Hot take: I was wrong about cold plunges after my buddy showed me a 2016 study from Finland
I always figured cold plunges were just a macho trend with zero real data behind them. Then my friend Pete, who is a physical therapist in Duluth, pulled up a 2016 study from Finland that tracked over 1,600 guys for 20 years and found regular cold water swimming cut their risk of certain respiratory infections by around 30 percent. That number made me sit down because I usually roll my eyes at stuff like this. I still think the $5,000 plunge tubs are silly, but I tried 30 seconds in Lake Superior last Saturday and I get why people swear by it. Has anyone else found a cheap way to do this without buying a fancy setup?