11/12/2025
The extreme cold plunging is overhyped. A simple cold rinse after your shower can suffice. Buying livestock troughs and other fanatical toys is a waste of money and could even compromise your vitality. Your body came with a warning: Handle with Care!
Cold plunging has exploded in popularity, with everyone from elite athletes to wellness influencers posting their ice bath rituals. But long before it hit social media, cold-water immersion was a Nordic tradition—often paired with saunas—as a way to build resilience, reset the mind, and connect socially. Those plunges weren’t just about recovery; they were about ritual, renewal, and community.
Fast forward to today, and you’ve probably seen the claims: “Go as cold as possible for maximum benefit.” But as is so often the case in exercise and recovery science, what works for men doesn’t always work the same way for women.
When I see women shivering in tubs of icy-cold water at 4°C (39°F) because they’ve been told it will boost metabolism, burn fat, or supercharge recovery, I want to jump in (literally) and explain: you don’t need to go that cold—and in many cases, it’s counterproductive.
Let’s unpack what’s really happening physiologically, how cold exposure can support both health and performance, and why for women, the sweet spot often sits around 15°C (59°F)—not ice-cold extremes.
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