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How to Take an Ice Bath
What to do During an Ice Bath
Let’s separate this section into 3 parts; getting into the Tub, staying in the Tub, and getting out of the Tub.
Getting In
There is no denying that cold water systematically covering your entire body all at once is shocking.
Some people hold their breath as they step in so they don’t lose control of the breathe as they begin.
As you gain more experience its good to time entering the Tub after a big exhale, stepping in on a controlled breath in lean over and grip the front of the Tub with both hands and step into the Tub 1 foot at a time until both feet are inside, grip the sides of the Tub and slowly lower yourself down until you are seated and the back of your neck is against the back of the Tub. Tuck your arms in by your sides within 5 seconds, and complete the breathe out for 5 seconds so that entering and settling in is a single breath.
We recommend you close your eyes at this point for better focus.
You can hit a stopwatch on your phone on the Chiller to time things as you step in too.
Staying in the Tub
Staying in the Tub requires some strategy. Anyone can ice bath like a pro with the right approach and knowledge.
Theres no need to fight the cold. Your body conditions itself to the cold much faster than you realize or expect.
We have a blog series called 40 Degrees in 5 Plunges because with this advice you can challenge pretty much any temperature you choose.
You can fight the water if you choose but in the end the only way to stay in the water is by surrendering to it.
The only way to do that is by being calm, focused, and preoccupied. You do that by practicing breathwork.
Breathwork is a calming strategy to help with stress. Practicing breathwork will preoccupy the body.
We recommend counting to preoccupy the mind.
Without a job for the body or mind, ice bathing is very difficult.
If you can breathe and calm the body then ice bathing becomes possible.
If you can learn to focus and control your mind as well then ice bathing becomes easy.
Count to 5 with every in breath, and count to 5 on every out breath. Thats 10 seconds per complete breath, breathe in and out 6 times and thats a minute.
Use your hands and fingers to keep score. Your left hand is the first breath, your thumb is the second breath, touch your thumb to your index finger, thats your third breath, until you reach your pinkie and thats a minute. Switch to the right hand and start again, thats 2 minutes. Switch back and forth for as many minutes as you want to stay in the Tub.
Some people prefer to watch the seconds counting by on a clock but we recommend keeping your eyes closed to maintain your focus and stay on task.
Breathing and counting the same way every time you Submerge sets a framework for clear observation ice bath to ice bath.
The more you are able to observe about each experience the more benefit you stand to gain.
COMMON PROBLEM
The most common problem people experience Submerging is pain in their hands or feet. This is common because its where you have a lot of nerve endings. Hands and feet are sensitive to temperature changes. Founders Promise: It goes away. My hands and feet ached at first but after 5-10 sessions my feet never ached again, and after about 10-15 sessions my hands never ached again, even if I take a long break from ice bathing.
PRO TIP
If you struggle to find enough breath to count to 5 on the in or out breaths then exaggerate the top and bottom of each breath. For example when you are at the bottom of an out breath, in your final second push all remaining breath out and start your breath in from a lower more exaggerated space. This will create more room for in the in breath, and at the top of your in breath reach to close the breath by breathing in as much as you can to create more air to breathe out with thereafter.
Getting out of the Tub
You can’t finish an ice bath without a nice head dunk. You can but it’s certainly less fun.
If you don’t want to mess up your hair or make up you can always do a quickie ice bath up to the neck, you can even keep your hands above the water too. Sometimes you only have enough time to dry, thats fine too but for the 95% of the time lets talk about how to get out of the Tub on a complete head dunk.
When you have Submerged for as long as you wanted to (or feel compelled to get out) raise both hands out of the water (take earbuds out and place in your right hand) and hold either side of the Tub. Lift your legs out of the water and place the back of your ankles on the top of the Tub in front of you.
Now take a deep breath in, skooch your butt forward, plug your nose with your left hand, and dunk backwards. Breathe out slowly through your mouth to the count of 5 or 10 and then come up and slowly get out of the Tub.
If you set a stopwatch on your phone you can stop it as you get up.
PRO TIP
If you don’t want to spill any water you can stand up in the Tub and wipe most of the remaining water on your off into the Tub instead of dripping everywhere.