2016
Slippery When Wet
In this article I am going to discuss how you can save your own life if you ever fall through a body of water covered with ice and how cold water training can benefit you.
Besides being the one of the best songs album titles in rock history. I’m going to talk about another thing that is “Slippery When Wet" that is ice!
I don’t do well with cold water- I am not afraid of anything except cold water.
When I was a volunteer firefighter 13 years ago I took an ice water rescue course and I remember it specifically because it was -35 with the wind chill in Nova Scotia and when it’s that cold it’s brutal because there is more moisture in the air because of the ocean.
Anyways, what I remember so well is when it was time to play rescue, I had a small hole in my survival suit and when I jumped in that water I felt the cold water seep in!
Also during the course they gave us a great tip if you ever get trapped out on the lake and the ice breaks, first you may be surprised but STAY CALM, control your breathing (you will see later on when I talk about the cold water training it will be very familiar) and bring your legs up against the ice as well as your arms. If you pass out you will be frozen to the ice, I know it’s a bit morbid but your chances of survival will greatly increase if you do this because the firefighters will be able to get to you faster than searching for your body somewhere else. Now if you have the strength to get out of the ice you can as well. In fact check out this great video from ReWild University to learn more.
Now from the health standpoint cold water can be actually a great benefit to you especially for recovery purposes. It actually feels like magic you are very sore from a workout and then when you jump in a tub full of ice (or in my case a garbage bin) besides the initial shock, when you get out you feel like there is a electrical current going through your body and you feel rejuvenated.
Of course I wouldn’t recommend this from the get go, to get your body trained for this you can try it in the shower. Besides this being a better wake up then a double espresso it’s a lot safer for you as well.
What you are going to do is stand under the shower and put it as cold as you can for as long as you can and just focus on your breathing and nothing else. If you can last 20 seconds that’s great do this 5 or 6 times and gradually build it up to 30 seconds and 45 seconds and so forth. Pretty soon you will be able to be under the cold water setting for a full minute. By this time you will be a full on badass ready to take on the world.
Give this a shot and let me know what you think!