So, early this spring, I was listening to the Two Gomers' Half-Marathon Podcast, and they got a suggestion to incorporate ice baths into their post-workout routine. This insane person claimed that such baths do wonders for a runner's legs and joints.
Hm, I thought. That sounds crazy. Also... cold.
But then one of the Gomers did it (and recorded himself doing it, which was very funny, but I can't remember which episode -- you might as well listen to all of them -- they're awesome -- anyway...) and he said his legs felt amazing the next day.
Hm. Maybe not crazy. Still cold.
A couple weeks ago I mentioned the ice bath thing to Dave, and being the adventurous sort he is, he suggested we try it. For science. I think he also thought there'd be nekkidness involved, but I thwarted that plan -- no ice on the goods, hombre!
So we bought two 10-lb bags of ice and started psyching ourselves up. We didn't have much time, because our freezer won't hold two 10-lb bags of ice. We pretty much had to get to it.
But here's the deal: to benefit from an ice bath, we figured you have to sit in it for at least 10 minutes. Brrr.
Enter the Discovery Channel.
On some program on Discovery (we think), they showed these special mitts that can be used to regulate a person's core temperature. They stuck some poor shmuck intern in an ice bath without the mitts, and he began to shiver uncontrollably within minutes. Then they gave him the mitts, and his shivering stopped.
The science: your blood circulates out to your extremities, then back to your core. If you heat (or cool) the blood as it passes through your hands, that warmed (or cooled) blood travels back to your core and warms (or cools) everything there. It's not coincidence that people clutch mugs of hot drinks when it's cold!
So, facing our icy experiment, we fired up the tea kettle. When the water boiled, we filled my metal water bottle, left the sipper open to vent the steam, and wrapped it in a towel.
Then we filled the tub halfway with cold water and dumped in a bag of ice.
We were ready.
Pretty much.
Verdict: that bottle trick worked folks! We were totally comfortable, after the first 10 seconds, of course. Oh yeah, and our legs did feel great afterward -- both immediately and the next day. I had a bit of soreness/stiffness the next day, probably because we didn't do the ice baths immediately after our run (more like several hours later). But I think I would've been more sore without the bath.
Do you take part in any crazy post-workout shenanigans? If so, we want to hear about them! Especially if they work. :)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
5 ate pie:
Dat's funny.
That's AWESOME!
yeah for experiments! that is pretty interesting (okay science not my best subject) about holding the warm thing - feel like i just watched an episode of myth busters.
It was fun to test two things at once (besides our endurance). It was totally like MythBusters, bettybetty -- especially if I get to be Jamie.
these pics are hilarious. and i love that you guys are running together! so cute.
Post a Comment