Candace and I recently tried Cryotherapy. We have both been lifelong athletes, and own the aches and pains associated with the lifestyle. I’m always interested in new technologies, and though cryotherapy has been around for a while, it was only a year ago or so that I heard about it. It was on a podcast from Tim Ferriss that featured Tony Robbins. Tony is a big proponent of Cryotherapy, and mentioned the pain relief and injury recovery benefits he was getting from it. I quickly mentioned it to Candace, and lo and behold a few months later there was a Groupon to try Cryotherapy, that coincided with my birthday. Done deal.
So, what is Cryotherapy? Cryotherapy is a treatment where you go into a cryogenic chamber for about three minutes. The chamber is cooled with liquid nitrogen to about -240 degrees Fahrenheit. The process pulls the blood into your internal organs, making it super-oxygenated and nutritionally rich. Once you exit the chamber, the blood rushes back to your body, reducing inflammation, giving you an energy boost and helping the body’s healing process. It also releases endorphins which help with pain relief.
I’ll be the first to admit, the thought of standing in -240 degree temperature was scary. Having been a big proponent of taking a cold shower every morning to help jump start my day, I am accustomed to cold, but -240? That’s just crazy. I was a bit apprehensive, but agreed to go with Candace. Our appointment was at Winter Park Cryotherapy, and the employee that helped was super kind and explained everything in depth. The process goes like this: you strip down to your underwear, put on slippers, gloves, and a bathrobe, enter the chamber, take the robe off and hand it over to the assistant, then the cooling starts. Once I was inside, the temperature wasn’t that bad, though I did start to shiver towards the end of the treatment. To relate it to other cold experiences: I’ve been surfing in Northern California, and even with a wetsuit on, the cold shock from the frigid Pacific Ocean, was much colder than the shock from Cryotherapy.
After the procedure, I felt great. My legs were a little cold, but I felt like I could go run a marathon. Any soreness I had was gone. Candace reported similar feelings and has already booked her next appointment!
Have you tried Cryotherapy? What was your experience like? Let us know in the comments.
