Thoughts from 30 days of cold showers, and why I'm going for another 30 days.

NOTE: (I just wrote this on my journal, but I thought I'd post it here as well. I hope it's not 'illegal' to have a post written two places?)


This morning I took my 30'th consecutive cold shower. I'm kinda shocked I actually completed my goal. I heard this quote once, "Every time you surprise yourself, you inspire yourself." It's so true, because every time we push further than we thought we could or would, we redefine our "limits". Good stuff.

Here are a few things that have helped me, and I hope they help you if you're taking cold showers. (NOTE, these aren't all "my" ideas, I've done a good bit of research on this-- these are the things that helped me.)

1. When you get in, get your face/head wet first.
This really helps, it's too painful any other way in my opinion. When I first get in, I always roll me head and get every side of my head wet, then the rest of the body. Head first.

2. Embrace the Gasping
Unless you have a really weak heart or something, gasping is great for the body. It gets more oxygen into you, which is generally healthy for us humans. When is the last time you gasped in a hot shower? Gasp away. Not sexually, that came out wrong.

3. Got fat?
No offense to anyone, but they say cold showers are an excellent weight loss tool. I can totally attest to this. First of all, you'll often be shivering in the shower, which burns calories. Secondly, once you get out, you continue to burn fat (Google for more information). I happened to have inherited genetics that give me a relatively "slim" build, BUT, I didn't inherit free abs or anything. If you've never taken a cold shower before, you'd be shocked how much better you look when you get out. For me, taking a cold shower gives me the same look as if I'd been exercising all week. Once you warm up the effect diminishes, but you get my point.

4. "Ice" cold water can actually be easier than "cold" water.
This sounds totally nuts, but several times during the 30 days, the water was especially cold (due to weather, time of day). During these showers, I kept thinking "This almost seems easier than usual." This is simply because ice cold water numbs your skin quicker, and then it's easier. It's sad but true-- the colder the better.


I do have one rather shameful confession about the past 30 days. While I did take a cold shower every day, like 40% of those days it was at 10 O'clock at night. What good is a cold shower before bed? I AM A CHRONIC PROCRASTINATOR. There, I said it. SO, NEW RULES for the next 30 days. If I don't take my shower before 9AM each morning, I have to take a 10 minute shower later. I think that will fix the problem. or maybe I'll be taking a lot of 10-minute showers. It's a win-win.

Why I'm continuing cold showers.

Reason 1.

Every time I am about to step into a cold shower, I feel a tremor in the pit of my stomach. In fact I feel it right now just thinking about it. The interesting thing is, that is the EXACT same feeling I get when I walk into a room full of people, or when I do anything that scares me. The important thing is that I walk through that tremor, and do what I fear, and win. Then when I get out, I'm always grinning and super pumped up. I'm trading anxiety and fear for accomplishment and success. Learning to overcome fear is not an overnight thing, it's a long journey, and that's why I'm continuing cold showers. As long as they scare me, I must continue to take them. I'll think about quitting cold showers when I can't wait for them each morning.

Reason 2.

I believe that one of the most valuable skills a man could posses is the ability to be "calm in the storm", to know how to not panic, the ability to keep your head in an emergency. Cold showers are still a rather chaotic experience for me. I am not calm... I feel somewhat panicked throughout the shower. There is a technique used by special forces (and in other high stress occupations) called combat breathing that I find very interesting. It's easy to remember. Slowly breath in for 4 seconds, hold that breath for 4 seconds, slowly breath out for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, repeat. This slows down your heart rate and forces you to take control of the situation. Try it. Maybe I'm just a wimp, but I find it difficult to do this under cold water.

So those are my main reasons for why I'm taking cold showers. Conquering fear and conquering chaos. That, and life is way to short not to be fully awake for the ride. Have great afternoon everyone!

 

Good question... It is very healthy to go from very hot to very cold-- it gets the blood moving. However, for me personally, if there is ANY hot water in the equation, I usually can't talk myself into going cold again.

Yeah, it is a little harder to get clean in a cold shower, mostly because you just want to get out. And I have heard that you might not get as clean because hot water opens your pores, and cold water closes them. There are strong arguments for both. I would much rather be a little dirty than give up all the psychological AND physical benefits of cold showers. There are also studies linking cold showers to longevity. I can believe it, because cold water also builds up your immune system. I'm gonna be that 80 year old grandpa still kicking down doors in the nursing home. (hopefully)

But yeah I'm no expert, just google "benefits of cold showers" or something. Oh, and go to youtube and search "ice bath". That's what comes after cold showers haha. This one is pretty good... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCU2qENWMnA It almost looks like the guy is exaggerating, but then again I'm not the one in the ice water. Have a good one.

 

Thanks for the encouragement Time4aChange! Yeah cold showers are definitely awesome. If we stay busy doing what is right, pure and noble, 50 years should be no problem. Thanks man.