View Full Version : Do COLD showers have merit?
Former Navy SEAL Clint Emerson, author of 100 Deadly Skills: The SEAL Operative's Guide to Eluding Pursuers, Evading Capture, and Surviving Any Dangerous Situation, explains why it can be healthy for you to end a shower with cold water:
Cold water will wake you up, without a doubt, and it will keep you awake. But it has more health benefits than anything else. In SEAL training you spend a lot of time in cold water and there’s actually some science to the madness of putting us in cold water. One, the reason professional athletes do it all the time after a workout is it increases recovery. It vasoconstricts the entire body, squeezing out all of that lactic acid so that you can feel good to go the next day and be ready for the next day training.
That cold water is therapy. Even though it was torture, it’s therapy so that it keeps you healthy, keeps your joints and inflammation down, vasoconstricts everything down and allows you to keep moving forward, hopefully without any more injury.
I understand ice packs and cold water whirlpools. The questions I have:
1) How cold does the water have to be in order to be therapeutic? According to the EPA (apparently the useful section of the EPA) our ground water is between 52 and 57 degrees.
2) How long do you have to be immersed?
3) Does the effects of a shower equate to immersion?
Yes, I am a simpleton.
Outlander Systems
03-16-17, 10:18
I don't know about all that...
...but I do know that there is nothing better for recovery, and the human body in general, than Victory Punch™.
If the premise of the reason for cold water immersion is that "It vasoconstricts the entire body, squeezing out all of that lactic acid so that you can feel good to go the next day and be ready for the next day training", then I think the advice can be completely ignored.
Now, if cold water immersion actually makes you feel better, then go for it, but lactic acid is water soluble and is gone from the body about 45 minutes after ceasing anaerobic activity. Cold water isn't going to make that happen any faster unless you drink it.
.
FromMyColdDeadHand
03-16-17, 10:52
I'm still working on the SEAL commanders suggestion of always making my bed every morning.
Should I make my bed before or after that cold shower?
If the premise of the reason for cold water immersion is that "It vasoconstricts the entire body, squeezing out all of that lactic acid so that you can feel good to go the next day and be ready for the next day training", then I think the advice can be completely ignored.
Now, if cold water immersion actually makes you feel better, then go for it, but lactic acid is water soluble and is gone from the body about 45 minutes after ceasing anaerobic activity. Cold water isn't going to make that happen any faster unless you drink it.
.
Thank you for that.
Re: latic acid. I though lactic acid was responsible for the soreness in muscles after over exertion. For example, I'd always been told that build up of lactic acid in the muscles is the reason I was sore after restarting my weight training regimen - I hate weights so that happens about 3 times a year :)
Should I make my bed before or after that cold shower?
Before when you had more time always gave more likelihood of it not ending up on the floor. That was with wife #1. The DI's were going to throw it on the floor no matter what.
lol no cold showers for The Kid. sorry (not sorry)
Whiskey_Bravo
03-16-17, 12:17
Should I make my bed before or after that cold shower?
Depends on what type of gainz you want...
Former Navy SEAL Clint Emerson, author of 100 Deadly Skills: The SEAL Operative's Guide to Eluding Pursuers, Evading Capture, and Surviving Any Dangerous Situation, explains why it can be healthy for you to end a shower with cold water:
Cold water will wake you up, without a doubt, and it will keep you awake. But it has more health benefits than anything else. In SEAL training you spend a lot of time in cold water and there’s actually some science to the madness of putting us in cold water. One, the reason professional athletes do it all the time after a workout is it increases recovery. It vasoconstricts the entire body, squeezing out all of that lactic acid so that you can feel good to go the next day and be ready for the next day training.
That cold water is therapy. Even though it was torture, it’s therapy so that it keeps you healthy, keeps your joints and inflammation down, vasoconstricts everything down and allows you to keep moving forward, hopefully without any more injury.
I understand ice packs and cold water whirlpools. The questions I have:
1) How cold does the water have to be in order to be therapeutic? According to the EPA (apparently the useful section of the EPA) our ground water is between 52 and 57 degrees.
2) How long do you have to be immersed?
3) Does the effects of a shower equate to immersion?
Yes, I am a simpleton.
For what use, recovery? This is a well written paper on the topic with citations:
http://www.scienceforsport.com/cold-water-immersion/
There has been studies showing cold water immersion tends to adapt people to cold exposures, but that would make perfect sense. Cold/hot immersion via sauna and rolling around in the snow and repeating has been used extensively in various countries and considered good for your health. Not sure what data exists on that one, but regular use of sauna may be beneficial too. Via Harvard:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/sauna-use-linked-longer-life-fewer-fatal-heart-problems-201502257755
Me, gonna skip the cold showers and go straight for the sauna. I hate cold showers. I did the Polar bear thing once and that really sucked out loud.
Thank you for that.
Re: latic acid. I though lactic acid was responsible for the soreness in muscles after over exertion. For example, I'd always been told that build up of lactic acid in the muscles is the reason I was sore after restarting my weight training regimen - I hate weights so that happens about 3 times a year :)
Recent science has turned virtually everything we thought we knew about lactic acid and turned it on its head.
https://academic.oup.com/biohorizons/article/doi/10.1093/biohorizons/hzu001/242608/Lactate-valuable-for-physical-performance-and
Thank you for that.
Re: latic acid. I though lactic acid was responsible for the soreness in muscles after over exertion. For example, I'd always been told that build up of lactic acid in the muscles is the reason I was sore after restarting my weight training regimen - I hate weights so that happens about 3 times a year :)
DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) is inflammatory in nature, micro-tears in the muscle or some such theory...not sure anyone actually knows. It has nothing to do with lactic acid. DOMS is best treated by anti-inflammatory drugs or a cold-water shower/ice immersion.
DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) is inflammatory in nature, micro-tears in the muscle or some such theory...not sure anyone actually knows. It has nothing to do with lactic acid. DOMS is best treated by anti-inflammatory drugs or a cold-water shower/ice immersion.
It gets even more interesting. The acute inflammatory response to exercise is essential to the remodeling that takes place in response to the stressor, so taking and NSIDs and even high dose anti oxidants may actually block the needed response. Several studies suggest taking NSIDs and or high dose anti oxidants post workout to avoid being sore will actually hinder your progress in the gym. More data needed, but it's an interesting area of research:
The use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for exercise-induced muscle damage: implications for skeletal muscle development.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23013520
Before when you had more time always gave more likelihood of it not ending up on the floor. That was with wife #1. The DI's were going to throw it on the floor no matter what.
True story. I just wish wife number one would have actually made the bed at least once. Yeah, my whole bunk ended up on floor more than once during BCT and me right along with it.
I don't miss either one
Cold showers were mandatory during BCT as they told us the water heater was busted, but so was the AC so.... Summer on Ft Sill made the cold showers bearable though
Depends on what type of gainz you want...
Definitely showering after then. lol
This is not the thread I thought it was going to be...
Coal Dragger
03-17-17, 02:24
I love taking a shower after a good workout and turning the water down to cold for a minute or two before I get out. Not because I think it has any benefits, just because I like not sweating after I take a damn shower and it cools me down.
Moose-Knuckle
03-18-17, 04:48
This is not the thread I thought it was going to be...
:lol:
I love taking a shower after a good workout and turning the water down to cold for a minute or two before I get out. Not because I think it has any benefits, just because I like not sweating after I take a damn shower and it cools me down.
I've been known to do this in the summer down here. I run a little hotter than normal blooded folks. Another trick I do after a shower is use my wife's hair dryer on the cool setting to air dry off. Man that cools me down in no time.
My second tour had us in old Iraqi barracks that had gravity fed showers fed by a big water tank on the roof of the building. The shower was a small hose that had the pressure of your kitchen sink with the flow set somewhere between drips and medium. In the winter we would have to go on the roof and break the ice that accumulated on the top of the water to keep the system from creating a vacuum. Screw cold showers. I take long showers that are as hot as I can stand. In the summer after a workout or outside chores I might take a room temperature shower to cool off.
My second tour had us in old Iraqi barracks that had gravity fed showers fed by a big water tank on the roof of the building. The shower was a small hose that had the pressure of your kitchen sink with the flow set somewhere between drips and medium. In the winter we would have to go on the roof and break the ice that accumulated on the top of the water to keep the system from creating a vacuum. Screw cold showers. I take long showers that are as hot as I can stand. In the summer after a workout or outside chores I might take a room temperature shower to cool off.
Didn't know it got that cold in Iraq. I'm with you, screw cold showers.
Didn't know it got that cold in Iraq. I'm with you, screw cold showers.
Where we were in the eastern part of Iraq it would get down into the 30s regularly in the winter with the low 40s being normal. I think the fact that the water was already pretty cold when it was brought to the location and then being in a thin metal box that was exposed to constant cold wind probably made it worse.
I hate you guys.... Yesterday my water heater broke and I had to take my first cold shower in years. Just a coincidence it happened the day after responding to this threast???? I dont think so. HAHAHA
I hate you guys.... Yesterday my water heater broke and I had to take my first cold shower in years. Just a coincidence it happened the day after responding to this threast???? I dont think so. HAHAHA
Sorry about that. I'd suggest you look into tankless water heaters, especially if you are using electric.
Sorry about that. I'd suggest you look into tankless water heaters, especially if you are using electric.
I was able to fix it. Mine is gas. Drained it earlier in the day and when I went to restart it the pilot light wouldn't stay on. It was a dirty thermopile sensor. So i took the door to the furnace chamber off and cleaned it. Well when I put it back on, one of the screws broke off in its slot. By that time it was 2300 hours so I decided to fix it the next day. The next morning I got a small tap and die extraction set and tried to extract the screw. But I ended up just stripping the threading in the screw hole. So I got a size bigger self tapping screw and some Loctite and forced that bastard shut. HAHAHA.
The water heater is a crap unit that builders get for cheap and we plan to replace it soon. But now we can replace it on our timeframe and not the week after we spent a bunch of money taking the kids to the Renaissance Fair and the aquarium. Ive looked into a tankless water heater but from what Ive read and heard from customers, the hard water we have here in southern Az will gunk it up even if you run a soft water system. Ill most likely just go with another tank unit as the cost, install, and maintenance of a tankless unit looks like its going to far exceed the cost of a very good tank unit.
Cold showers were mandatory during BCT as they told us the water heater was busted, but so was the AC so.... Summer on Ft Sill made the cold showers bearable though
I did Navy boot at Great Lakes in the winter. The barracks were hotter then hell--the heat turned way up--and the showers were so hot you could barely see through the steam. It was like a sauna. They were good showers, but they were 30-second showers.
I did Navy boot at Great Lakes in the winter. The barracks were hotter then hell--the heat turned way up--and the showers were so hot you could barely see through the steam. It was like a sauna. They were good showers, but they were 30-second showers.
Boot camp at Paris Island May-August. On family day, the day before graduation my dad, a Korean War era Marine said we were soft because there was AC in the barracks. I told him it sucked. It was freezing at night. I kept my PT sweatshirt under my pillow and wore it every night because it was so damn cold!
Cold Showers Suck! We went over fifty days w/o a shower during the Guf War. I used a canteen cup of water ever other day to take a sponge bath and shave. We came back to camp and we had Showers with the science lab pull down emergency Showers heads. We were timed too. Not sure how long it was 2 min sounds right. Nobody came close to going over. It was too damn cold. The wooden Showers had their holding tank painted black in an attempt to warm the water. The water wasn't in there long enough to get warm. It still felt pretty good to get wet and soap up but soap doesn't work very well with cold water! When we go to use real toilets and shower a few weeks latter my tan washed off! It was NASTY! That was the best dump and shower of my life.
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