I started taking cold showers as part of my morning routine and honestly, it's horrible.
Recently I started to notice a trend on the internet of people taking cold showers,
immersing themselves in ice-cold ponds of water and I noticed there was a guy behind all of this.
His name is Wim Hof the Iceman, rightfully so. And I thought let me give it a go. Cold
showers aren't a new thing to me but I've never voluntarily chosen to run cold water when I've
got the option of showering in warm water. I've showered with cold water in the past but because
I had no other choice. I went to a boarding school where having a hot shower was a luxury because to
get hot water we would have to light up a wood burner boiler and we never really had firewood.
So if you wanted firewood most of the time you would have to get it yourself. Somewhere.
Please don't ask. There are many benefits of cold showers you find listed on the internet
like how it can improve your immune system. I have no way of really measuring how better my
immune system has become since I started taking cold showers so I can't really say that's why I've
been taking cold showers and like most people, I tend to get a cold and a runny nose during winter
but this winter I haven't had a cold. But then we've been isolating due to the pandemic so again
I can't really say for sure my immune system has improved by punishing myself under cold
water. Apparently, cold showers also help with muscle soreness which is why athletes
take ice baths regularly. I'm not an athlete but I do go to the gym and at some point,
I did suffer from lower back pain and shoulder pain at the same time and I couldn't do my
favourite exercises like a squat for a long time. The pain has gone away but I can't say for certain
if it was because of cold showers. So really all of those benefits from the internet
are not my reason for taking cold showers. Being under a cold shower isn't exactly my definition
of a fun activity. It's really uncomfortable and I think that's the point. My reason for taking
cold showers has now become more of a need to get comfortable in discomfort and fear.
Before I turn on that cold water I always tense my muscles and I hype myself by breathing intensely
out of my mouth and I give that occasional grant to prepare myself mentally. As if all of that
will make the cold water that's about to slap my skin any more bearable. Just before taking a cold
shower, I feel a little nervous, there's a bit of fear associated with it. It's a fear similar
to when I'm about to tackle an uncomfortable situation like cold-calling and I hate cold
calling or public speaking and for me, that's why I do it. That fear, the flinch, call it what you
may, of being about to face the discomfort that's in front of you is why I want to overcome it each
time I get into a cold shower. I think it's a simple method of learning to deal with fear.
I'm not jumping off a plane at 10,000 feet but I'm still dealing with some element of fear.
Ever heard that public speaking is one of the most feared things by people? Even more than
the fear of flying, or spiders, or heights which have the potential of killing you by the way.
As far as your brain is concerned it doesn't matter what you're about to face, fear is fear.
Right after coming out of a cold shower, I feel pumped and energetic most of the time. And I take
my cold showers right after a workout which makes it easier because I'm pumped from the workout
already and feeling hot but cold water still feels cold even if my body feels warm, trust me. So how
do I do it? According to Matt D'Avella, there's the coward's way of taking a cold shower which is
what I do. Yeah. I start my showers with lukewarm water but cooler than the showers I used to take
before. I then get myself mentally prepared as I slowly adjust the temperature turning down
the hot water and then turning up the cold tap. I do this every 20 seconds or so until the water is
at its coldest temperature and then I just stand there in that suffering for about half a minute
breathing loudly and tension my whole body until I'm a bit more relaxed. Like a wet cow in the
rain. I prefer taking the showers in the morning because I'm a bit more motivated and energetic in
the mornings I find and in the evenings I'm a bit more sluggish and I just want to sleep so I don't
want anything else that will be mentally demanding and cold showers are mentally demanding, trust me.
And doing it in the mornings means I have a higher chance of actually sticking to it. So what did I
learn? Well, that cold showers are not fun but I certainly love the pump that comes with it and
I find the discomfort is a way of callusing the mind. It helps train that self-talk similar to
when you're out running and you keep talking to yourself telling yourself to keep pushing and
keep pushing and it's a similar experience for cold showers. And I do hope I see improvements
with my immune system because we all need that right now. It's been a fun experiment. That's
another reason why I like making videos like this. I can try out certain things and then I come back
here and record a video and give my opinion and my feedback and I get to have the experience as well.
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