Cold Plunge

Over the weekend, I picked up the stock tank to build our cold plunge.

These are commercially available if you want plug-and-play, but, as Julia tells everybody, I'm nothing if not custom.

So I'm building mine from scratch.

I bought the tank from Tractor Supply on Saturday and sent Julia a picture.

"You're crazy!"

On the way home, I added 160 pounds of ice and sent her another picture.

"You're crazy!"

Back home, I cranked the hose up and filled it with water.

Once again, "You're crazy!"

I was ready to get in and asked Julia to film it. I posted the video, of course, and if you listen close, you can hear her in the background.

"You're crazy!"

"I could never!"

Three minutes later, I was out.

Predictably, and owing to the giant boost in dopamine, I was in a great mood.

So good I was ready to go again a couple of hours later.

Julia reminded me that I was crazy. But, by now, she'd put her hand in the water.

"Too cold!"

She'd put her foot in the water, too.

"Too cold! You're crazy!"

But with all the testing she was doing, I knew she was interested.

"Just try it!" I said.

"I can't."

"Yes you can!"

"It's too cold!"

"No, it's not!"

"What if I freeze to death?"

"You won't!"

Nervously, she started stripping down.

"You're crazy!" I told her with a smile.

In she went, then a few minutes later, out she came.

And for the rest of the night, she was smiling, too.

The crazy thing is how good you feel after getting out of a cold plunge. I've been taking cold showers in the morning for a few years, so I had some idea.

But I also had no idea.

A cold shower has nothing on an up-to-the-neck, submerged-in-35-degree-water plunge.

When Jack got home from work, he jumped in and did a full three minutes like a boss.

"This is like a brain reset!"

And it is.

When you get out, there's no stress.

No anxiety.

No negativity.

You feel good.

Really, really good.

So good that there's no room for anything else.

In the ice, your body sets a dopamine bomb.

And it explodes when you get out.

When I first started seeing this several years ago, I thought it was bullshit. Even two years ago, when I started taking cold showers in the morning, I still had doubts.

But 110 gallons of water with 160 pounds of ice has erased them all.

Getting cold is legit.

I'm not crazy.

The people who aren't doing this are the crazy ones.