Cold Showers feel like a chore

I completely agree pal

However please note that if you bathe in warm before cold, 2 benefits will highly reduced:
1. Sperm formation will still be increased, but only by a marginal amount compared to a pure cold bath.
2. There is a time period in between the warm and cold within which your body will take time to adjust to the sudden temperature flux; vasodilation changes to vasoconstriction, previously open skin pores will now close, relaxed muscles will generally contract, etc. This may cause effects such as cramping muscles, a highly increased "cold shock", and other minor inconveniences. But mainly, this procedure decreases the whole "mental tolerance conditioning" thing for many, because this is basically weaning across the temperature spectrum. Again- this is a matter of psychology and varied results may be noted.

I'll add that you do get 1 benefit from this method that cold showers alone can never give you:
Your acne and dandruff will be GREATLY reduced. The warm water loosens pores, allowing oils and dead skin trapped inside to escape while the cold water in the end seals them shut again, providing a highly improved cleaning experience.

Hope i could help.

 

There's an article on Art of Manliness called "The James Bond Shower: A Shot of Cold Water for Health and Vitality" which I'm too new here to actually link to.. I live by the advice of this article.

For me, I wake up at 4:30 AM and the very first thing I do is take a shower -- start off w/ warm water and do shampoo/body wash/etc, then turn the water to cold (gradually if you must) and challenge yourself to 10 seconds.. 30 seconds.. 1 minute.. longer if you feel the need. I usually stick my face in for a few seconds, and ultimately try to relax. It really wakes me up and leaves me charged at least until breakfast at 8a.

Really, it all comes down the fact that it's part of my routine. I NEVER skip it, even on the weekends when I'm not going out anywhere. The times I skip it have been some of my worst days.

 

My point is that, taking cold showers might be key for most people here who are trying to form new positive habits, although you might not like it, please don't dismiss it as "dumb" or "meaningless" endeavor!

 

I did cold showers for a while, but stopped it at some point.

Only today I read an article which basically said that willpower is not simply a muscle that becomes stronger through training. You do not build discipline just because you do stuff which feels uncomfortable. You only have energy for a certain amount of discipline, only for so long and so much, so doing cold showers might as well make you more undisciplined in the rest of your life.

The article said, that instead, one way to actually become more disciplined is to drop the feelings of guilt for not being disciplined, i.e. drop the ideal of perfection which you made up for yourself. I would give a link but it's in German.

When I did cold showers first, I felt uncomfortable in the beginning, but felt awesome later, and best afterwards, when stepping out of the shower. Thus, there was an instant reward to doing this. But at some point I just didn't have the energy to push myself through the first seconds anymore. I kept doing it after sports for a while, until I read that it is better for your muscles to have a warm shower (according to that article, cold showers are only good for short-term regeneration, like, when you do sports several times a day, which I don't, and warm showers are the better ones for long-term regeneration).

Thinking about it, I might have a cold shower again these days. I thought about going swimming in the lake as well - it is december and it's cold.

All in all, my advice to you is to listen to your gut feeling. If you don't feel any satisfaction (hey, even chores can be satisfying!), there probably won't be any, and you will just end up doing stuff you don't like. Even in case cold showers are actually healthier, you would buy health at the expense of happiness. Is it worth it?

Moreover, do not blindly trust the bro science. (Everything I said here is personal experience and bro science, too. As I said, listen to yourself.)

 

Dont tell me what to do. I'm allowed to have my own opinion, just as you are allowed to have yours.

 

my bad. You have a right to have your opinions!

 

thanks, man! I needed to hear that

 

yeah that's cool! But take care amd prepare! Worst case scenario: you get a shock and there's nobody to save you.

 

Stay strong my friend!

 

Cold is having a good effect on me. It reduces my urges and snaps me into focus for a good hour afterwards. I've only been doing it for about a week but it's becoming a central part of my routine.