Hey Veeky Forums, I've been taking ice cold showers twice a day for a month now and it literally changed my life...

Hey Veeky Forums, I've been taking ice cold showers twice a day for a month now and it literally changed my life. I just want to share this with you.

How did it change your life exactly?

How did it change your life and in which way exactly?

It's giving me so much energy. I don't care whether it's a placebo or an actual effect of cold showers, but I feel so alive and invigorated.
I used to take ages to get out of bad, slowly dragging myself to the bathroom and even after the shower I was barely awake. Now I literally jump out of bed, get into the shower without wasting time and afterwards I start my day. The feeling afterwards is fucking great. You're instantly in a great mood. It's kind of hard to describe. When I was young, I used to play with my sister in the snow until our skin was red from the cold. Then we'd get inside and would continue playing in front of the fireplace. It's a a very similar feeling.
You also start the day with a small victory against yourself. It's not really an accomplishment, but it feels like you've done something.
I highly recommend you try it.

out of bed*

It appears there is not much interest in my highly interesting blogpost.

This happens quite a bit. Posture threads, breathing techniques, and popular sports threads don't last very long, even if they are more fitness related than ~50% of the threads on fit.

Alright, will try, thanks.

How long does this energy last? I can see how it may give you a temporary boost of alertness or whatever but does it last your whole morning/afternoon?

ITT: Carbon dioxide deficiency high

I'm not convinced. I feel like this is just an elaborate way for you to know people are torturing themselves with ice cold water for months on end simply because you typed words on your keyboard

I'm not convinced either. I started taking showers with cooler water though, like just above cold and just below warm, and it really helped my skin. I had always heard that hot water is bad for your skin, and if I take a hot shower I end up sweating for like another 30 minutes afterwards.

I mostly kept doing it because it helps my body and muscles cool down so I don't keep sweating afterwards to have to cool off naturally. The better skin was just a side effect.

I tried just cooling down for a minute or so at the end of a hot shower, but it didn't work, so I committed to entire cool showers and I haven't looked back.

any difference with lifting, like better recovery or something?

I can't really answer that. I just feel much "fresher" and more energized in general. As I said, might be placebo, but that doesn't really matter to me.
It also doesn't mean I never get tired, of course. I just get more shit done and am more active. The good feeling that I described lasts for a couple hours though.

Why would I do that? Also:
>torturing themselves

You won't believe it but it is amazing how fast your body adapts. The first few days were really hard and the shower itself was like a chore, I only did it for the feeling afterwards. Now It actually feels better than warm water and I dont mind standing under ice cold water for a good 5-10 minutes.
I started slowly though. at first I did my normal shower routine (washing, shampoo etc.) under warm water and then switched to ice cold for a minute when I was done. I gradually lowered the temperature of the warm water every day. A week ago I started doing ice cold only. Took me ~3 weeks to get there until it felt comfortable.

I told a friend and he does it too, he is pretty amazed by the effects. Another guy I tried to convince told me he actually feels more tired and dizzy, so maybe it's not for everyone. Just try it out mate.

Not really. I never had any recovery problems though. But my motivation to go lift or go for a run has increased for sure.

Cool water(not super cold, just bearable) is therapeutic.

ill give it a whirl

Waste of trips. How can one be deficient in CO2? We exhale it.

wat?

Don't fall out of practice or you'll be right back where you began.

t. Fell out of practice, back to feeling fatigued all day

Fuck. Yes.
I've been doing cold showers (as cold as it will go) and it's fucking unbelievable.

I've also been eating right and going to bed early + waking up naturally (no alarm) at 06:30 ish every day and hitting PRs left and right.

I'm in a good place, glad I didn't give up two years ago.

A cold shock comes when entering the topical shower, to which the response is forceful short inhalation. It also puts a strain on cardiovascular processes; your heart has to strain more to pump the same amount because of constricting in the vascularity.

Moreover, the rapid breaths taken run the risk of lessening the amount of carbon dioxide in your bloodstream. If carbon dioxide levels are high, the body assumes that oxygen levels are low, and accordingly the other way it lessens the amount of oxygen your brain receives. This is the portion of lightheadedness, prickly feeling, and the actual HIGH of this cold shower induced carbon dioxide deficiency.

t. Satan

you make it sound like it's unhealthy, while the opposite is true

>you make it sound
That's entirely up for interpretation, user. This was only an answer for the sake of elucidation.

I take both cold and hot showers for the sake of the pain.

true.

>for the sake of the pain.
y tho?

Makes me feel alive in the morning. Also helps your porous skin to stay manageable when you begin with a hot shower, then blast into a cold one at the end.

Also not many chances at ice swimming year round.

Nice op! I just started the cold shower routine too. It's pretty intense when you first go full cold and stand under it the whole time your taking a shower.
There is a rush for sure. I feel happier and definitely more awake when I get out too. Plus, no steam on the mirror to hide my visage when I get out

actually for a week when i was in the dominican i had only cold showers and felt fucking amazing all day
i was also drunk as fuck the whole time but who knows

My friend went into cold shock at the beach, running into the water after a huge workout. Said she it was really scar, she couldn't breath, barely stand, nearly drowned, and her friends thought she was just goofing around in the shallow water.

I will try it today op!