My first time lasted four seconds. Any longer and I would’ve started screeching, writhing around in agony, and probably calling out for my mother. I’m talking about cold plunging, of course, in a teeny tiny pool of water hovering somewhere around 7C. This was a few years ago when the trend was still in its infancy. The pool in question had been installed in my local gym and, out of curiosity, I’d decided to dip my toe in, a decision I regretted immediately and one that had me running straight into the sauna, where I proceeded to hyperventilate.
Imagine my surprise, then, to witness this form of psychological and physiological torture become a bona fide trend. Not just a whizzy wellness niche reserved for the particularly “woo”, like spirulina smoothies and spirituality haircuts (yes, really), but a mainstream obsession that some people are paying hundreds of pounds a month for.
