Deliberate cold exposure
Cold showers or ice baths used deliberately, usually a few minutes at a time
Cold showers, ice baths, plunge tubs: short, uncomfortable cold used on purpose rather than endured. The typical framing is a large, sustained release of adrenaline and dopamine that leaves you alert for hours afterwards, plus practice at staying calm under stress. Commonly cited doses land around 11 minutes of total cold per week, split across a few sessions. Note that several people in this directory are careful to separate it from strength training, since cold immediately after lifting may blunt adaptation.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Andrew HubermanDoes it
Neuroscientist · Huberman Lab
Popularized the roughly eleven minutes of total weekly cold guideline, and takes deliberate cold several times a week. He is careful to keep it away from strength sessions.
Source: Huberman Lab: Using Deliberate Cold Exposure for Health and Performance“So the most common question I get about deliberate cold exposure is how cold should the water be? And we've answered that with uncomfortably cold to the point where you want to get out, but you can safely stay in.”
Huberman Lab: Using Deliberate Cold Exposure for Health and Performance (opens in a new tab) · 4 Apr 2022 - Chris BumsteadDoes it
Bodybuilder · Six-time Classic Physique Mr. Olympia
Ice baths three times a week, around 40 degrees Fahrenheit for eight to ten minutes, usually on rest days. He tried 35 degrees and found it too cold. As BarBend summarized his rest-day video, the point is less muscle recovery than inflammation and a morning lift when coffee is not enough.
Source: BarBend: Here's Why Chris Bumstead Takes Ice Baths 3 Times Per Week - Chris HemsworthDoes it
Actor · Limitless and Centr
Ice baths, and the sauna too. That is where most of his meditation and breath work happens, he told Men's Health. Fox News carried the interview after his APOE4 result became public.
Source: Fox News: Chris Hemsworth makes major lifestyle changes after learning he's high risk for Alzheimer's disease - Chris WilliamsonDoes it
Host · Modern Wisdom
Cold plunges go in regularly, and he talks about them as much for the discomfort tolerance as for the physiological effect.
Source: Modern Wisdom podcast - Dave AspreyDoes it
Biohacker · Bulletproof Coffee
Whole-body cryotherapy is his favorite form of cold, a few minutes in a chamber, with ice baths and cold showers as the cheaper alternatives he names. He explains the benefit through cold-shock proteins.
Source: Dave Asprey blog: Hormesis: How to Use Stress to Boost Your Resilience - Hugh JackmanDoes it
Actor · Wolverine and The Greatest Showman
A cold shower every morning, before the reading and the meditation. He picked up ice baths from The 4-Hour Body while preparing for Wolverine and used them through the later films, where he credits them as a great way to lose fat.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #444 transcript“I have a cold shower first … from your 4-Hour Body book when I was getting ready for Wolverine, the old cold bath. So I have a cold shower every morning.”
The Tim Ferriss Show #444 transcript (opens in a new tab) · 30 Jun 2020 - Jennifer AnistonDoes it
Actor · Friends and The Morning Show
Got into cold plunges in the summer of 2024 while staying with a friend who has a plunge pool. She calls submerging in very cold water an intense experience but says the feeling on getting out is invigorating.
Source: TODAY: Jennifer Aniston reveals the 4 simple basics of her healthy aging routine“It’s a very intense experience to submerge yourself in very cold water like that, but boy is it invigorating when you exit”
TODAY: Jennifer Aniston reveals the 4 simple basics of her healthy aging routine (opens in a new tab) · 11 Apr 2025 - Jocko WillinkDoes it
Retired Navy SEAL officer · Jocko Podcast
Discipline as much as recovery: cold showers and cold water immersion.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #395 transcript“Okay, I’m definitely a believer in contrast baths, if you know what that is. Contrast baths are going from hot to cold. … Do I believe in cold and heat therapy? Yes. I have a jacuzzi at my house and I have an ice bath at my house.”
The Tim Ferriss Show #395 transcript (opens in a new tab) · 25 Nov 2019 - LeBron JamesDoes it
Basketball player · NBA all-time leading scorer
He was icing his knees and the rest of his body during the podcast itself, Mancias pointed out. After a game, once food and a shake are in, cryotherapy follows in whatever form the arena has: a cold tank, ice bags or a cryotherapy chamber.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #349 transcript: LeBron James and Mike Mancias - Mark HymanDoes it
Physician · The Dr. Hyman Show · author of Young Forever
Cold baths for years, timed at three or four minutes with a stopwatch. At home it is a big bathtub filled with cold tap water, 48 degrees in winter by his measurement; he describes himself as close to addicted to the combination of hot and cold.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: The Science Behind Cold And Heat Therapy“I'm kind of addicted to cold and hot therapy actually. I think I might be addicted. It's so addictive. It just makes you feel so good.”
The Doctor's Farmacy: The Science Behind Cold And Heat Therapy And How To Do It For Maximum Benefit (opens in a new tab) · 5 Apr 2023 - Mark WahlbergDoes it
Actor and producer · The 2:30 a.m. daily routine
A cold plunge follows the morning prayer and comes before the gym. He told Fox News he does not look forward to getting in, but he does look forward to how he feels afterwards, and he counts cold water alongside sleep as one of the best gifts for recovery and healing.
Source: Fox News: Mark Wahlberg is prioritizing 'recovery' instead of 'intense workouts' as he gets older“By the time I get in there now, I feel ready to go … I get out of the ice bath: All the soreness, the aches, and pains are gone. You got energy and dopamine that lasts for hours.”
The Daily Beast: Inside Mark Wahlberg's 'Not Normal' 4 a.m. Fitness Routine (opens in a new tab) · 21 Apr 2026 - Mel RobbinsDoes it
Author and podcaster · The Let Them Theory
Finishes every morning shower by cranking the water fully cold for about 20 seconds, admitting she starts warm to wash her hair and aims the cold at a shoulder rather than her head. A month in when she recorded this, she credits neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki, whose clip she plays, for the adrenaline reasoning.
Source: The Mel Robbins Podcast: 5 Tricks That Give You More Energy Instantly“And so every single morning I take a cold shower. I start with a warm shower because I got to wash my hair and I'm not that brutal. I'm not stepping into an ice cold shower as the first thing.”
The Mel Robbins Podcast: 5 Tricks That Give You More Energy Instantly (opens in a new tab) - Michael PhelpsDoes it
Olympic swimmer · Most decorated Olympian in history
Starts every morning with a cold plunge and describes it as a way to reset. It is the first thing he lists when asked how he gets back to feeling like himself on an off day.
Source: Fortune: Michael Phelps does these 5 things every day to be his 'best self' - Novak DjokovicDoes it
Tennis player · Record 24 Grand Slam singles titles
An ice bath belongs to that same wind-down block, named alongside the sauna and put as a possibility rather than a fixture, after whatever swimming, biking or hiking the day has held.
Source: Plant Based News: Novak Djokovic Opens Up About His Diet And Wellness Routine - Rhonda PatrickDoes it
Biomedical scientist · FoundMyFitness
Owns a cold plunge and takes cold showers, though she says not as often as she should, and has covered the norepinephrine and brown fat literature in detail.
Source: FoundMyFitness: her sauna routine - Ryan HolidayDoes it
Writer · The Daily Stoic
Cranks the shower to cold every morning and says the research on immunity and metabolism is beside the point for him. He does it to settle who is in charge, quoting Seneca on treating the body rigorously so it stays obedient to the mind.
Source: RyanHoliday.net: You Actually Should Do Something That Scares You Every Day“The reason I interrupt my warm showers by cranking the knob to the side is far more simple, in fact it’s nearly tautological. I do it to do it. It’s making a statement about who is in charge.”
RyanHoliday.net: You Actually Should Do Something That Scares You Every Day (opens in a new tab) · 16 Mar 2022 - Sahil BloomDoes it
Author · The 5 Types of Wealth
Three to five minutes at 39 degrees, at 4:30 in the morning, daily. The numbers come from the regimen he publishes on his own site.
Source: sahilbloom.com: About Sahil Bloom“I just completed 100 straight days of doing a cold plunge every morning. I pride myself on my consistency and discipline, but this 100 day streak pushed me to a new level.”
The Curiosity Chronicle: 10 Lessons from 100 Days in the Cold (opens in a new tab) · 17 Apr 2024 - Tim FerrissDoes it
Author · The Tim Ferriss Show
Cycles hot and cold for about three minutes each in a converted chest freezer, originally as a fat-loss experiment and later for the mood effect.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show: Q&A with Tim transcript - Zac EfronDoes it
Actor · the Baywatch body and what it cost him
Ice baths are his favorite part of the day, he told Men's Health. By his account the worst of it comes before you get in, and once you commit and jump, you have conquered something deep down.
Source: Men's Health: Zac Efron Interview on His Career, His Health, and His Next Movie“It’s my favorite part of the day. Before is when it’s most miserable, and when you finally just commit and jump in there. From that point forward, you’ve conquered something deep within you; you do not want to get cold”
Men's Health: Zac Efron Interview on His Career, His Health, and His Next Movie (opens in a new tab) · 7 Sep 2022 - Cristiano RonaldoDiscusses
Footballer · Portugal captain and five-time Ballon d'Or winner
Filmed climbing down a ladder into an outdoor plunge pool in the Lapland snow at Christmas 2024, telling his teenage son it was very nice while the son declined to join. One holiday dip is all that is on the record here; he has not described a temperature or a routine.
Source: Goal: Cristiano Ronaldo takes plunge into freezing water on winter holiday - David GogginsDiscusses
Retired Navy SEAL · Can't Hurt Me
Calls ice baths, saunas, sleep and nutrition all important, then says he does not have time for some of them: something had to give.
Source: Huberman Lab: David Goggins: How to Build Immense Inner Strength - Peter AttiaDiscusses
Physician · The Drive · author of Outlive
Markedly more skeptical than most, he warns that cold immediately after resistance training can blunt the adaptation you trained for.
Source: The Drive podcast - Rich RollDiscusses
Ultra-endurance athlete · The Rich Roll Podcast
Has gone through cold plunging with many of the researchers and practitioners behind it.
Source: The Rich Roll Podcast - Stacy SimsDiscusses
Exercise physiologist · Women Are Not Small Men
Colder is not better for women, on her reading of the thermoregulation data. She puts the useful window nearer 14 to 15°C than ice water, warns that near-freezing plunges can push cortisol up and thyroid function down, and tells people to keep cold away from strength sessions.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Cold Plunging for Women - Steven BartlettDiscusses
Entrepreneur · The Diary of a CEO
Ice baths and cold plunging come up repeatedly with guests on the show.
Source: The Diary of a CEO podcast
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under energy, stress or focus.
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Morning sunlight exposure
Bright outdoor light soon after waking, 5-30 minutes and no sunglasses
On record from 10 of 62 tracked people: 6 do it, 3 recommend it, 1 has discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Breathwork
Structured breathing sessions to shift the nervous system up or down
On record from 7 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it, 2 recommend it, 1 has discussed it - Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Running
Regular running, from a short daily loop up to ultramarathon distance
On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it, 1 recommends it - Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Swimming
Lap swimming as low-impact cardio and a reset for the head
On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 6 do it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Hard thinking before lunch
Book the mentally demanding work for the morning and stop making big calls late in the day
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Non-sleep deep rest (NSDR)
10-20 minute guided body-scan rest, sometimes called yoga nidra
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it, 1 has discussed it
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