So how do the polar bear club type swimmers handle the gasp reflex? You see film clips every winter of these folks in skimpy swim suits jumping into icy lakes and at least pretending to enjoy the experience. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> So how do the polar bear club type swimmers handle the gasp reflex? You > see film clips every winter of these folks in skimpy swim suits jumping > into icy lakes and at least pretending to enjoy the experience. If you fill your lungs to maximum capacity, the reflex is basically rendered irrelevant; I've done this a couple times practicing rolls in cold water. I still *feel* the gasp; but because my chest is already expanded to its physical limit, no water gets breathed in. Doesn't stop the icecream headache though..... Richard Walker Conroe, TX http://people.txucom.net/~rwwamtek/kayak_log.html *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
>> > So how do the polar bear club type swimmers handle the gasp reflex? You > see film clips every winter of these folks in skimpy swim suits jumping > into icy lakes and at least pretending to enjoy the experience. If you fill your lungs to maximum capacity, the reflex is basically rendered irrelevant; I've done this a couple times practicing rolls in cold water. I still *feel* the gasp; but because my chest is already expanded to its physical limit, no water gets breathed in. Doesn't stop the icecream headache though..... Richard Walker >> I've never felt either the gasp reflex or an ice cream headache, and I'm one of those people who has submerged myself in a hole in the ice after a sauna, and rolled my kayak in 34-degree water (ice floating in the Mississippi River on New Year's Day). Of course, I've never done the latter without a drysuit, and I usually wear a hood, but I have tested myself without the hood in 38-degree water a couple of times. So while I accept that the gasp reflex is real, I do not accept that it is inevitable. I think mental and physical preparation can have a significant impact on its likelihood. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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