Calapooia Ice Baths!

Sore and fatigued muscles are inevitable during training. Therefore, an ice bath was calling my name. I am very fortunate to live next to a river. As filling a tub up full of cold water and ice takes a lot of effort and can be a hassle. Plus, I get anxious waiting for the tub to fill so I can jump in for that great chilling sensation!

To be more exact, I live next to the Calapooia River. The depth of this river fluctuates a lot! For instance, the section by our house during the summer is only about a foot deep. Then as we start to get rain it starts to rise but does not always stay that deep until we get more of the consistent rain, or during the spring when the snow starts to melt off the Cascade mountain range. Then there are those natural disasters like floods, which we seem to have gotten the last couple years. The Calapooia turns into a raging river at that point. It's actually pretty neat to watch all the fallen trees and other debris float down the river but sometimes its a little nerving if the river will come out of the bank. Thankfully, it has not happened. And obviously, when the river is at this state I would not dare want to try and take an ice bath in it, unless I really wanted to test myself....which I don't!

So down to the river I went today. As stated above, the river is at the point of "just deep enough" to take my ice bath. It probably comes up to just below my knee. 

On my way down

Since I like to get in to at least my waist, my only choice was to sit in the river. This can sometimes be a little tricky since I have a long sleeve on (to keep warm) and don't want to use my arms to lower myself into the water. 

Trying to balance as I sit down

It was a successful transition. Now it was time to sit and watch the water and leaves flow past me for 10 minutes. It's actually quite peaceful to listen to the water but feeling the leaves hit me sometimes makes my mind wonder if those are leaves or something else!

Successful transition without falling!

There has been controversy on whether or not ice baths work and help aid in recovery. I personally feel that they do, which is why I still do them :D

Below, I found some do's and don'ts for taking ice baths. 

Written by Andy Schmitz

• DO: Be conservative with water temperature as you get started. Most rehabilitation specialists recommend a water temperature between 54-60 degrees Fahrenheit. Consider starting a bit higher and inch this downward a degree or two each exposure.
• DO: Recognize that each individual will have his or her own cold threshold. Play within your personal comfort zone, and consider investing in booties (toe warmers made of wetsuit material) as your toes are likely the most sensitive body part to be submerged.
• DON'T: Overexpose! At the recommended temperature range above, 6-8 minutes should be sufficient. Unless supervised or you have history with ice baths, do not exceed 10 minutes.
• DON'T: Assume colder is better. Spending a prolonged period of time in water colder than 54 degrees could be dangerous.
• DO: Be aware that moving water is colder water. Much like the wind chill created when you ride, if there are jets in your ice bath and the water that is warmed at the skin's surface gets pushed away, the resulting impact of the water will be cooler than measured by the thermometer.
• DON'T: Assume 54-60 degrees or bust. Cool water (say, 60-75 degrees) can still be beneficial -- as can active recovery (very light exercise to facilitate blood flow to musculature)
• DO: Seek to simplify. Building a personal ice bath daily can be a daunting task. Look for a gym that has a cold plunge, or if you live close to a river, lake or the ocean, keep tabs on the current water temperature.
• DON'T: Rush to take a warm shower immediately after the ice bath. The residual cooling effect and gradual warming are ideal. Consider initial warming options of a sweatshirt, blanket and/or warm drink... but DO take the shower if you are unable to warm yourself.