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There’s plenty of evidence that suggests submerging yourself in frigid water is a good way to recover after exercising. However, I think most people would agree it’s also a pretty unenjoyable experience—a list that probably includes Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Ice baths and cold plunges aren’t exactly revolutionary new developments in the world of sports therapy. They have become an increasingly popular recovery tool over the past couple of decades, but scientific evidence concerning the benefits of that particular approach to cryotherapy began to emerge as early as the 1960s.
Plenty of professional athletes have taken advantage of a process that’s believed to reduce inflammation and encourage muscle recovery, and when you consider Stone Cold Steve Austin made a living by subjecting himself to some absolutely brutal punishment during his time in the WWE, you’d think he probably would’ve harnessed that form of treatment at some point during his career.
However, it turns out that’s not the case.
Over the weekend, Stone Cold got the chance to experience his first cold plunge after the folks at Renu Therapy dropped off a tank designed for that purpose at Broken Skull Ranch (his estate in Nevada).
It appears that delivery was at the center of a partnership deal that tasked Austin with filming a promotional video he attempted to record while chronicling his first-ever cold plunge on camera.
However, the former pro wrestler appeared to get much more than he bargained for based on the uncut footage that features him swearing up a storm after getting into the water, repeatedly screwing up the intro while wincing in discomfort, and ultimately lasting for around 15 seconds after promising to stick it out for three minutes.
As someone who still winces when the water in the ocean unexpectedly goes above my waist when I’m wading into it on a hot day in the summer, I can’t say I blame Austin for how he reacted here, and I’d like to thank him for sharing his misery for our enjoyment.