower here, even in winter is only 10 -12 degrees. On really cold days, the water gets a little extra chilling from the big, above-ground GAC vessels at the treatment works.
My chiller and filter arrived at the weekend. Essentially a heat pump and sand filter unit for a small swimming pool. Totally overkill for a 500 litre ice bath, but combined, they do the job very well. After a little “surgery” on the stainless inner tank and cladding, everything is fitted up, leak-free and working nicely.
Hi Marin, I’m good, thanks. Still trying to find time to finish the plinths. The weather here has been nothing short of hideous for months now
We’re just back from a week’s break in South West Wales. Weather there wasn’t too bad - quite a lot of rain overnight most days, but generally dry in the day with some sunshine here and there. Managed a bit of sea swimming and still maintained my daily ice bath regimen
Not as painful as the third photo! The wind at Strumble Head felt like it was peeling your face off. Trying to hold a phone steady enough to take a picture was a real challenge. Stan wasn’t overly impressed with the wind either.
