Last week, I visited Cold Plunge Studios in Carmel, Indiana and tried the hot-to-cold therapy everyone is raging about these days. I was super excited about the sauna, but apprehensive about plunging into a 40°F tub. In fact, the week prior, I filled my bathtub with cold water and threw ice in from the freezer; the temperature only got down to 54°F, which was difficult for me. I lasted for only 4 minutes in my makeshift 54°F cold tub, so when the Cold Plunge Studios owner showed me the 40°F tubs and said, “We encourage our patrons to immerse themselves for 3 minutes,” my heart skipped a beat.
Cold Plunge Studios offers a sauna-to-cold plunge experience to help your body recover and relax your mind. The studio was very simple: there was a changing room, a sauna, a shower to rinse off, and four cold tubs. A few quotes from Wim Hof, the iconic iceman, were on the wall, but very little décor besides that. They sell 30-minute sessions. You can buy single sessions, a pack of sessions for a discount, or a membership.
Cold Plunge Studios claims the following benefits for their hot-to-cold therapy sessions:
Increased Energy
Improved Mood
Faster Recovery
Reduced Soreness
Increased Metabolism
Enhanced Immunity
The 30-minute session consists of a 10-minute sauna, rinsing off in the shower, cold plunging for 3 minutes and then repeating. Thankfully, they were not enforcing the sauna time because I like to go to the sauna for 15-20 minutes. 10 minutes may work well for some, but since I am accustomed to Finnish saunas in northern Minnesota, 10 minutes is not enough time for me.
The sauna was set to 200°F. I could not read the humidity gauge, but it was fairly dry in the sauna. But I knew whatever the humidity was, we were above the ‘rule of 200.’ For saunas, the rule of 200 is that for optimal comfort, the sum of the temperature and humidity should equal 200. Therefore, if the temperature is 180°F, then the humidity should be 20%. Well, when the temperature started at 200°F, I knew we were above the rule, no matter what the humidity was. Even so, I enjoyed the sauna. It felt invigorating to relax by bringing my body to a healthy sweat.
The sauna was a little small for my liking. There was a single bench instead of a bottom and top bench. In Minnesota, typically, there is a top bench so you can have your feet above the stove and breathe in the hottest air at the top of the room. The stove was an electric Harvia brand, and at least for our session, no one threw water on the rocks. My wife joined me for the experience, and I enjoyed the company. There were a few others in the sauna with us and we struck up a friendly conversation. All the others were regulars and had memberships. They raved about the experience and boasted about the benefits.
After 15 minutes or so, I was ready for the cold tub, or so I thought. My wife and I jumped out of the sauna and rinsed in the shower (bathing suits on of course). There were three tubs available: one 50°F tub and two 40°F tubs. My wife snagged the 50°F tub so I had no choice but to man up and immerse myself into the 40°F water. My pride was on the line since my wife was watching. Despite everything inside telling me not to plunge into the frigid water, I put on a calm face and jumped in.
All of my muscles tightened as my skin hit the water. The freezing felt like needles poking my skin. I breathed deeply and stared straight ahead of me. My mind went into a different place. My focus was on my breath, and I tried to ignore the pain I was feeling. I only lasted 2 minutes before I cracked. I jumped out of the tub, and my fingers and toes felt numb but energized. I was ready for the second round!
The second round was much like the first. But this time I truly wished there was an upper bench in the sauna. My toes were cold from the polar plunge and it would have been nice to have them above the stove. I also wished that the sauna was a little larger. It was getting crowded and the sauna was at capacity. On round two of the cold plunge, I made it 4 minutes! My wife tried the 40°F tub and, of course, being the rock star she is, endured the pain for 4 minutes too. Completely refreshed, we changed and headed home.
After just one session, I felt amazing! My body was super relaxed and I felt as if much of the stress I’ve been holding was lifted. Here are some of the benefits my wife and I experienced after just one round of hot-to-cold therapy:
Stress relief
A great night's sleep
Easily woke up the next day
My wife ran a personal best 5K the next day
My body felt the urge to be active for two days after
The experience showed my wife and me why people are hyped about hot-to-cold therapy. I have been telling my friends about it ever since to see if any are brave enough to join me for a session or two. I definitely will visit Cold Plunge Studios again and strongly recommend it to anyone curious about hot-to-cold therapy.