From Fear to Fitness: My Ice Bath

Cold water immersion is my personal growth experience

In response to What Does 23% Body Fat Look Like?, A.J. Kay asked me “Did you start doing ice baths primarily for weight loss?” and I wrote:

I started cold immersion just because it was a challenge. After reading about cold showers in Mike Cernovich’s book Gorilla Mindset I decided to try it, just because it was a scary (but harmless) thing to do.

This Tim Ferriss quote sums up my attitude towards cold water immersion. The voluntary suffering of the ice bath trains me to stay calm when facing adverse circumstances that are beyond my control.

Now I get lots of questions now from people who are curious about cold water immersion. Sometimes, these questions come from people who have seen the evolution of my 6'-0" tall body as I dropped from 250lbs to the 195lb I am now. They want to know what I’ve been doing differently to maintain a healthier weight.

Other people seem concerned for my safety when they ask, “Aren’t you afraid your heart will stop?”

I am not.

These people may be referring to a condition called “cold water shock” in which it has been reported that people with heart disease will go into cardiac…