Source
r/BecomingTheIcemanā€¢
munchsomebox

Think I overdid it

Hey all! Started the Wim Hof program 3 days ago. Loved the cold shower therapy so much I decided to do 3 and a half mins in the cold shower without a hot shower. Felt fine all day, just a little tired. Then about 30 mins ago I started freezing my ass off uncontrollably (I do not live in a cold climate or is my house cold)

Any recommendations ? I took a hot shower, did some squats & am covered with blankets but still cold. Also note I do have anxiety and know I could be freaking out a bit šŸ˜‚

Posted Jan 28, 2020, 7:57 AM UTC

28
kurvingā€¢

I can say for sure that you should not be worried. The warmth will Come back, Just take it easy. But yeah, i think you overdid it. I have read many guides on cold showers, and they all recomend to build up steady. Starting as low as 30 seconds first week, and then one minute next week and so on. You have to let your body adapt,and remember that this is not a competition. Overdoing it in the shower wont do any major harm, but icebaths is a whole other story and could even be fatal. Take your time, and you wont regret it, trust me! (im on my 4 week, doing 2min and 30 sec in very cold shower) sory for bad english šŸ˜

3
munchsomeboxOPā€¢

Hey thanks this: you have no idea how good for someone with anxiety worried they have hypothermia it felt to hear this response šŸ˜‚šŸ™ŒšŸ¼

1
kurvingā€¢

Haha i can only imagine! If you want to calm your nerves, you can take your temperature. If your core is not under 35celsius (95F) you are safe and sound šŸ˜ Just want to clearify the importance of not pushing yourself to hard. It should never feel forced!

1
Lepobakkenā€¢

Cold therapy uses a lot of energy, you might need to feed some sugar or fats in order to be able to generate heat again.

It's known that Wim burns a hell of glucose in order to generate his heat during cold exposure (cannot find the reference right now).

1
munchsomeboxOPā€¢

Interesting - still freezing my ass off 5 hours later so tried a spoon of honey and some nuts. Hope it helps!

1
Lepobakkenā€¢

It helped me at the beginning. And to prepare, the moment you get more adapted to the cold, you likely will start to sweat like hell for a few weeks. I interpreted this as brown fat activation and generation, no proof, unfortunately. No cure for that, unless you are allowed to go naked to work.

1
Rhemmā€¢

10 week course goes like this. 1 week, warm or hot shower ending with 30 sec of cold. Starting from day 4 of week 1 you can go hot -> 30sec cold -> hot -> 30 sec cold if you feel like. On the second week you start with 30 sec of cold then hot then 30 sec cold. And you can add one more round of hot -> cold if you feel good. So you definitely overdid it. Back off a bit, it's not a competition. Allow yourself slow adaptation, no need to rush, just be consistent and do not skip days

1
munchsomeboxOPā€¢

Iā€™m back on the schedule now after freezing for 24 hours šŸ˜‚ looking forward to working my way up!

1