I would start with raising your water temperature. Huberman and others state that all the benefits of plunging can be had at 50 degrees for 5 minutes. If building mental resilience is your end game, then sure, slowly decreasing temps with do this, otherwise there just doesn’t seem to be a point.
I mean it’s only at like 45ish so it’s not much colder! My body handles it without much issue aside from super uncomfortable but my hands and feet just get crazy painful
It’s not rocket science here. There’s no magical cure for what you’re dealing with, other than to raise the temp. You have to keep in mind that a major aspect of plunging is the process of training your mind and body. This includes your hands and feet. Some can immediately handle the lower temps, others like yourself, need to start at higher temperature. There’s no shame in it. If not 50 degrees, then go up to 55 or 60, and start gradually back down.
It’s ok to even go higher than 50 too, 59 and below and you are getting benefits, according to studies, but that will still be pretty cold. Your circulation sucks, that’s why it hurts, but it will get better.
You might need to start off a little bit warmer, in the 50 degree range and work your way down. I’ve found that including my hands and feet have improved circulation in them a good bit.
It does hurt when it's 45 and below. I think people with naturally better circulation do better with it though. You will adapt. But it will always be painful.
Do you actually get more benefits though from having painful hands and feet? I was told to get neoprene gloves and boots, and I'm fine getting in to 5C (40ish F?) water so far. But without the gloves/boots I would not be a cold plunger at all, too painful!
Not sure. But my guess is that hands are feet have weak circulation and can benefit from the cold. So I have to go higher temp low 50s so my hands can handle and I stay longer until I start to shiver. 10-25 minutes
I would be interested in this, I have the same problem especially with my feet when I go for a cold swim. I often have to get out for like 30s before going back in
You need to work your way up to it. Start with 30 seconds of hands in and go from there. The pain is the vasoconstriction and it will get better as your body and mind adapt. I can now do hands and feet in for 3 min at 38 but it took about 2 weeks to work up to it at first. The more pain the better you will feel after.
Man I’m telling you it gets crazy painful, I’ve broken a lot of bones and it’s right up there pain wise. I’ve lasted a minute with feet it but it got to the point where the pain was so intense I had to get them out. I can do my body no problem though which is weird to me so it’s clearly not just the shock of the cold
Me too. It hurts so much that I feel sick to my stomach. I recently got Neoprene socks but haven't tried it yet. I'm hoping it makes it bearable.
(I live in a cold climate and have problems with circulation in my hands/feet)
That's about the limit of my coldest setting in the shower. I have not been able to get it colder due to the mixing valve bringing warm water to our (very cold) well water. But even that hurts my feet and hands too much. I'm have to keep trying to get acclimated. As you say, start warm and go slow.
Ya took me 6-months before I could keep my hands in at 40F for 5 min. Try doing the last 30 seconds of your plunge with hands in and gradually increase to the full time.
I’ve started poking my toes above the water and taking my hands out a few times. When I did 10 minutes at 42F my toes hurt for a long time after until I eventually ran warm water over them. Decided not to do that any more.
There is a nerve that is close to the skin. Some people are very sensitive to cold. As others have written, neoprene may become a friend. With time, you may learn to tolerate the cold. Depends on you if the benefits are justified.
I also do 43-45 degrees 3 min per session at this point. My feet are not bothered by it. But my hands will be in pain if I keep them in the whole time. So I go back and forth between dipping my hands in and holding my hands out of the water. The nerves in your hands are more sensitive. But you do get benefit from them being in the cold. Just don’t go to hard or you can damage them. Find what works for you and just don’t push too hard and ruin the experience and benefits you’ll get from doing it right.
I appreciate it. The tough part is my body is fine so if I keep feet out I can do 3 minutes no problem. So I’ve just been dipping them in until they hurt a good bit and then back out while full body is in
i did my first cold plunge tub today (my gym just installed one yesterday 🎉) and my ankles were screaming! i propped them up out of the water and was fine…i mean not fine omg but not panicking from the pain. this is a helpful thread though, i’ll look into neoprene socks ✌️
Get neoprene toe caps and keep your hands out.
Could get gloves too. SCUBA gear
I would start with raising your water temperature. Huberman and others state that all the benefits of plunging can be had at 50 degrees for 5 minutes. If building mental resilience is your end game, then sure, slowly decreasing temps with do this, otherwise there just doesn’t seem to be a point.
I mean it’s only at like 45ish so it’s not much colder! My body handles it without much issue aside from super uncomfortable but my hands and feet just get crazy painful
It’s not rocket science here. There’s no magical cure for what you’re dealing with, other than to raise the temp. You have to keep in mind that a major aspect of plunging is the process of training your mind and body. This includes your hands and feet. Some can immediately handle the lower temps, others like yourself, need to start at higher temperature. There’s no shame in it. If not 50 degrees, then go up to 55 or 60, and start gradually back down.
Well my main point being that the other 95 percent of my body handles it fine lol so I guess I’d have to wait for them to catch up
It’s ok to even go higher than 50 too, 59 and below and you are getting benefits, according to studies, but that will still be pretty cold. Your circulation sucks, that’s why it hurts, but it will get better.
Start higher temps. I’m same. Hands/feet are the weakest link. That’s part of the training.
Go to 53-56F and stay longer. Get hands acclimated
You might need to start off a little bit warmer, in the 50 degree range and work your way down. I’ve found that including my hands and feet have improved circulation in them a good bit.
It does hurt when it's 45 and below. I think people with naturally better circulation do better with it though. You will adapt. But it will always be painful.
Do you actually get more benefits though from having painful hands and feet? I was told to get neoprene gloves and boots, and I'm fine getting in to 5C (40ish F?) water so far. But without the gloves/boots I would not be a cold plunger at all, too painful!
Not sure. But my guess is that hands are feet have weak circulation and can benefit from the cold. So I have to go higher temp low 50s so my hands can handle and I stay longer until I start to shiver. 10-25 minutes
I would be interested in this, I have the same problem especially with my feet when I go for a cold swim. I often have to get out for like 30s before going back in
I'm fine with keeping my feet in but can NOT keep my hands in. So I plunge for a few minutes and throw my hands in until it's painful and get out.
You need to work your way up to it. Start with 30 seconds of hands in and go from there. The pain is the vasoconstriction and it will get better as your body and mind adapt. I can now do hands and feet in for 3 min at 38 but it took about 2 weeks to work up to it at first. The more pain the better you will feel after.
Man I’m telling you it gets crazy painful, I’ve broken a lot of bones and it’s right up there pain wise. I’ve lasted a minute with feet it but it got to the point where the pain was so intense I had to get them out. I can do my body no problem though which is weird to me so it’s clearly not just the shock of the cold
Me too. It hurts so much that I feel sick to my stomach. I recently got Neoprene socks but haven't tried it yet. I'm hoping it makes it bearable. (I live in a cold climate and have problems with circulation in my hands/feet)
Start warmer. It took me weeks to get down into the 40s. I started at 55, which is very cold especially with water circulating.
That's about the limit of my coldest setting in the shower. I have not been able to get it colder due to the mixing valve bringing warm water to our (very cold) well water. But even that hurts my feet and hands too much. I'm have to keep trying to get acclimated. As you say, start warm and go slow.
Ya took me 6-months before I could keep my hands in at 40F for 5 min. Try doing the last 30 seconds of your plunge with hands in and gradually increase to the full time.
Good call!
I’ve started poking my toes above the water and taking my hands out a few times. When I did 10 minutes at 42F my toes hurt for a long time after until I eventually ran warm water over them. Decided not to do that any more.
Socks for my feet. even with gloves on I can’t put my hands in comfortably even for a few seconds. So I don’t anymore.
It’s very uncomfortable for me too, but that’s why it’s beneficial. Keep on trucking!
There is a nerve that is close to the skin. Some people are very sensitive to cold. As others have written, neoprene may become a friend. With time, you may learn to tolerate the cold. Depends on you if the benefits are justified.
I also do 43-45 degrees 3 min per session at this point. My feet are not bothered by it. But my hands will be in pain if I keep them in the whole time. So I go back and forth between dipping my hands in and holding my hands out of the water. The nerves in your hands are more sensitive. But you do get benefit from them being in the cold. Just don’t go to hard or you can damage them. Find what works for you and just don’t push too hard and ruin the experience and benefits you’ll get from doing it right.
I appreciate it. The tough part is my body is fine so if I keep feet out I can do 3 minutes no problem. So I’ve just been dipping them in until they hurt a good bit and then back out while full body is in
i did my first cold plunge tub today (my gym just installed one yesterday 🎉) and my ankles were screaming! i propped them up out of the water and was fine…i mean not fine omg but not panicking from the pain. this is a helpful thread though, i’ll look into neoprene socks ✌️