Sauna & cold plunge

[Huckleberries]

Hi
Has anyone done the contrast therapy thing? I hate calling that it sounds wanky.

Anyway… there’s a new gym opening up in my area and I could do a trial. I’m curious about this though because they’re selling it separately. I like my gym so I can’t really see me moving.

I think it’s set up so that you’re allowed to be in there for 40 minutes. The idea is that you do the rotation three times so sauna …cold plunge… back again twice.

I wondered if it would increase resilience or something. When it’s cold, I moan about being cold, when it’s hot I’m moaning about being hot….

Does anyone do it? Any benefits to it? They’re offering reasonably cheap prices before Christmas but only if you buy a package of four and use it by Christmas.

I went with a friend as a one off was a lovely experience I just don't have the time to do it regularly.

@LivingDeadGirlUK thanks

Why is it lovely? I was thinking of it to toughen myself up but it didn’t occur to me that I would find it lovely to be honest! That sounds very positive!

I do and it is bloody amazing.
I carry an enormous amount of tension in my shoulders, when I go for a massage they spend the whole time either saying 'just relax, just let down your shoulders' or 'oh, my gosh, aren't you wound up right'
With the hot/cold cycling I get the combination of my muscles totally relaxing from the heat, and my brain shutting off silly thoughts from the cold, and together they leave me the most contented cooked noodle out there.
I highly rated it.

What you describe has been continuously popular somewhere for at least 2000 years so presumably at minimum it leaves you feeling nice at the end.
I'm not sure if it actually has health benefits beyond taking time for yourself/having a wash - is it supposed to shock the system like cold water swimming?

I think it's meant to release endorphins or something? I like a cold plunge after a sauna, my DH hates it though!

It's the normal way to do a sauna. It doesn't sound healthy to do it 3 times in 40 minutes though. That sounds like a recipe for a heart attack. You need to let you body come back to normal temperature and rest in between.

I wouldn't do it in the uk though because people won't wash before going in the plunge pool and they'll go in in a bathing suit, so the pool will have to be really chlorinated which is terrible for your skin after a sauna. Brits have no sense of sauna etiquette. The sauna itself is likely to be disgusting too for the same reason.

I did it today for the first time in a very blustery Snowdon and absolutely loved it.

I love it. I’ve always done cold water swimming, but the sauna is a nice touch. It raises endorphins and is very relaxing.

make sure you dont have high bp,
just have a cold shower surely?

Yes, sauna and cold plunge is great! Very relaxing and makes you feel amazing. The trick is to get straight in the water, shoulders under. Just don’t think about it. You quickly get used to it and the cold starts to feel pleasant. Keep you breathing even and relaxed, don’t hold your breath.

This is where is go, it has dry heat, wet heat, ice plunge, bucket plunge, shaved ice in the outdoor lounge area to pack on you, and a salt room too
Nordic spa
https://ritualnordicspa.com/

thanks for all the answers

@dicdicnurse you did it it Snowdon that sounds amazing - do you mean an outdoor thing? Brilliant.

People saying that three times sound weird… basically they had a sort of promotional thing this evening where you could just go in and have a look so I went after my workout - it’s not far from my current gym.

I specifically said to them that I was curious about it for endurance/resilience so that’s probably why they suggested the three times. Or maybe it’s just a gimmick to help sell membership, I don’t know.

Person who said about hygiene, yeah, I would be concerned about that too. I belong to a no-frills gym because I’m really not fussed about the other stuff but also when you think too long about what’s in the Jacuzzi, you wouldn’t get in it!

I don’t know about the saunas, but apparently the baths are UV light treated or something. So not chlorinated.

there’s a woman at my gym who does cold water swimming and think it’s the best thing ever. I just think it sounds like such a lot of faff when actually you don’t get a lot of time in the water because it’s not good for you to spend a lot of time in cold water! That’s why I thought of it really, she finds it wonderful. Not prepared to try the cold water swimming thing though, driving to the lake and faffing about with wetsuits is not my idea of fun.

The advantage of ‘cold plunge’ over cold shower is that your extremities (feet) hit the cold water first, and you work up to the cold water near your heart.

it is of course possible to have the cold water over you feet first in a shower but also possible for the cold water to hit your heart area first.

Which is not recommended

Having said that, I am a big fan of hot/cold contrast. I finish a hot shower with cold and find cold plunge after wet or dry heat exhilarating.

Agree with PP that swimwear next the skin is really not pleasant and in indoor facilities, a lukewarm shower before the cold plunge essential.

Outdoors straight into the icy lake feet first completely fine.

one last point, if your body does not react to the cold with a rush of blood so that you genuinely can’t tell whether you are hot or cold (and feel exhilarated), take it as ia sign that your circulatory system is not strong enough to benefit from the hot/cold contrast, so that it is best avoided.

Id be very sorry to never feel that exhilaration again. One of my most favourite sensations.

Yes it was on Lake Padarn. The sauna was in a little hut on the lakes edge and we were able to go freely between the sauna and the lake. We all loved it despite the pouring rain and awful wind.

This is where we went:
https://www.saunawales.co.uk/

@dicdicnurse wow that looks lovely

I have to say doing this outdoors looks a lot more appealing than a gym…

Anyway, thanks for the answers everybody … I’m going to try it, but maybe not at this gym. Seems like there’s a lot of fans!

I swim outdoors regularly, but only did the sauna/cold plunge thing recently, in Sweden. I think I liked it because of where it was, but I’m pretty happy with the sea as a regular thing.