Saturday, January 19, 2008

Ice Bath

The post training ice bath is a great recovery tool, but it takes the right mix of courage, craziness, and mind trickery to pull off. In this video I offer arm-chair ice bathers an opportunity to experience the joys of lounging about in icy cold water. I also offer the tricks and tips that help me enjoy(?) a couple of these a week.

So, pull on a sweater, grab a hot cup of cocoa, and see what it's like to take an ice bath.

3 comments:

chocolate girl said...

Ice baths are awesome...well, the benefits afterwards...not the bath itself. I'm a wuss, and have to get in the bath while filling up the tub, then put in the ice. I wear a hat, mittens, and fleece top. Best if you do it after 10 min in the sauna, but you probably don't have one of those! Just take a hot shower first.
You're not going to make us do that if we come over there, are you?

Unknown said...

Couldn't you just go down the hill and jump in the lake? Seriously, could you put some plastic tupperware or bottles of water around you to help the water fill a little faster? I was thinking as I watched that this was the unpleasant part, and that would probably speed it up. Also, if you had smallish containers, you could fill those with water and freeze them, eliminating the need for the ice cube trays. I'm very creative when I don't have to do these things! :)

PS: I am clearly NOT jogging with you when I get to Zurich. Count me in on skiing, though!

Jeff Grant said...

Thanks for your ideas Thomas! It was a lot easier in the States when I could buy a few large bags of ice at a convenience store before my run, toss them in a large cooler, and then heft them into the tub during my recovery soak. I've yet to find ice in big bags in Switzerland (or in any bags actually!). I really like the idea of freezing the small containers -- need to see how I can squeeze them into our small 3-drawer Euro freezer. Will try that for the next long run. Cheers.