Finally got the cycle back today. There were a couple of extra things they fixed that weren't planned on, since they already had the bike apart & could easily access those items. I like that they do that for me, but I'm not crazy about the unexpected costs. Fortunately for me, the service manager has been a friend of mine since before he got the position, and he always takes good care of me on the finance end. My cost was double what I was expecting, but the full price was triple what I expected, so I'm happy to get the work done for that price. Now if it would only warm up - it's only 45°F (7°C) here & that's not great weather for a long ride.
Also, I did the breathing method this morning after having coffee, but changed it up a bit. Rather than holding my breath on the exhale, I held it on inhale, which is a variation on the method that primarily affects the sympathetic system (whereas holding on exhale activates the parasympathetic). It had a much stronger affect, and I could hold my breath for 3+ minutes (3:30 was my longest today).
I remembered seeing in a video that the breathing method made it easier to endure the cold showers, but last time I tried it (with exhale holds), I was way too cold to handle them . This time though, I felt much warmer afterwards (and I also waited maybe 5-10 minutes before getting in the shower. Last time, I tried right away & that was a big fail. Another point of interest I read was that some people had better luck starting off with cold, rather than the 'beginner' recommendation of starting with as long of a hot shower as you like, which is the way I've been doing it. This time, I just started with the water set to full cold, then eased my lower legs in, then forearms, then my torso.
I recognized that it was definitely cold, but I found that the meditative mental state I was in after the new breathing method made it more tolerable; so much so, in fact, that although I didn't time it, I'd estimate that I stayed it it for at least 1:30-2 minutes That's impressive to me, because I hadn't done any kind of cold shower in weeks (if so, maybe only once that I might recall), and they recommend that you gradually work your way up to longer times.
I know I'm unlikely to take cold showers every day, but I think have an idea of a way to move forward. If I do the cold exposure for the hands & feet during the week (along with the breathing method), I can do the cold showers on the weekends. I don't know, but maybe this will be a good compromise for now, and be a way that I can work towards daily cold showers & eventually, cold/ice baths. I've already decided that I'm starting the cold baths with 45-50°F (7-10°C) water, then move towards colder 'ice baths later. I know in the winter, my tap water gets down to 40°F, so that might be a good way to progress for now.
...Sorry, got of on a ramble. Anyway, I added a new link to the W1m H0f links page. It's an article about the 'Brain over Body' study, and I thought it was really interesting.
12:52 p.m. - 2019-05-11
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