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Personal mantras and cold showers

Anything related to matters of the mind

UncommonWay

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One of the things I've been doing for the past month or two that I think has helped strengthen my "resolve" mental muscle is the following ritual that I do each morning:

  1. Hop in a warm shower, shave and lather up
  2. Turn the water all the way to cold while continuing to stand in the water spray
  3. Rinse off and slowly turn around in the shower, getting nice and cold, while reciting the words to both Rudyard Kipling's "If" and William Ernest Henley's "Invictus"
If you're not familiar with the words to those two poems, they mesh perfectly with the mindset that is required to become a Fastlaner. I won't post them here because you can Google them, but I have those two poems memorized and they have become my personal mantras in everyday life. I seriously recite them from memory...a lot.

When I'm faced with a situation that requires "no quitting effort", the line about "If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds' worth of distance run" comes to mind. And when I feel doubt, I remember the line about "If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting, too."

Bottom line: little tests of willpower, repeated often, strengthen your willpower muscle. And personal mantras are like programming the code of success into your brain. I highly recommend both.
 
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LuckyPup

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One of the things I've been doing for the past month or two that I think has helped strengthen my "resolve" mental muscle is the following ritual that I do each morning:

  1. Hop in a warm shower, shave and lather up
  2. Turn the water all the way to cold while continuing to stand in the water spray
  3. Rinse off and slowly turn around in the shower, getting nice and cold, while reciting the words to both Rudyard Kipling's "If" and William Ernest Henley's "Invictus"
If you're not familiar with the words to those two poems, they mesh perfectly with the mindset that is required to become a Fastlaner. I won't post them here because you can Google them, but I have those two poems memorized and they have become my personal mantras in everyday life. I seriously recite them from memory...a lot.

When I'm faced with a situation that requires "no quitting effort", the line about "If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds' worth of distance run" comes to mind. And when I feel doubt, I remember the line about "If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting, too."

Bottom line: little tests of willpower, repeated often, strengthen your willpower muscle. And personal mantras are like programming the code of success into your brain. I highly recommend both.

Great poems, and I've meant to memorize both. Haven't yet, but will. My poem of choice is "Don't Quit," by John Greenleaf Whittier. I'm sure many on here will scoff at this stuff, but it's gotten me through some low points in life.

Don't Quit
by
John Greenleaf Whittier

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is strange with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns
And many a failure comes about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow—
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out—
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell just how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit—
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.
 

mike24601

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I used to have a typewritten copy of Rudyard Kipling's 'If' on my pegboard which I would look at daily. Good stuff. For a time I also did the cold showers thing and went a step further by sleeping on a very hard traditional Japanese futon, on the floor. Try working yourself up to several minutes of meditative cold water therapy. The key is to relax and stop hyperventilating. Eventually you can stay in there a long, long, time and burn off body fat in the process. I found that my mood went through the roof and I had more energy and focus when I shocked my body with cold water.
 

Flippn

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Instead of pouring warm water on me, I jump into a cold shower every morning since two months or so. Highly recommend that for You Fastlaners. Not a pleasurable feeling at first, but gives some kind of satisfaction after :) It literally makes me to step out of my comfort zone for a little while every morning, creates a psychological habit of overcoming my "oh-nos" and makes me feel fresh, focused and aware. It also boosts the immune system and it's totally free, how cool is that?

Have a fruitful day!
 
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GMSI7D

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Instead of pouring warm water on me, I jump into a cold shower every morning since two months or so. Highly recommend that for You Fastlaners. Not a pleasurable feeling at first, but gives some kind of satisfaction after :) It literally makes me to step out of my comfort zone for a little while every morning, creates a psychological habit of overcoming my "oh-nos" and makes me feel fresh, focused and aware. It also boosts the immune system and it's totally free, how cool is that?

Have a fruitful day!


looks like a military training

you will finish like that in a few years :

size0.jpg
 

Flippn

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Well, nowadays stepping into military career path seems like a really fast lane, if you know what I mean ;)

But really, give cold water a try, see yourself.
 

Nate L.

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My friend has been consistently doing this for about 6 months. It has quite a bit of benefits. He told me it has improved even his hair and skin complexion. Besides the fact that it helps increase blood circulation and some other cool health benefits.

He also sees it has a challenge to conquer in the morning. I have started somewhat recently and am trying to stick with it!
 
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MJ DeMarco

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Interesting, hasn't there been some research with respect to abrupt cold water events?

I know it raises metabolism which is why after ocean swimming you usually want to eat your heart out.
 

daru

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Been doing cold showers second thing in the morning to really wake up (trying to rise early). It sure make me feel great afterwards!

Wim Hof is all the rage now on the internet if one wants more info about possible health benefits of cold exposure.
 

luniac

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Ahh it warms my heart to read about another cold shower disciple.
Like wim hof says "The cold is my new warm friend"
i been doing it for almost a year, often after a nice jump roping session to get the sweat going.
Never going back.
 
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amp0193

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I know it raises metabolism which is why after ocean swimming you usually want to eat your heart out.

In Sweden, I was surprised at the number of older folks who were taking short swims in the freezing cold ocean at 6am.

Maybe there's something to it.
 

daru

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In Sweden, I was surprised at the number of older folks who were taking short swims in the freezing cold ocean at 6am.

Maybe there's something to it.
Yeah, but swedes are weird!? ;)
 

daru

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You leave babies outside in strollers in the middle of winter
Haha, this is actually true! Got to start early with this cold exposure stuff.
 

unaided

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Interesting, hasn't there been some research with respect to abrupt cold water events?

I know it raises metabolism which is why after ocean swimming you usually want to eat your heart out.

-Cold water plunges stimulate vagus nerve (main nerve of parasympathetic nervous system). There's also something called the "dive reflex" that's triggered when you dive into cold water.
-Additionally, cold water helps to constrict everything, so you flush out inflammation and lymph (waste drainage system of the body)
-Shivering is one of the most thermogenic (calorie-burning) things you can do - so yes it can help with weight loss and metabolism.
-cold and heat therapy are stresses on the body...and you get a rebound adaptation. Health is being able to adapt to your body, so if you're able to adapt more quickly to cold and hot environments, it's a signal of strong health. No different than exercise being a stress that leads to rebound strength/endurance improvement. With heat/sauna therapy - "heat shock proteins" and their roles in anti-aging...similar things happen with cold.

I always think of our language "Chill out", "He needs to cool off", "Chill pill"....or in the old-school movies/sitcoms when someone is hysterical and someone splashes cold water on their face to grab their attention.

I had panic attacks following acute mold toxicity - cold showers helped get me through some of the bad episodes.
 
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luniac

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eventually you won't even shiver, ur metabolism will increase to maintain core temperature.
 

Alxander

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I always end cold, but the shower isn't cold enough for me anymore. Need to try ice baths :smuggy:
 

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Alxander

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double the length of time.

Can do that, sometimes it just is colder than usual, don't know why though.

Do some of you just shower completely cold each day? Will you get clean enough?:clench:
 

luniac

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Can do that, sometimes it just is colder than usual, don't know why though.

Do some of you just shower completely cold each day? Will you get clean enough?:clench:

water temperature is affected by weather, its summer here in nyc and the coldest water is not challenging enough for me, but in the winter that shit is F*ckin liquid ice!

uhh i better not comment on hygiene. I rarely shower with soap... hands only. lmao!
 

Flippn

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Can do that, sometimes it just is colder than usual, don't know why though.

Do some of you just shower completely cold each day? Will you get clean enough?:clench:
In my mind extremes are bad for you and everything has to be balanced. Use water cold enough to challenge you but not so cold to make you forget the soap [emoji16]Yes, I do shower completely cold everyday, but probably my "cold" is different than yours and it depends on lots of factors.
Cheers!



Wysłane z mojego SM-G920F przy użyciu Tapatalka
 
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letter9

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Great poems, and I've meant to memorize both. Haven't yet, but will. My poem of choice is "Don't Quit," by John Greenleaf Whittier. I'm sure many on here will scoff at this stuff, but it's gotten me through some low points in life.

Don't Quit
by
John Greenleaf Whittier

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is strange with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns
And many a failure comes about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow—
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out—
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell just how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit—
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.
Great poem.

How long do you stay under cold water?
I do that too. But at the moment last 15-20 seconds. ;)
 

InspireHD

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Wim Hof is all the rage now on the internet if one wants more info about possible health benefits of cold exposure.

I tried his breathing technique, which requires 30 some deep inhales and exhales to saturate the body with oxygen. At the end of the technique, you exhale and at the bottom of the exhale you hold your breath for as long as you can. I was sort of skeptical about it, but the first attempt I held my breath for about 1:50 and then doing it again immediately after, I held my breath for over 2 minutes. Keep in mind this is after exhaling and not inhaling again. I can't remember a time I've held my breath for that long in my entire life.

And for others, from my experience, you start with the warmer water so that the soap will lather. Then, turn to cold to rinse and do the cold shower thing.
 

Flippn

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And for others, from my experience, you start with the warmer water so that the soap will lather. Then, turn to cold to rinse and do the cold shower thing.

I can guarantee, the soap lathers in cold water as well :D
 
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daru

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My routine is first cold with soap to get clean (it's often after workout). Then cold as f*ck for about thirty seconds. Then for lower back only (having back problems) hot as hell, then cold again and finally hot. This to get blood circulation there which just is some random idea I try out.
 

MortimerFox

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I've been taking cold showers every day for more than a year but I heard a woman on one of Tim Ferriss' podcasts say that cold exposure inhibits muscle repair and growth. So, as I'm a gym-goer, I've changed my routine to cold showers in the morning when I wake up and hot showers after workouts.
 

business_man

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I highly recommend Wim Hof 10 week program, guys. I finished it and its awesome. It goes even further then cold shower - to ice baths and going in to cold in the wild... Still can do only couple of minutes ice bath, but slowly improving. And breathing technique is awesome also, it helps me a lot, I use it if I don't feel good and it really helps.
 
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business_man

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I've been taking cold showers every day for more than a year but I heard a woman on one of Tim Ferriss' podcasts say that cold exposure inhibits muscle repair and growth. So, as I'm a gym-goer, I've changed my routine to cold showers in the morning when I wake up and hot showers after workouts.

It is very strange... Should be vice verse. A lot of professional athletes use ice bath specifically for recover. So you need to double check that fact, I guess.
 

daru

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I've been taking cold showers every day for more than a year but I heard a woman on one of Tim Ferriss' podcasts say that cold exposure inhibits muscle repair and growth. So, as I'm a gym-goer, I've changed my routine to cold showers in the morning when I wake up and hot showers after workouts.
What woman was that or what episode, if you remember? I do it after my back rehab exercise which actually also comes from Tim's podcast with Jerzy Gregorek (The Happy Body). After evening workout which is deadlifts and chins or squats and dips I have a warm shower. So got it fairly right anyway if that woman is correct.
 

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