Approaching The Cold
The cold is unforgiving, we must approach it of the mindset of conquering it!
Today we are going to talk about how to start approaching cold training.
Many will do this differently than I, but this is how I came to it and how it has come to work for me.
In writing this, I understand that not everyone has access to an ice bath. Often times, I too do not.
Yet still, the work must be done!
So let’s get to work, my brothers.
Frequency of Training
Personally, I aim to do some type of cold exposure training every day. Every, single, day.
The type of cold exposure may vary from day to day, but the frequency of training does not.
Depending on the type of exposure we are getting in, the time in which we train each day is adjusted to match the type.
If the daily practices bring benefit to your life, I am of the mindset that they should be given the proper attention that they deserve. Your daily routines are merely tools that you establish to help you grow and go further!
Types of Cold Exposure
For cold showers and ice baths I usually will get two to five minutes. Cold water exposure is the most effective means of training, so it requires the least amount of time to provide potent results.
If on a given day you do not get into the cold water, the cold air will suffice. That being said, it is less effective than the other two due to no direct water contact with your skin.
Your skin has temperature receptors built into it that send signals to your brain, so when they are stimulated in such a manner as direct cold water, the response is greater.
So if we stay in the cold water for two to five minutes, the cold air we are going to aim for a MINIMUM of fifteen minutes.
Pro tip? That’s about the length of time it should take you to walk a mile, give or take. SO GO WALK! You get two birds one stone here with this one.
Tolerance Building
When you first start out, you may have a very small cold tolerance.
That is okay, we all start somewhere. It does not matter where we start, rather it matters where we end up going. (This is the case of anything we embark on)
The easiest way to build is to identify what you CAN handle currently. Go for as long and as cold as you can handle safely.
Then we push it up daily from there. Say Monday you toss the cold shower on and you are able to last a minute, on Tuesday you aim to push past one minute. Even if by only a few seconds!
(I use this same line of thinking for heat exposure training)
Gradually build your tolerance by breaking the walls that stand before you. Every time you surpass a wall, you surpass yourself.
If time isn’t your issue, but temperature is, what do we do? We go a little bit COLDER than we did the day before. Eventually you will max your shower out and realize:
“Wow… I can handle it. I am okay.”
Make the mental note of this. You are growing stronger with each session. More resilient, more gritty. Your ability to handle life’s actual challenges grows.
THINK: If you can not handle an ice bath for more than ten seconds, why would you start there? Start where your tolerance is, learn to walk then learn to jog, then learn to sprint.
Mindset
Your mindset is essential to approaching the cold.
Recognize that the majority of people alive do not like training like this. They do not like the cold. Many are even afraid of the cold.
The notion of willingly going out into the cold is absolutely insane to them.
To you? Maybe it is insane, but you are throwing yourself into the icy flames each day.
WILLINGLY!
That is so key right there. You are CHOOSING to partake in this daily.
Each time you practice you make a conscious choice to do something others will not. A conscious choice to do something that even you do not want to do.
If you practice in the morning, you have started your day already winning a major battle. You have grown.
“I am breaking down walls. I am becoming tougher. I am a beast. I am strong.”
Recognize how powerful you are in doing this. Others will cry and claim it to be “too hard” (boohoo, cry about it).
You are always far stronger than you understand currently. The thing is, you just do not know yet how strong you are. Until you go out and test your own strength. Until you go and challenge your limits!
That’s all for now. Forge your body, mind and spirit into an icy flame. Allow them to burn so hot that the cold becomes mere child’s play for you.
I leave you with one of my favorite quotes from The Bhagavad Gita:
“When the senses contact sense objects, a person experiences cold or heat, pleasure or pain. These experiences are fleeting; they come and go. Bear them patiently, Arjuna. Those who are unaffected by these changes, who are the same in pleasure and pain, are truly wise and fit for immortality. Assert your strength and realize this!” - The Bhagavad Gita 2:14-15
Stay BLESSED
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P.S. Life is hard, it wasn’t meant to be easy. Modern man is soft & afraid of doing that which scares them. You are not. We are above that way of thinking. But we must BUILD that strength. Let me guide you through the cold - book a consult call here to learn directly from me: Daily Practice Consult Call