Does a cold shower give you more power?

Nobody likes a cold shower but everybody knows the feeling of a warm shower in the morning. You want to stay right under and get tired or even lazy. But have you ever tried an ice-cold shower in the morning? Or taking one after your training? There is nothing that beats an ice-cold shower after training and it has lots of benefits too.

I enjoy a cold shower and take those summer and winter. The only time when I take a hot shower is when I’m showering with a girlfriend.

I’m sure your dirty little mind will get what I mean.

It’s going to take courage and balls to deal with these showers. But I believe you can do this.

It’s all about pushing through.

First I want to debunk some myths. Cold showers don’t boost testosterone; there is no scientific evidence for this. There are a lot of guys who claim this but they don’t show you studies or link to other irrelevant studies.

Coldwater won’t make you more fertile and hot water won’t make you infertile. This was something I stumbled across on the internet but there is NO scientific evidence. There is however a correlation between heat and your sperm health so don’t expose your balls to high temperatures.

So rule of thumb if some claim that a study proves something you better look at his source. If they don’t include a study or a credible source you’ll smell the bullshit from miles away.

1)   You create willpower by doing these cold showers

In the beginning, these showers will be harsh, it’s really cold and you will shiver. Willpower will separate you from all the people who can’t do this.

After day one you’ll hate it and want to skip the second day. Here is the part where you’ll have to show your mental toughness. Here is where we separate the real men from the little boys.

So I can start with a warm shower and slowly decrease the temperature? What about “hell no”?!

Just set your temperature on the lowest and get under it. It’s all about getting out of your comfort zone and this becomes addictive before you know it.

You will notice that this will affect other aspects of your life too. Pushing through when you need to will seem a lot less hard.

Congratulations you’ve toughened your mind and will reap the benefits from it.

2)   May look you like a badass

There is a guy who did the 30-day cold shower challenge and he blogged about it. My result was similar to his but he had a funny experience after those 30 days which I hadn’t. You can read his whole experience here.

He went swimming 2 km swim at Cottesloe Beach during winter to stretch his willpower. I’ve nothing but respect for what he did and tried it myself on a cold day in March. It was pretty fun and the handful of people on the beach thought that I was crazy. (you can see the proof on my Instagram)

Now after he got out he overheard a conversation between a muscle guy and his girlfriend; which was pretty funny

Muscle Guy: “Damn, this sucks; I wish I could go in the water.”

Girlfriend: “Why don’t you go?”

Muscle Guy: “Baby, are you serious? It’s fucking cold!”

Girlfriend *points at me*: “Well, that guy just came out and he looks fine”.

Muscle Guy *looks at me with a mix of curiosity and awe*: “Yeah, but… he’s crazy!”       

I’m not suggesting you should do this do impress people but this story was too funny so I included it.

3)   A cold shower will make you more positive in life

Some monks have to take a cold bath when they have negative thoughts. In this way, they can flush away those thoughts.

Now give this a try, modern society gives you more than enough negative thoughts and insecurities.

This is a basic principle from the psychology that’s called conditioning. You give yourself negative reinforcement to teach you good behavior.

There’s a scene from the Big Bang Theory that explains this principle well.

Good behavior means you’ll get a reward and bad behavior will lead to a “punishment”. It’s more complex than this one sentence but I wanted to give you an idea of how it works.

Losing those negative thoughts will make you stand more positive in life. You’ll notice that your environment will notice too and they’ll like you more since unhappy people tend to complain more.

4)   They make you more resilient to stress

There was a study that found improved antioxidative protection in winter swimmers. Cold showers cause a small form of stress on your body. This oxidative stress acts on your nervous system and your body adapts to this.

So you’ll be more relaxed in life, being able to filter all the bullshit out of your life.

Now the first time you’ll take a real cold shower you’ll panic, won’t be able to think. Well, you’ll only think one thing; what am I doing and get me out of here. But after seven to ten days you’ll enjoy it and go into a Zen mode under these showers.

5)   They wake you up and increase your alertness

Once you’ll go under a cold shower you’ll notice that you breath heavier and more frequently. This will increase your heart rate and oxygen intake. As a result, you’ll have more energy during the day.

You’ll feel alive and focused on this and this will make your day more productive.  Look at your co-workers and see how long it takes before they crash. They’ll crash around 10 pm and they still have to work for some hours. Those days are exhausting and will kill your productivity, that’s something nobody wants.

6)   It reduces inflammation and soothes sore muscles after a workout

Athletes do it all the time to recover after a big game or even after training.

There are multiple studies to back this up so why shouldn’t you take a hot shower after a workout? It doesn’t have any benefits and doesn’t feel that comfortable. (study, study)

Pro athletes take ice baths but I don’t see why you should invest in these. You’ll have almost the same benefits from a cold shower.

You can also use my secret to have a quicker recovery.

7)   Stimulates Weight Loss

Yes, you read this correctly; a cold shower can help you lose weight.

Talking about a great benefit.

Our body contains two types of fat, brown fat, and white fat. White fat is the bad fat, the fat that can be found around our waist, lower back, neck, belly….. This fat is accumulated when you consume more calories than your body needs.

So when you bulk you’ll gain some white fat cause you don’t burn enough calories as energy. This kind of fat is really hard to eliminate.

Brown fat is called the good fat, it keeps your body warm. According to the Joslin Diabetes Center, an affiliate of Harvard Medical school, cold showers can promote brown fat activity.

I’ve also found a 2009 interesting study. It concluded that cold shower activated brown fat by a 15- fold increase. Do you know what this means? It means you can lose four kilograms (9 pounds) in one year if you keep doing it.

8)   Improves Immunity and blood circulation

It can lower blood pressure, clear blocked arteries and improve our immune system according to Dr. Jospeh Mercola.

Coldwater increases blood circulation this leads to a more efficient blood pump from the arteries; which leads to a boost for your overall heart health.

Since there is an improved circulation there will be more blood surrounding the organs, which can help reduce some skin and heart problems.

9)   Relieves Depression

Now, this is, in my opinion, one of the best benefits of cold showers and I’ve got a good study to back this up.

There is a study that was conducted in 2008 and used cold shower therapy at 20 degrees Celcius for  2-3 minutes; followed by five minutes gradual adaptation. They found that cold showers don’t have side effects or cause dependence and have significant analgesic effects. It also found that cold shower therapy can relieve depressive symptoms rather effectively.

(source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17993252)

A cold shower plus my guide on how to beat a depression sounds like a golden combo.

10)Refines Hair and Skin

Coldwater can help tighten up your cuticles and pores, this will prevent you from getting clogged. It also seals the pores in the skin and scalp too so dirt can’t get in them.

Hot water tends to dry out the skin so that isn’t great.

According to Jessica Krant, board-certified dermatologist, cold showers can prevent your skin from being stripped of its natural oils too quickly.

Cold showers make your hair appear shinier, stronger, and healthier this is caused by flattening hair follicles and their increased ability to grip the scalp.

 

Conclusion

Cold showers have some great benefits so there’s no excuse on why you shouldn’t try them.

Show what you’re made off and get in.

Till next time

Alex

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