Thanks for sharing your fitness journey with the rest of us. I’m a dad as well and right in the thick of raising two daughters. It flys by for sure and when I looked up, I barely noticed the guy in the mirror. I have easing my way back into fitness and it’s been a great stress relief and helped my mental health immensely. Best of luck and hope to hear more about you and experience.
Great read, thanks for sharing. As an older dad I’ve found Pavel’s Simple & Sinister kettlebell protocol incredibly effective at building lasting strength
There are a few different well-publicized use-cases and benefits for ice baths that make the recovery method very popular among athletes and celebrities. The results vary from person to person, and there is research (the last time I checked) that supports the benefits of ice baths for reducing muscle soreness, but debunks the potential formation of new proteins in the body to repair and build muscle. I definitely need to read up on what the latest research is saying.
For me it's about recovery after a hard training session. The soreness is definitely a thing, and an ice bath takes that way down. It also combats inflammation. I believe that's by the cold narrowing your blood vessels which helps reduce inflammation and swelling? It's been a long time since I looked at the data on it, so I highly recommend finding some sources you trust and reading about it.
There are also different variations on the theme. I used to do a lot of Cryotherapy back in 2014/15/16. Especially on the tennis tour where they would provide the facilities free of charge. It's not cheap! But I have since read studies that show far fewer benefits of cryo compared to ice baths.
You might think that -230 degrees F in a cryo chamber is the far more brutal option compared to an ice bath at maybe 45-48 degrees F. But I found the constant contact with the water on the skin makes the experience far more brutal than the cryo chamber, and it can be done at a fraction of the price.
I have always used a bathtub at home, and poured around 100lbs of ice into the cold water. But I'm going to upgrade my setup soon to either a Rubbermaid 150 gallon tub in the back yard, or maybe even a medium sized chest freezer. That's a good way to keep the temperature in the tub and also have it form ice naturally. The 100lbs of ice costs around $22 the last time I went. So multiply that by three times a week, and you're looking at almost $3,500 for the year. You could pick up a used chest freezer and convert it into an ice bath for well under $1,000, so if you're serious about the process that's probably the most cost effective method in the long run.
The sky is the absolute limit when it comes to the setup though. There are "cold plunges" which are really not an ice bath at all. They do allow you to control the temperature of the water, and have a fancy pump etc... but you're going to pay $4,000-$20,000 for the really good ones, and it's still not quite the same effect as having the ice actually touching your skin.
Most important of all, make sure you do it really safely if you're going to try it. Have some else there with you in case you slip or panic. See a doctor first to make sure you're in good cardiac shape to withstand the initial shock of the cold, and take it slowly at first. Don't go hard with a 45 degree tub your first time out. I think that as long as you're under 60 degrees F, you're going to see some benefits, and get a great idea of whether it's for you or not.
Interesting article, thanks for sharing! Question about the one hour window for waking up, do you use a sleep cycle app that tracks your sleep to wake up in that window, or do you wake up naturally or change your alarm around? Thanks!
I used to use an app called "Sleep Cycle", and would always set it to wake me up within a specific window. It detects your sleep patterns by listening to your breathing, and then wakes you up at the most optimal time.
Now I'm woken up whenever my daughter feels it's time. That is anywhere from 6:30am-8am these days. And there's a good chance either me or my wife have been up at least once with her during the night as well. So sleep is not at its most perfect these days, but we're getting back to somewhat of a schedule slowly but surely.
So great to see more and more musicians finally taking care of their health. Can't wait until the stereotype of the unhealthy musician is eliminated from our collective memory ;)
For me it was allergies and asthma forcing me to take a good look at my health, rather than touring. And in a way I am super grateful to have these and other health issues, otherwise it might have taken me way longer to wake up.
Thanks for sharing your fitness journey with the rest of us. I’m a dad as well and right in the thick of raising two daughters. It flys by for sure and when I looked up, I barely noticed the guy in the mirror. I have easing my way back into fitness and it’s been a great stress relief and helped my mental health immensely. Best of luck and hope to hear more about you and experience.
Great read, thanks for sharing. As an older dad I’ve found Pavel’s Simple & Sinister kettlebell protocol incredibly effective at building lasting strength
Big fan of Pavel. I've been following some of his routines for a while now.
Hi Janek, i'm interested in the ice baths; what's your reasoning/motivation for doing this?
Cheers
Grant
There are a few different well-publicized use-cases and benefits for ice baths that make the recovery method very popular among athletes and celebrities. The results vary from person to person, and there is research (the last time I checked) that supports the benefits of ice baths for reducing muscle soreness, but debunks the potential formation of new proteins in the body to repair and build muscle. I definitely need to read up on what the latest research is saying.
For me it's about recovery after a hard training session. The soreness is definitely a thing, and an ice bath takes that way down. It also combats inflammation. I believe that's by the cold narrowing your blood vessels which helps reduce inflammation and swelling? It's been a long time since I looked at the data on it, so I highly recommend finding some sources you trust and reading about it.
There are also different variations on the theme. I used to do a lot of Cryotherapy back in 2014/15/16. Especially on the tennis tour where they would provide the facilities free of charge. It's not cheap! But I have since read studies that show far fewer benefits of cryo compared to ice baths.
You might think that -230 degrees F in a cryo chamber is the far more brutal option compared to an ice bath at maybe 45-48 degrees F. But I found the constant contact with the water on the skin makes the experience far more brutal than the cryo chamber, and it can be done at a fraction of the price.
I have always used a bathtub at home, and poured around 100lbs of ice into the cold water. But I'm going to upgrade my setup soon to either a Rubbermaid 150 gallon tub in the back yard, or maybe even a medium sized chest freezer. That's a good way to keep the temperature in the tub and also have it form ice naturally. The 100lbs of ice costs around $22 the last time I went. So multiply that by three times a week, and you're looking at almost $3,500 for the year. You could pick up a used chest freezer and convert it into an ice bath for well under $1,000, so if you're serious about the process that's probably the most cost effective method in the long run.
The sky is the absolute limit when it comes to the setup though. There are "cold plunges" which are really not an ice bath at all. They do allow you to control the temperature of the water, and have a fancy pump etc... but you're going to pay $4,000-$20,000 for the really good ones, and it's still not quite the same effect as having the ice actually touching your skin.
Most important of all, make sure you do it really safely if you're going to try it. Have some else there with you in case you slip or panic. See a doctor first to make sure you're in good cardiac shape to withstand the initial shock of the cold, and take it slowly at first. Don't go hard with a 45 degree tub your first time out. I think that as long as you're under 60 degrees F, you're going to see some benefits, and get a great idea of whether it's for you or not.
Great post!! Happy new year!
Thanks Janek, really
Interesting article, thanks for sharing! Question about the one hour window for waking up, do you use a sleep cycle app that tracks your sleep to wake up in that window, or do you wake up naturally or change your alarm around? Thanks!
I used to use an app called "Sleep Cycle", and would always set it to wake me up within a specific window. It detects your sleep patterns by listening to your breathing, and then wakes you up at the most optimal time.
Now I'm woken up whenever my daughter feels it's time. That is anywhere from 6:30am-8am these days. And there's a good chance either me or my wife have been up at least once with her during the night as well. So sleep is not at its most perfect these days, but we're getting back to somewhat of a schedule slowly but surely.
So great to see more and more musicians finally taking care of their health. Can't wait until the stereotype of the unhealthy musician is eliminated from our collective memory ;)
For me it was allergies and asthma forcing me to take a good look at my health, rather than touring. And in a way I am super grateful to have these and other health issues, otherwise it might have taken me way longer to wake up.