Natural Cold Plunge Tips from a Wim Hof Method Instructor
Cold plunging in nature gave me the idea of aquatic sasquatch — but more on that later.
While there really isn’t any physiological difference between practicing an ice bath in a controlled environment vs waddling into a freezing cold river, there are major safety, psychological, emotional, and spiritual differences between the two.
Where a controlled ice bath brings you in tune with yourself, cold plunging outside sort of plugs you into whatever natural environment you’re in as well. I personally love both, but prefer to cold plunge in nature.
I once spent a long January weekend in Washington state with the sole intention of jumping into freezing rivers and lakes to push my cold exposure limits. Sitting at the foot of a snow-capped mountain encompassed in crystal clear, freezing glacial water brought me an incredible combination of feeling powerful, vulnerable, large, small, limitless, and grounded all at the same time.
How can tiny little woodland animals survive these temperatures 24/7 for months on end, yet I can last 15 minutes on a good day? It really broadened my perspective on squirrels.
Whether you’re an aquatic sasquatch, a squirrel with some serious nuts, or someone waiting for me to get to the point so they can learn how to cold plunge outside, you’re in the right place. Since we just passed the Fall Equinox and things are cooling off, here are my top tips on how to cold plunge in nature from 6+ years of experience.
From my WA State journey in Crescent Lake
Non-Negotiable: Always Bring Another Human
I don’t even ice bath inside without somebody else in the house, let alone out in nature. While cold exposure is totally safe when practiced correctly, so much more can go wrong in nature. You can slice your foot on some glass, lock yourself out of your car dripping wet in 30°F weather, throw fists with a polar bear — you get the idea.
Water, cold or not, is a noble yet unforgiving force. Always bring a buddy, no exceptions. (Dogs don’t count, but are always welcome)
What You’ll Need to Cold Plunge Outside
You don’t really need much when cold plunging outside, but there are a few things that really come in handy and can all fit in a small backpack:
- Towel x2
- Goggles (For fun)
- Drinking water (Hydration is key)
- Clif bar or something calorie dense for after, not before plunging (You’ll exert a lot of energy)
- Dry clothes
- Water shoes (I only use these if the water is murky. Otherwise I’m barefoot, baby!)
- Waterproof watch to keep track of exposure time
- Spare car key
Outdoor Cold Plunge Instructions
The procedure for entering cold water outside is very similar to slipping into an ice bath. Here’s the steps.
1. Set Your Mind to Go In
I promise you that 90% of cold bodies of water you enter will be considerably colder than any ice bath you stepped foot in. You will be shot directly into the reptilian brain, so you have to be prepared to overcome that initial fight or flight response by preparing your mind through visualization and affirmations. I recommend seeing the moment through your mind’s eye starting a few days leading up to the event. It is shocking and will knock you on your ass.
“Thoughts prepave future experiences” — Abraham Hicks
2. Set a Time Goal
Unless you’re very experienced and looking to push yourself, set a time to stay in the water. If you feel like you can go past the goal you set, run with it! Remember, feeling is understanding.
3. Horse Stance
Perform the HOO! HA! horse stance to warm yourself up for at least three minutes, again while visualizing yourself in the water. Cast positive seeds into the future.
4. Enter the Water with Control
Take a strong, deep breath before entering the water, and slowly exhale as you enter the water. Commit to going in with control and walk or slip in, but again with control. Always go right up to the base of your skull.
5. Breathe In & Out Thru the Nose
Keep your mouth closed, refuse the initial sharp gasp reflex. Slow and controlled, inhale through the nose, exhale through the nose. Hum as you exhale to generate some extra body heat.
6. Slowly Exit, Horse Stance to Warm Up
Once you feel you’ve completed your cold exposure journey, slowly exit the water with control and go right into a horse stance for at least 3-5 minutes, or until you feel warmed up. It’s common to feel not cold, but rather electrified when getting out. Embrace it! Dance with it! Look over your shoulder for aquatic sasquatch! Get in again!
What Not To Do When Cold Plunging in Nature
While it’s important to know how to cold plunge outside, it’s just as important to know what not to do. Here’s my top no-go’s for cold plunging outside:
1. Do Not Jump In
Unless you’re very experienced, do not jump in the water. I did this before I knew what I was doing and enjoyed an instant headache for 15 minutes.
2. Do Not Warm Up Too Quickly
There’s a lot of benefits to going from hot to cold and vice versa, but that’s an entirely different practice that I know little about. What I do know is that warming up too quickly after being in cold water leads to a phenomenon called afterdrop.
Quick science explainer: When you enter the cold water, your body shunts the warm blood from your extremities to your core and vital organs. If you get too warm too fast after exiting the cold, the cold blood from your extremities will mix in too quickly with the warm blood in your vital organs and drop your core body temperature. This leads to afterdrop, the fancy word for feeling like dog shit — fever, shakes, nausea, can’t get warm.
So after cold plunging outside, don’t jump under a blanket, throw on a hoodie, or run into the heated car. Stick with the horse stance and you’ll barely feel cold at all. Stay in it! Feel like Zeus with electricity running through your body!
3. Do Not Focus on Footage
Everyone’s about the ‘gram, but this experience is something that is meant to pull you out of the social media mind-matrix. If you gotta, and I’ve been there I get it, set up a camera to record yourself and forget about it. You don’t want your mind clouded with worry about your phone or fancy camera falling in the water. Stay present!
4. Do Not Practice WHM Breathing While in Water
It’s paramount to NOT practice the traditional Wim Hof Method breathing (30 breaths/exhale retention/ inhale retention) while in or around water. Wait at least 15 minutes after practicing the WHM breathing before entering any body of water.
Instead, while in the cold water, breathe in through the nose and out through the nose. Opening and breathing through your mouth will cause you to lose body heat.
Enjoy the Experience!
That’s all I got for cold plunging outside. Remember, it’s just as important to follow what not to do than it is to follow what to do. All caution aside, cold plunging in nature is an all-encompassing experience that you will never forget, and isn’t always readily available — so when the time of year comes to get cold outside, take full advantage!
As always, hit me up with any questions at dan@icebathworkshops.com. This is my passion and I’m always happy to help.
Stay frosty!
Dan Jacobs
Certified Wim Hof Method Instructor
WAIT
I nearly forgot…
Aquatic Sasquatch Theory
An artist rendition of my incredibly insightful and undeniably groundbreaking aquatic sasquatch theory
Okay hear me out.
What if sasquatch are so elusive because they’re actually semi-aquatic in nature? Maybe they have larger lung capacity due to their size, and therefore can hold their breath long enough to access deep, underwater caverns in which they dwell. That means we’ve been looking in all the wrong places this whole time, and that’s why we can’t find them.
It’s a revelation that came to me while peering into the abyss in a glacial lake at the foot of a mountain in the Pacific NW in the middle of January.
It could be nothing, but it's probably an earth-shattering revelation.
Thanks for stopping by, until next time.
Dan