I've heard of this whole ice bath as a recovery for years. I had never personally taken ice baths, but heard from many that it hurt, but was worth the recovery. I recently stumbled across cryotherapy. Whole Body Cryotherapy is the exposure of the human body to extreme cold that is applied inside a cryosauna. It is performed in response to injury, long-term conditioning of the heal of the boy, and it is also used for positive aesthetic effects it has on the skin.*
Icehouse Cryotherapy sent a message to me through one of my Facebook groups. They were interested in getting our group out to try the therapy. I was skeptical at first. Why would I want to purposely go into a chamber of ice? What was all the hype about? Wasn't this cryo-thing expensive?
We settled on a date to go and check it out. The location is in a warehouse area in Kirkland. I thought we were lost at first. When walking in, the first thing you see is tennis courts. Bite-size tennis courts to be exact. There is a door that says Icehouse Cryotherapy, so I assumed we were in the right place.
It turns out that the owners took over an ex-crossfit box and were avid tennis players. They taught at a recreational and professional level. They traveled far to get cryotherapy for themselves and thought it would be a good idea to incorporate the cryotherapy into the tennis/gym area.
The intake was easy. We were given fresh comfy socks, a robe, gloves, shoes, and a wipe to remove any excess moisture. No jewelry was allowed (unless it could hide under the gloves).
I was up first! I was still sore from the Husky 10k Race I had done on Sunday. But I knew there would be little to no movement in the chamber. I stepped into the chamber after it "warmed" up. The chamber had hydraulics and lifted me high enough so that my head stuck out. I then gave them my robe. It felt cold. It felt as cold as going outside on a snowy day without clothes (just underwear) would feel like. At least that's the best way I can describe it. The attendant told me to move around that that would help. He also indicated that putting my arms up would help warm me up. 45 seconds done. I could do this. Then it got colder. Ok, now I was moving in the chamber at a marching pace with my hands above my head. Breathing slowly in and out. 15 seconds to go! This is where my thighs started feeling numb. I knew I couldn't go more than the minimum two minutes. Done. Even after the machine stopped, I couldn't put the robe on fast enough. I was directed to a stationary bike to help bring my temperature up. There was also a heater next to the bike. Slowly, I started to recover from the numbness feeling. Afterwards, I started to dress and watch Arnie take a turn. Then I realized, I was no longer sore. That was pretty neat.
Arnie thought he could do more than the minimum two minutes. Over-achiever. But he only lasted the two minutes. He said that he did feel a burst of energy at the end. But he was cold.
On the way home, I noticed my thighs were cold. That was probably where I felt the most sore from my race. Which makes sense - that 's where the therapy affected me.
I'm hoping to go back again in preparation for another event. Since it's good for recovery and performance, I'll have to choose whether I want to feel good before or after? Now that's a tough choice!
If you haven't tried cryotherapy before, I recommend at least trying it for yourself. No words can truly describe how cold it is or how it will affect you.
Use the code: run2befit and get 20% off packages and single sessions (except monthly memberships). Will also set up a group event to get an even better rate! Stay tuned.
Icehouse Cryotherapy sent a message to me through one of my Facebook groups. They were interested in getting our group out to try the therapy. I was skeptical at first. Why would I want to purposely go into a chamber of ice? What was all the hype about? Wasn't this cryo-thing expensive?
We settled on a date to go and check it out. The location is in a warehouse area in Kirkland. I thought we were lost at first. When walking in, the first thing you see is tennis courts. Bite-size tennis courts to be exact. There is a door that says Icehouse Cryotherapy, so I assumed we were in the right place.
It turns out that the owners took over an ex-crossfit box and were avid tennis players. They taught at a recreational and professional level. They traveled far to get cryotherapy for themselves and thought it would be a good idea to incorporate the cryotherapy into the tennis/gym area.
The intake was easy. We were given fresh comfy socks, a robe, gloves, shoes, and a wipe to remove any excess moisture. No jewelry was allowed (unless it could hide under the gloves).
I was up first! I was still sore from the Husky 10k Race I had done on Sunday. But I knew there would be little to no movement in the chamber. I stepped into the chamber after it "warmed" up. The chamber had hydraulics and lifted me high enough so that my head stuck out. I then gave them my robe. It felt cold. It felt as cold as going outside on a snowy day without clothes (just underwear) would feel like. At least that's the best way I can describe it. The attendant told me to move around that that would help. He also indicated that putting my arms up would help warm me up. 45 seconds done. I could do this. Then it got colder. Ok, now I was moving in the chamber at a marching pace with my hands above my head. Breathing slowly in and out. 15 seconds to go! This is where my thighs started feeling numb. I knew I couldn't go more than the minimum two minutes. Done. Even after the machine stopped, I couldn't put the robe on fast enough. I was directed to a stationary bike to help bring my temperature up. There was also a heater next to the bike. Slowly, I started to recover from the numbness feeling. Afterwards, I started to dress and watch Arnie take a turn. Then I realized, I was no longer sore. That was pretty neat.
Arnie thought he could do more than the minimum two minutes. Over-achiever. But he only lasted the two minutes. He said that he did feel a burst of energy at the end. But he was cold.
On the way home, I noticed my thighs were cold. That was probably where I felt the most sore from my race. Which makes sense - that 's where the therapy affected me.
I'm hoping to go back again in preparation for another event. Since it's good for recovery and performance, I'll have to choose whether I want to feel good before or after? Now that's a tough choice!
If you haven't tried cryotherapy before, I recommend at least trying it for yourself. No words can truly describe how cold it is or how it will affect you.
Use the code: run2befit and get 20% off packages and single sessions (except monthly memberships). Will also set up a group event to get an even better rate! Stay tuned.
Nice Article
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ReplyDeleteVery nice post. I always read your blog.. So lovely!!!
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