Hi, I am Geek Climber. I was pretty average when I first started this channel. Throughout
the past few years, I have been able to achieve a few significant athletic milestones. However,
I did hit some plateaus and got injured a few times along the way. Being the kind of person
who is willing to grind through anything to yield results, after hearing that taking cold showers
could potentially help me recover from my workouts faster, I decided to give it a try for 30 days.
I know my reaction to my first ever cold shower wasn't very entertaining,
which is probably bad for YouTube. To be honest, taking a cold shower is not comfortable,
but it's far from being unbearable. I discovered that if you breathe more heavily,
you will feel less cold, and I also discovered that if you imagine you are swimming, you will
also feel less cold. On day 3, I started to notice that my body did actually feel less sore after a
strenuous workout, and I was pretty surprised to notice an effect that soon. On day 15, my body
became used to the cold shower. I no longer needed to breathe very heavily to fight the cold, and I
also no longer needed to imagine I was swimming to fight the cold. Thirty days flew by really fast,
but to be honest, 30 days isnt enough for me to draw a conclusion on cold showers.
A lot of people talk about the benefits of the mental aspect of taking cold showers. For example,
it helps you get out of your comfort zone. It can help fight depression. It can help you deal with
stress better, stuff like that. However, none of these applies to me. Since I step out of my comfort
zone all the time, I don't have depression, and I already know how to deal with stress due to
the high stress I had to deal with in my teens and 20s. What I want to find out is, will my
body eventually get used to the cold shower, and thus the muscle recovery effect will eventually
diminish? Is it just like how the coffee addicts get used to caffeine, causing their body not to be
able to wake up the way it used to with a cup of coffee? I also want to find out, are there
any other benefits from cold showers not mentioned in other people's videos that I would personally
experience? I decided to continue on my daily cold shower journey. I even purchased a timer for this,
so I can make sure I am always taking a cold shower for at least 3 minutes. Here are what
I discovered after 400 days into it. First, the muscle recovery effect does not diminish.
This reason alone is enough for me to continue to cold shower every day till I die. Second,
cold shower actually helps heal up injuries. One day when I was attempting the back lever, my
sternum cracked and I felt a sharp pain. After a night of sleep, it still feels painful when I woke
up. At that time, I was thinking to myself, man, my channel is going to suffer because I have to
stop all progressions on climbing or calisthenics for a few weeks. Later that day, I walked into the
cold shower without thinking too much since it has become my habit. To my great surprise, the sternum
pain was gone after the cold shower. I couldn't believe it. I thought maybe the cold numbed it,
and it would come back after my body warms up again, but nope, it's completely gone. Even if
in the future I somehow got to a point where I decided to stop working out with high intensity
that will cause muscle soreness, this experience alone is enough for me to continue to cold shower
every day till I die. Third, I also discovered that I am more resistant to cold in general. I haven't
worn a jacket once yet this winter. I know I live in California, but this is still an improvement
to me. I am also able to perform as usual during workouts in the park in cold weather nowadays.
I remember prior to starting cold showers, my performance dropped at least 50% when working
out in the cold. Fourth, although I didn't get sick often prior to my cold shower journey,
I haven't gotten sick since. Cold showers boosting the immune system is another commonly cited
benefit, and I guess I am another empirical proof of this. Lastly, I feel more alert and energized
in general. I haven't felt the need to take a nap during the day or felt too tired to concentrate
on work. This is another commonly cited benefit, and I guess I am another empirical proof of this
as well. In conclusion, I think 3 minutes of discomfort from taking a cold shower every day
in exchange for the benefits I have experienced is 100% worth it. Honestly, I think everyone should
start doing it. There is really no reason not to. If you are still not convinced to start taking
a cold shower after watching this video, comment below and let me know why. Lastly, as we all know,
mainstream climbing brands refuse to sponsor average climbers like myself. Therefore, I have
no choice but to create my own brand to sponsor myself. When I hit 100k subscribers one and a half
years ago, I announced that I wanted to prove that it was possible for average climbers like myself
to build a viable business via YouTube. Throughout my YouTube journey, I refuse to advertise
products that I don't use. I refuse to ask for donations on Patreon. I refuse to sell t-shirts
or mugs with a geekclimber logo slapped onto it. I refuse to sell cookie cutter online workout
programs. I want to create a product that actually solves a real problem in people's lives. This is
a tough route, but one and a half years later, I am ready to bring my new product to market. You
will be surprised how difficult it is to find a food bar in the market that has zero added sugar,
consists of real food ingredients, meaning no weird ingredients that you can't even pronounce,
and is made of high quality premium ingredients that are organic, non GMO, vegan, and gluten-free.
I strongly believe there's a market for this; therefore, I am launching my own food bar
brand called 5Bar to fill in this gap. With the amazing recipe developed by my wife, feedback from
industry experts, and feedback from enthusiastic early beta testers, who joined my email list,
5Bar is fine-tuned not only to be healthy but also to taste great. Chances are high that the snacks
you consume regularly aren't very healthy, so you should definitely consider replacing them with
5Bar. We all know what we eat strongly correlates to our performance, so if you
value your health and performance, and also want to support me to make 5Bar a successful story,
make sure to click the link in the video description below to place an
order. I can't wait for you to try 5Bar and let me know how you like it. See you in the next video.