Viking Muscle
The Frozen Nordic – Viking Ice Baths
Viking Ice Baths for recovery, fat loss, and an all around fun time!
I want you to sit in 50 degree ice water for 20 minutes…
Sounds fun right? If you are saying no, let me change your mind.
I first got turned onto ice therapy by reading some of the work by Jack Kruse. He has done a massive amount of research on cold therapy and its ability to aid in recovery, heal sickness, extend life expectancy, increase fertility, help you sleep better, and reduce body fat permanently. You can see why this caught my interest. Since then, I have done my own research and experimentation with using ice baths as a part of my routine to recover faster and lose excess body fat more efficiently. First things first, lets take a closer look at the science behind why this is a good idea and not just for weirdos that like to jump in frozen lakes.
Ice Baths for Recovery:
When we train hard, we do damage to our muscles causing micro tears in your muscle fibers. These tears are actually a good thing, they are what stimulate the muscle activity to begin repairing and strengthening the muscle. This is what helps us get bigger, faster, or stronger… We break the muscle down to build it back up, only better than before ideally. However, these tears are also associated with the dreaded delayed onset muscle pain and soreness (DOMS for short). DOMS is that feeling that comes 24 to 72 hours after a hard workout when your muscles ache, and you walk around looking uncomfortable all day. One effective way to help decrease the effects and intensity of DOMS is to use an ice bath after working out.
When we immerse our muscles in cold water, your blood vessels constrict allowing us to flush out excess waste products. *like lactic acid This works like wringing out a dirty sponge leaving a cleaner, healthier muscle behind. Secondly, the ice bath decreases our metabolic activity slowing down the physiological breakdown. Lastly, an ice bath will reduce swelling and thereby helps us decrease tissue breakdown, salvaging muscle loss.
Ice Baths for Fat Loss:
The benefits don’t stop at recovery though, the really attractive aspect of cold therapy is the effect it has on body fat loss. While the exact science is still being debated by some, adding ice baths into my weekly routine has worked for me and many others will attest as well. The basic concept behind the effects of cold immersion on body fat is this:
The body wants to maintain a comfortable 98.6°, when we plunge into an ice bath that is 50° or so, your body has to scramble to keep your core temperature up. You shake involuntary as one of these defenses, your body will also burn calories at a faster rate to ‘stoke the furnace’ and keep you warm. It does this by activating ‘brown fat’ (brown adipose tissue). This ‘Brown Fat’ serves a key purpose in monitoring your metabolism, it burns off fatty acids, and glucose, as heat in reaction to the cold. Studies vary as to the exact rates in calorie burning when in an ice bath but initial studies show time in an ice bath can increase calorie expenditure by 3 to 4 times the normal rate. By no means is this a ‘quck fix’ for fat loss or a substitution to putting in hard work, but when added to a good diet and workout plan, the results of the ice baths will add up over time.
How to introduce Ice Baths to your routine?
I won’t lie to you, the first few times you do this, you will be uncomfortable. As the body adapts to the cold each week it will become more natural and easy to do. Here is what I recommend:
- Start simple: Start with a few ice packs on your back, right between the shoulders. Do this for 15-20 minutes a day.
- Once your feel comfortable, it’s time to take the plunge!
- Wear spandex and a tight compression shirt (this will help you mentally deal with the cold)
- Fill your tub up with cold tap water
- Add twenty pounds of ice
- Get In!
- Start with your lower body for 10 minutes (sit in the tub with your legs immersed)
- After you have adapted, lay down to fully submerse your body up to your shoulders
The first few times will take some serious mental toughness, just take a deep breath, tighten your muscles, get in and start the clock.
You should do this 3 days a week after cardio or sprints, you will be amazed at how quickly your legs recover by the next time you run.
Stay Cold, Train Hard!
*Doug Borg Points out: “There is actually no such thing as ‘lactic acid’ in the human body and there are many widely-held misconceptions about what it is, how it relates to muscle soreness, and how it fits in to optimizing training and recovery. It is a fine point though and your explanation about how cryotherapy constricts blood vessels and helps to flush out waste products is perfectly valid.” link
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