Ice Bath at Phuket Cleanse | Lads Holiday Guide

Ever fancied dipping to your body into a freezing tub of water for 15 minutes?

Yeah, f*ck that! Of course not.

But it’s exactly what we should be doing says Phuket Cleanse’s Recovery Coach, Louella.

Louella in the ice bath at phuket cleanse — As tempting as it was to get in the ice bath with Little Miss Raw… I just couldn’t

“The body needs time to repair itself after a workout.”

“Recovery is second only to nutrition when it comes to achieving the best physical results – but it’s often overlooked.”

The freezing beauty teaches guests how to warm their bodies from the inside and stay calm during the ice cold plunge – so you get the most from it.

By the end of the training, most people were able to survive shoulder-deep for at least five minutes. And in one nutty case, one of the lads thought he’d watch an entire episode of Game of Thrones… What a lunatic!

Sadly, I missed my ice bath training session, and as a consequence, failed to stay in the water for longer that 15 seconds, let alone 15 minutes.

(Here’s my shameful attempts)

SOME SCIENCE BEHIND COLD THERAPY

Ice baths will immediately reduce swelling while flushing lactic acid out of your body.

When you get out of the bath, your muscle tissue warms back up, causing a return of oxygenated blood to help your muscles recover.

7 BENEFITS OF ICE BATHS

SPEEDS UP RECOVERY: Reduces inflammation and helps promote healing to muscles and joints after removing lactic acid and inviting oxygenated blood to the muscles once you’re out.
BURNS FAT: When your body temperature drops, you’ll start to burn carbohydrates and fat reserves to make you feel warm again.
IMPROVES PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WILL POWER: If you can handle 15 minutes in an ice bath (especially with Louella) you can handle almost anything…
STRESS REDUCTION: When the body is exposed to cold temperatures, it increase the production of Glutathione while decreasing uric acid. Goodbye stress.
WAKES YOU UP: Ice baths energise you and make you feel more alert
EASES DEPRESSION: Activates the sympathetic nervous system, sends blood to the brain and core, and reduces systemic inflammation – all of which dtly linked to depression.
HEALTHIER HAIR: Cold water causes hair cuticles to close, and this your hair becomes softer. Shame it doesn’t grow it back though.

But before you go run yourself a bath and fill it up with ice cubes, it’s worth knowing that last year the BBC investigated the advantages of cold therapy and come the the conclusion that “Ice baths might be useful for a quick recovery between events during a competition, but not if you want muscles to get stronger in the long-term”.

There’s also the possibly of causing Hypothermia, nerve pain and arthritis too.

Yeah, think I’ll stick to a warm bath after all.