Trying out a home made ice bath

The spring, summertime and autumn occupies a substantial time of the year even in southern Sweden and the temperature of tap water seldom goes below 14 degrees Celsius, so a proper cold shower is not always available for the dedicated fan of cold endurance training as a quick fix for physical fitness. Now is the time to sanctify the presence of a freezer and a 20 liter bucket available in most households to find an easy solution.

  1. Fill the bucket with cold water and put it in the freezer, push the fast freeze button if available and wait for 12 to 24 hours
  2. Take the ice bucket out of your freezer and hit it with a sledge hammer from all possible directions to crush the ice.
  3. pour the ice into your tub or Jacuzzi and fill up with the coldest water possible, this will produce a nice cold bath of at least 10 – 12 degrees Celcius depending on the amount of water added.
  4. jump in, and endure for at least 5 minutes. Slow long deep breathing will help to get the most out of it, a short euphoric warming sensation and a long therm fat burn will be your reward.

Well it wasn’t as nice as expected, actually the 7 minutes i spent in it was painful beyond imagination, I thought i was prepared since I take regular cold showers but this is totally different an will take some time to get used to. My advice is to have a hot sauna within close reach to make it a pleasant experience.