Photo by Tommy Tadeo.
Updated January 6th, 2024.
A 2-minute ice bath can raise your white blood cell count for the week, so why not get comfortable in there.
To get comfortable in an ice bath may sound like a little bit of a stretch, but I know you can get in a beautiful, calm, perhaps even parasympathetic state. I've seen it happen at my workshops to 99.9% of the participates. It may take a little practice so here is my home set-up recipe, which I recommend because of the price and simplicity.
Which tub to get?
Honestly, any tub will do. Plenty of WHM instructors use giant trash cans or livestock troughs. After trying many, my favorite are ones where I can sit up with my neck straight. This one is super water efficient. You can sit in a comfortable meditative position with the water and ice right up to your chin.
I used to use the 75cm x 75cm ones at my workshops and they fit my friends 300lbs+ and over 6'8 quite comfortably. Now from the same company, I use the Extra Large. It's more durable and still a 3rd of the cost of the latest trendy tubs and nearly identical.
What ice to use?
Great ice cubes are essential. You can buy 6 bags of them at your favorite discount store or if you plan to take ice baths regularly, you make them. Depended on the outside temperate, six large ice rectangles will drop the temperature of a small tub about 20-25 degrees Fahrenheit. They take about two days to make in the freezer. The ideal size is large flat rectangles. I've tried lots. The larger the better for obvious reasons, but the trapezoid shape helps the ice come out of the container, and the flatter side helps them freeze faster.
These are the best ones I've found. They are a great size, the cubes come out easy, and the plastic doesn't crack. I love them.
Lastly, at some point, using a reflective tarp will allow the water to get cold at night and keep it cool all day in the sunlight.
Good luck! Remember appropriate safety precautions when practicing the WHM and visit http://www.wimhofmethod.com/faq for more information.
Happy Hoffing, my friends,
Miles
PS. These are Amazon affiliate links that give me a couple of bucks but mostly I put this info together for my friends who've attended my workshops and ask about creating their own regular practice at home.
Also if the starting temperature of your water is very high. You can freeze an equipment bag full of mini water bottles to drop the temperature before adding ice like we do here.
Remember, go in the ice slowly, not like Andy but that was awesome!
Here I am using a 100 gallon Rubbermaid trough: https://amzn.to/3clivcc
Lastly, if you have questions about your own WHM practice, perhaps I answer them below otherwise, feel free to reach out to me directly. Thanks!
