The best way to start the new year? With a cold water plunge

You ever seen a western flick where the hero cowboy has to sober up some drunk scoundrel?  He grabs the drunk by the shoulders, pushes him through the swinging saloon doors, over to the watering trough for the horses, and dunks his head in.  And he does it repeatedly, holding the drunk's head down for a little while until he comes up gasping for air.  Seen that?  Yeah, that's kind of like a warm bubble bath followed by a Swedish massage compared to a polar bear swim.

Last Saturday, a few brave souls ushered in the New Year with a polar bear swim in the Atlantic Ocean.  The Coney Island Polar Bear Swim Club, the oldest cold water swim club in the country (founded in 1903), hosted thousands of crazy revelers on the famous Coney Island boardwalk.  We were a tough crew:

  • Richard, who had recently run a marathon on Antarctica
  • Lee, a former Army Ranger about to fly to Thailand for an intensive MovNat clinic
  • Yours truly, who completed 12 swims last winter (I'm struggling to sound tough)
  • ...and then, Uji, a Korean fashion designer who hates the cold and has a negative body fat percentage.  (Honestly, I didn't expect Uji to show.  And when she did show, I kind of figured she would chicken out.  I was wrong.  Very wrong.)

We got to the boardwalk and did a little people watching: 250 pound Viking in a speedo?  Check.  Mysterious Asian man in Marti Gras beads with a fake stuffed rabbit?  Naturally.  Grown men in baby diapers?  You bet.

We hit the beach, stripped down to our bathing suits, and joined the thousands of other swimmers waiting for the Polar Bear Club members to start the swim.  With a bang, people poured into the water, and so did we.  WOW IS IT COLD.  First, when you get up to your waist.  Second, when you go all the way under.  We were in for a minute or two, until our toes started to go numb.  Then got out and dried off.  The air was high 40s/low 50s and felt like sunny and 70s.  Then I had the odd idea to go in for a second round of torture.  WOOOOO, BACK IN!

So, what's the benefit?

  • It's fun
  • Acclimates you the cold
  • Better circulation (hot and cold causes your blood vessels to expand and contract)
  • People swear by better immune function (though I don't have a citation)
  • Enlarge your comfort zone

And a great, refreshing way to start a new year.  And just like in the westerns, it's a pretty good cure for a hangover.  

Comments

I jumped into Lake Minnetonka

Submitted by Darrin on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 12:18.

I jumped into Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota last New Year. Record cold that day as well! (I believe it topped out around 10 degrees.) Crazy, but really fun!

Cold baths were found more

Submitted by Jeff on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 12:09.

Cold baths were found more effective than hot baths in improving testicular function....anybody having sex in there?

Cold baths were found more

Submitted by Jeff on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 12:09.

Cold baths were found more effective than hot baths in improving testicular function....anybody having sex in there?

More pictures of the girl

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:48.

More pictures of the girl next to you would have been relevant to my interests...

Nice one John!  I have gotten

Submitted by Greg Carver on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 10:48.

Nice one John!  I have gotten to really look forward to the annual polar bear dip.  Here in Toronto, we dip in Lake Ontario (wish it were the ocean), and this year I admit the weather was way above seasonal so it wasn't as much of a shock.  Two years ago (my first), there was an extreme cold weather alert the night before.  Now THAT was a polar bear dip!   Going to start doing some cold water dousing next... 

We hit the Russian baths

Submitted by John on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 10:58.

We hit the Russian baths afterword for some hot + cold. Felt great. But at the end of the day, I was exhausted -- takes a lot out of you.

Good stuff. I've been meaning

Submitted by M Miller on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 09:44.

Good stuff. I've been meaning to do one of these, but I can't imagine impressing anyone by telling them I did the Florida version. Anyways, I've been reading a bit of Tim Ferriss's 4-Hour Body lately (not Paleo, but fascinating none the less), and he describes a lot of experimentation that he and others have done on how "cold water therapy" has benefits in addition to the ones you mention, such as weight-loss, muscle gain, and better sleep. The therapy in question doesn't necessarily consist in Polar Bear Plunges, but taking cold showers, ice baths, and even applying ice packs to certain parts of your body (back the the neck). 

Yeah, I saw that. I don't

Submitted by John on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:00.

Yeah, I saw that. I don't take ice baths in my bathtub, but I think there's something there.

Oceans and lakes are superior

Submitted by Theodore on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 08:55.

Oceans and lakes are superior to showers, I agree, but I don't have access to those. So insead I take a cold shower almost everyday. Now that it is winter and the ambient temperature (inside) is about 65 and the water probably in the 40s or low 50s, wow is that cold. I really, really know what you mean.  I feel amazing afterwards, everytime.No one will believe me though. I have yet to convert a single person. Oh, another upside, I think my tolerance to cold has increased recently, and this probably has something to do with it. 

"Ready for whatever 2011

Submitted by Jim on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 06:50.

"Ready for whatever 2011 brings."Great caption. Bring it!! 

 Well...now I have no excuse

Submitted by Mountain on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 04:45.

 Well...now I have no excuse not to take a dunk in La Jolla Cove this month. Then again, we're "cold current" in the Pacific while you get the "warm current" in the Atlantic right? =PHow far/long do you and other participants typically go for?

Depends on water temperature.

Submitted by John on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:03.

Depends on water temperature. Early in the season when the water is in the high 40s (possibly even low 50s, I forget), people can be in there for 10-15 minutes. In February/March (the coldest months), people are in there for <5 min usually. Some people are really good at it. Some people have lots of body fat too. This plunge, I went in twice for a total of about 3-5 minutes.

Ah, here I thought you guys

Submitted by Mountain on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 13:48.

Ah, here I thought you guys were doing 1/2-mile swims in the icy waves! That's more reasonable. As reasonable as deep winter swimming in Coney Island can be, I suppose =]Have you read about the "Guatanamo Bay" ice baths that Tim Ferriss does? Haha! 

Yee Ha! What a thrill that

Submitted by Anonymous Gina on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 02:35.

Yee Ha! What a thrill that cold water is and it really is like a tonic. People have lost the art of hydro-therapy especially cold water therapy.I lived for 23 years (before moving to Maui) on a lake in NY that was glacier formed and spring fed and it often froze completely (22 miles long and maybe 2 miles across) leaving icebergs well into the spring. Needless to say even at the end of August it was still *^&$%#@ COLD! I miss that! I miss clear -clean -cold water.What I have as a substitute is a cold plunge when I can buy myself a steam at the overpriced spa or my everyday cold rinse after a hot shower. Somehow it just aint the same :) So -people- if you have access to cold water (even the cold tap water in Hawaii is not really cold) go for it....maybe not quite polar bear style (unless you are as brave as John!) but at least a cold rinse after your bathing...it increased blood flow and stimulated your immune system and is truly a tonic for the thyroid.You go John -what an adventure!

Clear-clean-cold water

Submitted by John on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:04.

Clear-clean-cold water reminds me of swimming Lake Superior. That's cold in summer too. But so refreshing!