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Back to the Showers
By Vince Palko
The comments regarding Cold Showers keep
trickling in. So we’ll turn ‘em on one more time.
First, a quick story from the West Coast...
I was talking with a friend last week and he asked how long to “stay in.”
After I told him, he said,
“It's one thing to try it out here, I can't imagine
getting up on a bone chilling morning in Chicago.”
I said, “When you reach that point, you’ll
have serious mental prowess!”
So on to the 'inbox.' Here are a few of the good ones.
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Michel Grandmont writes:
Hello Vince,
I have been receiving and reading
your newsletter for some time now. Thanks for a
great idea as it does motivate me to keep going.
You have some truly inspirational ideas.
However, the 'cold shower' newsletter of today
really got my attention! As an orthotherapist, I work
(and largely prefer) natural medicines and remedies.
My wife has some bad allergies and the cold shower
thing will definitely be tried, but I wondered : how long
do you have to stay in there?
Thanks, and keep them coming!
V's Response.........
Start with quick movements in and out of the water.
Then move up to one full revolution. Pause as you make each
quarter turn (FRONT SIDE, BACK, SIDE) Hold each position for a five count.
Work up to 3 revolutions. Until you can make it
for a good 3 minutes. You don’t need a long time in to
wake up your body. However, the longer you stay in, the
longer you feel the tingling feeling afterwards.
Side note: I don’t do these everyday just
when I need a good jolt in the morning. I also do it
when I have a new experience I’ll encounter
that day (meeting someone new for lunch or a new task
never before attempted).
It does a good job of preparing me for
leaving my “comfort zone.”
A friend once told me, in order to be successful you have to
be comfortable being uncomfortable. How true.
If you are serious about gaining the benefits of hydrotherapy,
I’d suggest take advantage of the winter months.
In order for you to spend a few minutes in freezing cold–
build up to it year by year. The first year I was
in for about 15 seconds and three years later have built
up to a three minutes. It doesn’t seem long but when
you are in it feels like a lifetime.
Mark Ray writes:
Vinnie, I did the cold shower thing this
morning and it was awesome!!!!! Talk about a
punch in the arm. Not all the way cold, but
damn cold for about 3-4 minutes. It was sweet.
A friend of mine was in the army in Macedonia and
all they had was cold water. He said the
cold showers at 5 a.m. were the most refreshing
part of being stuck over there. And I always
thought that he was crazy.
V's Response.........
I’m glad you liked it. With winter a few months
out you can build up your tolerance to take it
to the slopes. Before you know it you’ll be
joining the Polar Bear club.
……………………..
Jon writes:
Hi Vinnie,
Whilst your on the subject of cold
showers, in yogic practice these are recommended
as apparently taking one before going to bed can
possibly knock as much as ~2hrs off your sleep
cycle and at minimum, you will wake up much
more refreshed in the morning.
V's Response.........
Awesome, Jon. When I need to be up bright
eyed and bushy tailed by 5am, I’ll give it a shot.
All for today.
Ps. I appreciate the feedback ONE reeder sent the other day regarding my missspelings in these emails. They reffered to them as 'unproffesional' Let me say this... sum are done on purpose and some on accident. Hint: It might have to do with the fact that Vin Dog is one busy cat.
Ps. You don't have to run or bike to getting sumthing done.
As a matter of fact, one factor that helped my “bike”
of a recent race was doing 50 hindu squats 1 time a
day for two months.
Seen in http://www.successvisuals.com/products/royal_court.html
I tracked the amount I did each day with my
Hindu Squat Goal Tracker which kept me 100% consistent.
http://www.successvisuals.com/products/squats.html
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