Cold water therapies aren’t new to our world, but they may be new to those of us who prefer to avoid the shock of icy water. There are several forms of cold-water therapies being offered across the North Bay and word of their benefits have led the cold-averse to take the plunge. We spoke with two North Bay businesses that offer a dip into frigid waters for health and well-being.
Take the plunge
Jim McAlpine is the founder and owner of Fire and Ice Therapy Center in Novato. McAlpine describes himself as a lifetime entrepreneur, and says he’s always created businesses around things he loves.
McAlpine decided to start a business featuring ice baths when he discovered how beneficial they can be while recovering from injury. He had fractured a vertebra and broken his ankle in an accident a few years ago. Because of that and some other inflammation issues, a friend suggested he try taking ice baths. He’s been doing them daily ever since.
“It almost immediately changed my life in terms of taking me out of pain and helping me with my inflammation,” McAlpine says. “That’s why I decided to start Fire and Ice.”
“It’s one of the rare cases where I think you can both do good for the world and help people live a better, pain-free life,” he says. “And also, fingers crossed, make some money doing it.”
McAlpine describes his first ice bath as “a minute of a lot of tingling and I guess pain.”
“I don’t like to use the word pain but, it was a scary first minute. And then my body became peaceful and I got out after three minutes,” he says. “That’s all you really have to do and I found I felt 25 years younger for about six hours where the pain in my knees, my back, my neck and all my old-man stuff really was gone literally for hours.”
Now McAlpine does an ice bath every morning and the benefits aren’t just physical. “Sometimes if I’ve had a long day or if my anxiety gets a bit high, I do an ice bath in the evening and it kind of helps me quell my anxiety,” he says. “But my main thing is every morning, I do six minutes in the ice bath, right after I wake up.”
McAlpine had been steadily working on the launch of Fire and Ice for the past year and he opened the doors on Dec. 1 of 2024. He says it’s been scary, but it’s also been “awesome” and he notes that there’s a lot of curiosity around ice bathing.
“What I’ve found is there’s a tried-and-true community of ice bathers that are already there that are looking for places like this,” McAlpine says. “People are so excited this is coming to Marin.”
There are also the cold-plunge-curious who venture in to check it out. “I’d say it’s about 50/50 people that already do it at home and then people that have always wanted to try it,” he says. “It’s been a great surprise how many people have already called and booked appointments.”
For those who haven’t taken the plunge or perhaps have a memory of jumping into an ice melt and the shock that comes with it, the idea of getting into ice water may seem unappealing.
“For people who’ve not done it, it definitely is something I think that’s a mental challenge,” McAlpine says. For those new to ice baths, McAlpine also offers a complimentary breath-work session.
“What I find quells both the mental side of things as well as the sting of getting in the water is just a couple minutes of breathing patterns that we teach everybody as they first get in,” he says. “Everybody’s very hesitant, but we teach them the breathing techniques. For anyone “really scared,” McAlpine will coach them through that first minute in the ice bath and “then they sail off into the sunset.”
“There’s a huge smile and feeling of accomplishment on almost everybody’s face after their first session,” he says. “It’s only three minutes, but once they’ve made it through that, they are beaming with pride.
McAlpine says the thing he hears the most is that inflammation is gone along with their pain for a solid four to six hours after the ice bath. For those with arthritis, cold air can bring on pain and therefore the thought of using an ice bath may seem counter-intuitive, but McAlpine is quick to point out that the opposite is true.
McAlpine says he suffers from arthritis in his hips, shoulder, knees and ankle; he concedes cold air can exacerbate symptoms, but finds cold water has the opposite effect. “When you’re immersed in cold water, it really does take away the pain of arthritis—because arthritis is really inflammation.
McAlpine encourages people to try other therapies along with the ice baths. He notes that the name of the business, Fire and Ice, is also the name of a contrast therapy they offer.
There are three rooms that have both an infrared sauna for two people as well as a cold plunge. Guests get in the sauna first and then take the cold plunge—and go back and forth. “Being in the hot and the cold really kind of creates a pliability where it’s kind of pulling and pushing on your muscles and skeletal regions that helps even more with loosening up your body and taking inflammation away,” McAlpine says.
McAlpine says that another option for newbies is to try something a bit warmer. “I go into literally freezing water, 32 degrees, for six to eight minutes, but you don’t have to do it that extreme,” he says. “It doesn’t have to be freezing; even in the mid-50s, you’re still going to get those benefits.”
A hydrotherapy circuit
For those hoping to try a warmer version of the ice bath, Spa Solage at Auberge Resort in Napa features several inviting pools. One is called the Cold Plunge. Robert Vance is the spa and wellness director at Spa Solage and says the Cold Plunge is a favorite.
As a native of Arizona, Vance isn’t fond of the cold. “Cold and I, we don’t get along very well,” he says. “I’m somebody who always wears like three or four layers. That being said, I thoroughly enjoy the Cold Plunge.”
They have five different pools for different types of hydrotherapy. There’s the Cold Plunge, which is about 50 to 55 degrees; a magnesium-rich pool that is between 95 and 98 degrees; and a large relaxation pool that’s about 98 degrees. Then there are two jetted pools—one with saline water between 100 and 102 degrees, the other a mineral pool at about the same temperature.
“For example, if you’re looking for more vitality, a recovery from a workout or recovery from travel, we’ll give you some ideas of how to best flow through the pools,” he says.
Spa Solage also has an infrared sauna and a steam room by the pools as well and those can be part of the circuit. “For example, with the body performance and vitality circuit, you first go into the infrared sauna to bring up your temperature,” Vance says. “Then you get into the vitality Cold Plunge pool for 30 seconds, then you get into the eucalyptus steam to bring up your temperature again and then get into the mineral jetted pool to kind of relax and bring your temperature to a more moderate state. Each has its different intention and we want to make it fun and playful.”
He says people see how long they can last in the cold pool and they challenge each other and root each other on. “So even though it’s a spa pool, sometimes there gets to be a little energy out there by the Cold Plunge.”
Go to https://aubergeresorts.com/solage/wellness/spa or https://fireandice.co for more information or to schedule a refreshing cold dip, visit fireandice.co and aubergeresorts.com/solage.
Cold therapies
Tips from the Mayo Clinic about cold water therapies after a workout:
- The water should be at least 50 degrees or colder.
- Research is still being done to determine the best process and timing for cold water therapies.
- Research shows that cold water therapies help reduce exercise-induced muscle damage, inflammation and soreness.
- Cold water results in rapid constriction of blood vessels that trigger responses in the body. It decreases metabolic activity, alterations in hormone production and blood flow as well as boosting the immune system.
- Depending upon the type of athletic endeavor, cold-water therapy after a workout may have differing effects. Athletes doing resistance training may find that it hinders gaining strength, muscle growth and performance. Endurance training has not shown to be hindered by cold water therapies.
- For those with cardiovascular disease or high blood pressure, it’s advised that you check with your primary care provider or cardiologist first.
- While jumping into a frozen lake is a form of cold-water therapy, it is advised to check the temperature first and to avoid bodies of water with a current where once can be swept under the ice.
- Ice baths can be done at home in your tub and there are tubs that can be purchased specifically for ice bathing.
