Filip Stanojevic

I did an ice bath and HATED it (now I love them)

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Humans are weird.

We like inflicting pain on ourselves and watching others experience pain, sometimes for no apparent reason. Not just pain, but doing hard stuff in general.

Lifting weights. Running marathons. Walking on burning coal. (I am gonna skip all the BDSM fetishes and stuff.) Procrastinating even more when we’ve already procrastinated for hours on end.

So why not jump in a lake during winter? Or….orrr, listen to this: Why not fill your bathtub with freezing cold water and sit in there for 5 minutes?

Now that sounds really good to me, so that’s why I gave it a try once upon a time.

But first let’s explore if there’s any reason to do it at all.


Benefits of cold exposure

Studies have shown that cold exposure can have various health benefits.

Or so I’ve heard from those who have read the studies, who follow the research and do the experiments themselves. I didn’t want to drop names but I’m gonna do it anyway: Wim Hof, Tim Ferriss, Tony Robbins.

So what are those “various benefits”?

Research lists the following known benefits:


There are probably a bunch more but you get the picture.

Why and how does it work? Well, I can’t know everything, can I? For the science behind it, it’s probably best to go to https://www.wimhofmethod.com/science.

Alright, now that we’ve seen what it does, let’s take a look at…


Who is doing cold exposure?

It’s usually athletes and self experimenters (can I say that I am both?).

Many athletes use ice baths and other types of exposure to cold as a means to speed up recovery after physical exercise. Because it reduces inflammation, swelling and soreness more quickly.

Which athletes? LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, Novak Djokovic – take your pick. In fact, most professional sports teams advise their players to do cold baths, cold showers and other types of cold exposure.

In fact, the superstars and multimillionaires often have access to the cutting edge technology. In this case, cryogenic chambers. But for us (broke) amateurs, let’s stick with baths and showers.

Alright, I know what you’re thinking…

“Those are superstar athletes, they’re modern gladiators whose bodies always have to perform at their best. What about us regular people?”

And that’s a good question Brian (sorry for calling you Brian).

I never thought much of it either until I started hearing about cold exposure from Tim Ferriss and Tony Robbins. Then I heard about Wim Hof, Lewis Pugh and others.

But even then, I kept shrugging it off, “Cool, I’ll give it a try some time”. It went like this for 2, maybe 3, years. It sounded interesting but I just never made specific plans to try it.

And then in January 2020 something happened that gave me the nudge I needed.


My first cold bath experience

How did I decide to do it? I’m glad you asked!

As a freelance writer, I got hired by a client to write an article related to cold exposure. It was for some new kind of swimming trunks. I had no problems writing the article, it went quite smoothly, but I wanted to know more about the subject.

The problem is that no video or chunk of text can describe the experience and the benefits as well as the real thing – actually doing it.

So I grew a pair and actually did it soon after writing that article. And it’s safe to say it was a…..chilling experience. (See what I did there???)


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The date was set: February 4, 2020.

I know the specific date because I just looked it up in my Daylio diary.

To ensure everything ran smoothly, my girlfriend (a medical student) was there. Just in case I black out and start drowning. Even though that’s probably impossible and I couldn’t drown in my small tub even if I wanted to.

But by all means, feel free to laugh at my face but I never did anything similar and wanted to stay safe.

Prior to entering the water, I really had no idea what to expect.

Can I sit there for 3 minutes?

30 minutes?

Does it hurt?

Am I gonna scream like a little bitch?

Does it make a difference whether I am dressed or naked?

Did I forget to mention that I (obviously) did it naked like a real caveman?

Onward.

Looking at the bathtub filled with ice-cold water, I just stepped in without hesitation. But before I tell you how it felt, here’s just a quick question: You probably saw a picture of people sitting in ice baths. What do you think the feeling is when you sit in there?

Try to imagine it and then read on. Seriously, imagine it. I’ll wait.

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Alright, here’s how it went for me.

I stepped in, sat down and wanted to SCREAM! It hurt like a 1000 little knives stabbing me in my legs. Can you imagine the pain? Trust me, you can’t until you try it. I barely lasted 30 seconds (probably even less) in that tub.

My suffering was quite an amusement to my girlfriend. What did she do? That evil bitch (just kidding) enjoyed a screaming laugh while I was losing my breath because of the stabbing pain in my body.

It was a terribly painful experience. But I didn’t scream like a little bitch, yay. Although I did gasp for air from all the pain, then I stepped out and waited for the water to drain.

Oh, I almost forgot the best part.

Instead of filling the bathtub to half of its capacity, because you know, it’s my first time…..the genius I am, I filled it to the max, to the brim! It was spilling over the ceramic tiles when I stepped in. I got one word for you: G-E-N-I-U-S!

So yeah, it was incredibly painful, but I did it again a couple of weeks later...

*gasp* WHY YOU MORON?

Well, I’ll tell you why.


Why did I do it again (and love it now)

Yes, it was terrible the first time.

Many things are. Did you enjoy driving a bike for the first time you tried it? I don’t think so. You were probably crying like a lil’ bitch and called for your mom because you fell flat on your face. But you stopped falling and started enjoying it after a few days or weeks, didn’t you? Because you know you are gonna enjoy it once you get the gist of it.

That’s the same reason I continued doing ice baths. And also because I knew there are health benefits (physical AND mental) to it. Lo and behold, I started enjoying inflicting pain on myself. I started liking the pain, even though I am NOT a masochist.

From barely 30 seconds the first time. To 1 minute and 30 seconds. To 2 minutes. To 3 minutes. Now I can easily last for 5 minutes and more. And I LOVE going to spas that have saunas and cold baths that are much colder than the water at my house.

So how often do I do it now?

Cold baths – Once or twice a week. Often after playing football. Sometimes I go weeks without a cold bath.

Cold showers – Very often. Sometimes even every day. I can skip many days in a row but I rarely go a week without a cold shower. But not doing it after strength training, because Andrew Huberman says so.

*NOTE: When I say ‘cold shower’, I simply mean taking a minute or so to get the cold water on all parts of my body after finishing up a regular hot shower.

But I have to be fair to newbies trying this out. It is easier for me because I have been taking cold showers for years before trying my first cold bath. Imagine if you’re not used to any kind of cold and then jump into a freezing bath.

I wouldn’t wanna be in your skin. Just kidding, cold exposure is the best when you’re just starting out – it does hurt but you’re feeling invincible afterwards.

Sincerely,
Filip -- The Ice Bath Lover