5 posts

Adaptation

Cold shock, cold settle, heat strain: the measures that change as you get used to it.

1. Cold shock: the jump on entry, and how fast it fades After six three-minute immersions at 15 °C, heart rate in the first 30 seconds at 10 °C fell from 128 to 109 bpm, and was still lower a year later.
2. Cold settle: how long the first surge takes to pass Seconds from the peak in the first 45 seconds until your heart rate is halfway down to where it sits at minutes two to three. Lower is quicker.
3. Heat strain: the same sauna, five minutes in, month after month Your heart rate above resting at minute five of the first heat round. It falls as you adapt, and it only compares rounds at the same heat.
4. The heat adaptation model, and why it tells you to distrust it Each day of heat adds a quarter of what is left to gain, and it fades 2.3% a day after three days off. Contrast's own model, checked against your heart rate.
5. Then and now: your first three rounds against your latest three Every adaptation measure in Contrast compares three early rounds with three recent ones. Three is a compromise, and it is worth knowing which way it errs.