Ice Baths: A Lot More Relaxing Than They Sound

The goal of taking an ice bath up to three times per week – and one of the pillars of our overall program – is to both burn fat and reduce inflammation throughout your body so you can lose weight most effectively.

Why Take The Plunge?

Yes, ice baths burn some calories, but that isn’t their main goal. Rather, the goal is to lower your core body temperature just long enough to trigger your body’s nature “stay warm” response, kicking it into fat burning mode to create fuel to heat itself up again. Think about it: your body wants to stay at its normal set temperature, so when you reduce your core temperature, it will do anything and everything it can “think of” to get warm again. You guessed it – including burning that stubborn brown fat!

In addition, some guests reported that these baths help relieve them of chronic inflammation symptoms they’ve felt a long time. Inflammation can come in the form of sore joints and muscles, puffy skin, or even toxins built up in your musculature from food and pollution over time.

This reduction in inflammation they quickly achieve in turn allows you to detox and shed fat more quickly and safely. Because your fat cells are the storage units of the body, meaning they store lots of things in addition to the fat itself including toxins from your food and environment, we want to cleanse your body of them and the toxins they release as they go.

Is it as cold as it sounds? The answer is…yes and no.

The bath has to be a certain temperature for it to work. The first few seconds you plunge in is a bit of a shock, but it’s quick and then you’re used to it. On a physical level, you get used to it quickly and because your upper body and toes can remain out of the water, you actually feel pleasantly warm overall. On a neurological level, it just takes one or two minutes for your brain to get used to it and stop sending signals to your nervous system that you’re under threat. It’s a new sensation but your body quickly adapts.

This quickly becomes many of our guests’ favorite part of the program, and it’s easy to replicate at home in your own bath tub with ice bought at the store. As with anything, consistency is key; studies show that three 20-minute sessions per week is the optimal ice bath frequency.

Plus, imagine getting out and warming back up in the warm Thai sunshine after your bath, ahhhhh it feels amazing…