Harry Garside, the Australian boxer, is a massive advocate for getting out of your comfort zone, not just to improve your physical condition, but for mental performance too. Fresh from revealing why he takes cold showers in the morning, Harry has now revealed a super simple alternative to the much-encouraged ice bath.
Harry Garside recently shared on his Instagram story a simple technique you can try (especially if you’re in Australia right now) that will gift you all the benefits of taking an ice bath, without having to actually get in one.
WATCH: Harry Garside Takes A Cold Dip In The Ocean
After finishing a training session with his girlfriend Ash, Harry says the pair were inspired by the “ice bath thing” – DMARGE understands he’s referring to a breath work program conducted by Australian breath work trainer, @breathless_expeditions – and so is going to jump in the ocean.
A follow-up video posted on his girlfriend’s Instagram story does indeed show Harry jumping into the ocean at night, with the temperature being recorded at 7-degrees. That, of course, is the air temperature and not the temperature of the water, but it probably won’t be far off. And, considering a ‘normal’ ice bath temperature should be around 10-15 degrees Celsius, Harry shows that an ocean swim can be a simple alternative to the incredibly popular form of recovery.
We’ve previously discussed the benefits of both ice baths and cold water immersion. Dutch endurance athlete Wim Hof is perhaps to most well-known ambassador for the humble ice bath, and he has previously explained their benefits for your mental health, “Receptors creating noradrenaline, 540% more, Dopamine, 250-300% more, it’s all science, this will battle effectively your mental disorder called depression, bipolar or any other… coming to you. You are able to get back into sense. Deep sense. Into you. Yourself.”
However, if you’ve never taken an ice bath before, it’s not something you can simply go jumping into (literally). Training is required to help minimise and prevent the risk of contracting conditions such as hypothermia. An ocean swim could, therefore, be a safer alternative, owing to the fact the temperature of the water isn’t going to be as cold.
If you still need some convincing to strip down to your swimmers and dive head first into the ocean, just ask anyone that already does it as a daily ritual. We’ve often spoken to people who go for a dip in the ocean every morning, and not once have they said they felt worse.
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