Cold therapy

(Brian) #1

Anybody have any experience with cold water therapy? I was considering starting this to enjoy the endorphin rush.

Ice therapy (Cold Immersion) and Brown Adipose Tissue Activation
#2

Brian, you can do a search for “thermogenesis” but I think this one is the longest thread on it.

(Todd Allen) #3

I do straight cold water baths, water temp is ~66F. The sensation is awful when I get in but within a minute or two it isn’t bad at all. After I get out I feel energized and all minor aches and pains are gone for a few hours. I do cold in the morning and hot at night - promotes sleep.

(Karen) #4

I might be wrong but I think @Pete_A does this.

K

(Pete A) #5

I do it everyday.

(She had one feck to give and that feck is gone.) #6

I’d swim through cold water to get to my coffee pot in the morning. Can someone set this up for me? :kissing_heart::joy:

(Pete A) #7

haha I know and love the feeling. Just did short morning workout, soon my long hot/cold shower :grinning: Then I sit down for breakfast!

(Bob M) #8

I’ve been exercising on my treadmill, then going out into the cold. (I’d like to exercise in the cold, but it’s too dark when I start on the treadmill.) Today, I spent about 20 minutes in about 12 degree Fahrenheit weather.

How does this affect others? What I find is that I am cold the rest of the day, even if I take a hot shower. I’m sitting at home, where it’s 67F. Not sure if that matters, though.

(Todd Allen) #9

Mostly I find sharp cold exposure dramatically revs up my metabolism and then I will feel warm or even hot for several hours even in rather cool surroundings such as 60F wearing shorts and a t-shirt. But not always, sometimes the reverse happens and I get chilled and have trouble warming back up. This is more likely if I have been fasting too much or if I haven’t been feeling 100% such as from a hint of a cold or poor sleep.

(Robert C) #10

I think the best way to get this effect to help is to swim in relatively cool water (cool enough but, not so cold that you couldn’t finish an hour swim).
That huge amount of energy transfer (warm body trying stay warm in a cold pool) seems to be why swimmers are notorious for very low body fat percentages with very high calorie intake.

(Karim Wassef) #11

I’ve used ice packs with good success in the past but wanted to know what other people have experienced


The new mode of this is cryo-therapy (cold air instead of cold water)

And historically, different cultures have commonly used ice therapy




Even in the northeastern US (Coney Island Polar Bear Club).

SciShow made a video about it a few years ago and others have taken up the topic also




and some people even push the boundaries

It aligns with my general belief that physical stress can lead to improved immune response, better keto adaptation and overall longevity… I use sauna, UV, fasting, keto and lifting already… So I’m planning on digging more into this and become fat, strength, sun and hot+cold adapted… and thought I’d ask the community here for individual experiences or good resources?

For example, I am thinking of using swimming shoes and gloves in an ice (or cold) bath to reduce the pain in my extremities and focus the cold on my core.

Expectations… will it help my fasting cold extremities better than just my cold packs? Will it actually increase my BAT and help me get tighter abs and skin?

Concerns… will it counteract the muscle and strength gains from lifting and fasting?

:smiley:

(Full Metal KETO AF) #12

I wish I could try some of this. I have circulation problems in my remaining foot and exposure to cold causes tightening of the vessels and slows circulation more causing extreme pain and dark color in my toes! Yow :grimacing:

#13

Not extreme cold therapy, but I’ve been taking cold showers for the last month now.

Not sure if I’m getting any brown fat, autophagy effects but I’m getting other benefits e.g. wakes me up, doesn’t dry my skin out, I have quicker showers, saves on my hot water/gas bill.

So am going to continue with them. If the other benefits happen then that’s an added bonus.

(Todd Allen) #14

You probably don’t want to do cold soon after lifting. Strength training builds muscle in part through an acute inflammatory response after exercising. Anything that interferes with the inflammatory response such as cold exposure and NSAID pain killers may diminish the gains.

The beneficial aspects of cold exposure may be enhanced by fasting especially the increase in BAT.

(Karim Wassef) #15

Yes. That’s why I sauna before (short duration) and after (long duration) lifting. I find it stimulates my growth.
I also get very cold when I fast (covered in another thread) and I’ve used cold packs to improve this. I hope that ice baths will help reduce this “fasting coldness”.

(Todd Allen) #16

It’s variable for me. On days when I’m feeling good and all is going well cold stress can be therapeutic and really pump me up and make me feel energized and warm for hours later. But on other days it can backfire and result in a deep chill that is hard to shake.

(Karim Wassef) #17

Ok. Today was my first attempt so I’ll share my progress here -

I’m fasting today and for the next 3 days (M-T-W) with salt and some supplements. I primarily supplement with Magnesium, Potassium, vitamin C, leucine and carnitine.

I measure my Glucose and Ketone levels multiple times daily and I started today at G, K = (75, 1.8)… I tanned for 20 minutes which I do every other day for my vitamin D. Immediately post tanning my levels dropped to (73, 1.1).

Then I went into the cold bath at 57F for 20mins. This was hard in the beginning, and my wife didn’t help with her protestations that I’ve totally lost it. I’m from a warm temperature Mediterranean country originally so Nordic ice plunges are not understood… anyway. Specifics- I wore my swimming shoes and gloves only and was submerged completely except my head. The first 3 minutes were the worst…

I got out and went into a warm shower - not sure if this is proper protocol but I felt it was prudent… I can honestly say that I could not tell the water temperature of the shower… cold, warm and hot all felt the same and I needed help to calibrate to warm. My hands and feet felt burning hot no matter what I did.

My sides ached the way they did back when I was first losing weight on keto and I could tell I was tapping into those deeper reserves. An hour later, they still do.

I measured my levels post cold bath at (59, 0.8)… so both dropped substantially again. I’ll measure again in a couple of hours to see where I settle back to, but those two events today really sapped my ketones

(75, 1.8) — UV 20 min — (73, 1.1) — cold bath 20min — (59, 0.8)… pretty fast changes for 20mins of exposure each.

I should mention that my normal metrics start high and drop throughout the day as I expend energy and only return after I rest or eat. So the drops are normal but very very accelerated.

I still feel cold but it’s the first day. Not sure of the frequency yet, but I’d like to try every other day.

If you’ve done this, please share your experience or guidance.

Thanks

(Karim Wassef) #18

Ok… few hours later and I’ve bounced back after the cold bath

Morning (75, 1.8)
UV 20 min (73, 1.1)
Cold bath 20min (59, 0.8)
Resting 3 hours (67, 1.6)

So I’m almost back to the morning levels…

I still feel cold but not uncomfortable.

I am tempted to do it again but not go for the hot shower after to see if I can accelerate my cold adaptation response… but I’ll be more prudent

(Karim Wassef) #19

Second time in the cold bath for 20mins

Decided to not follow it with a warm shower. This time, I feel cold during the rest of the day but not too bad.

My glucose and ketones dropped again from 59, 2.4 to 52, 2.0… that’s ~20% ketone drop in 20 minutes.

I don’t feel so bad for groaning in pain now…

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #20

Takes a real man to whimper like that! :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: