How to temper with cold water? How to start tempering at home


Hardening is a useful, pleasant, interesting and fashionable event aimed at increasing the body's resistance to adverse climatic influences. However, in order for hardening to fulfill its main task, it is necessary to strictly observe the basic rules of hardening. There are not so many of them, but each of them is very important!

To maintain human health is very large, but only on condition that it is the correct hardening, performed in accordance with the basic principles and rules. Otherwise, you can get the opposite result.

The first rule of hardening: a gradual increase in the intensity of the hardening effect.

The intensity of hardening procedures should increase at such a pace that it does not harm the body and at the same time be sufficient to obtain an immune response from the body. Insufficient loads reduce the effect of hardening, and excessive loads harm the body and prevent hardening, overloading the body and slowing down the training of the immune system.

So, when hardening with water, it is necessary to slowly, listening to your body, reduce the water temperature by 1-2 ° C to the norm corresponding to the age and condition of the person. This correspondence is very important, in particular, it differs to a large extent from the water hardening of adults. Yes, adults are different. In no case should beginners immediately wipe themselves with snow or plunge into an ice hole. Exactly like the aces of hardening, one should not move towards regression or stand still. As soon as the body ceases to give a reaction from the cardiovascular, respiratory and central nervous systems, it is necessary to increase the duration and intensity of tempering procedures.

The second hardening rule: regular performance of hardening procedures.

Hardening procedures must be performed throughout life, not interrupted even during minor illnesses and ailments.

Preference should be given to short but frequent exposure, rather than long and rare. The ideal option is to clearly fix the time of hardening procedures in the daily routine.

This is very important rule hardening, because even after regular procedures for a long time, only three to four weeks of rest are enough, and all the results will be lost. For children, just a 5-7-day break is enough.

If you have to interrupt hardening for the duration of the illness, then after recovery, the hardening procedures are resumed from the very beginning.

The third rule of hardening: obligatory accounting and control of individual parameters of the body.

It is important to take into account the state of human health at the time of the start of hardening procedures, the susceptibility and tolerance of hardening effects. Hardening is a strong effect on the body, and therefore, before proceeding with its implementation, it is necessary to consult a doctor, especially if there are any chronic diseases.

In hardening, self-control is the most important moment, it includes control of general well-being, pulse, body weight, appetite, sleep.

The fourth rule of hardening: multifactorial.

It is very important to use not one, but several hardening factors: heat, cold, light, water, etc.

The fifth rule of hardening: providing breaks between different hardening effects produced within one day.

Subsequent procedures can be carried out only after full recovery body parameters (temperature, pulse, etc.) that have changed as a result of previous exposure.

If you ignore the fundamental rules of hardening the body, then in best case this will lead to a waste of time, and at worst - to the development of a pathological condition.

The rules of hardening for children in their essence do not differ from the rules for hardening an adult. At the same time, the correct hardening of the child is especially important, because the child cannot always accurately describe his feelings, especially if it is an infant. And then it remains only to observe even more strictly the basic rules of hardening and personal hygiene.

Hardening is a system for performing certain thermoregulatory procedures aimed at developing the body's resistance to external changes environment. And one of the most famous hardening is hardening with water procedures. Hardening with cold water strengthens the immune system, raises vitality organism, increases resistance to colds and increases life expectancy in general.

How to start tempering?

In order to learn how to properly temper with cold water, you first need to determine the state of your body, your health. If you have never played sports, often get sick during the cold season, have heart problems or nervous system, you need to start tempering very carefully and slowly, after consulting with your doctor. Hardening is not a treatment for the body, but its training, and if your body is not prepared, you can only harm yourself. Since it is necessary to temper with water correctly, so as not to get sick, but, on the contrary, to increase the body's resistance, bad habits must be excluded. Alcohol and smoking, as well as in sports, are incompatible with hardening.

Before you properly begin to harden with cold water, you need to get a good night's sleep. The body must be full of strength and energy. If you feel unwell, feel weak and unwell, do not start hardening in this state, wait for a full recovery.

Start with a body rub wet towel in the morning. Make the temperature of the water with which you moisten the towel a little lower than you are comfortable with. A wet body can not be wiped, but allowed to dry itself. Do a couple of physical exercises to warm up the body and allow the water to evaporate faster from the body. There should be no drafts in the room. If the house is very cold, after wiping with a wet towel, dry the body. In the evenings, you should accustom yourself to the procedure of partial hardening, namely, lowering your legs into a basin of cold water. For the first time, draw water into the basin a little cooler than a comfortable temperature. You should not keep your feet in the water for a long time, you should not allow them to freeze. You should dip your feet into the water several times and hold for 5-6 seconds, then wipe dry with a towel and put on woolen socks. Wiping the body with a towel and hardening the legs should be done daily for 2-3 months, every 2-3 days to lower the temperature of the water. And only after your body can calmly tolerate cold water, you can proceed to the dousing procedure.

Let's move on to water

Dousing the body from a bucket should be started, again, not with cold water, but a little cooler than water that is comfortable for you.

After dousing, be sure to rub the body with a towel until the body feels “burning”. Before you properly begin to harden yourself by dousing, before going outside for this procedure, you must put on a coat or fur coat and be sure to wear shoes. Dousing is a very serious workout for your body. To pour over, gradually lowering the temperature of the water, you need at least six months or even a year every day. To move on to the next stage of hardening, your immunity must be strengthened, the body must adapt to a sharp change in temperature.

If you do not have the opportunity to pour yourself from a bucket, you can replace the dousing procedure with a contrast shower. A contrast shower is an alternation of cold and hot water. Just as in all procedures, accustom the body to cold water need gradually. It is not necessary to make hot water hot at first, the main thing is to accustom the body to cold jets of water. Mandatory after contrast shower wipe dry with a towel.

Swimming in open water

The most serious stage in the topic “how to properly temper with cold water” is swimming in ponds at any time of the year. If you have adapted your body daily for a year or more to strong temperature changes, then it's time to try the procedure of bathing in cold natural reservoirs. We repeat once again - before tempering with cold water, you need to determine your state of health, it is advisable to consult a doctor. In cold reservoirs in the early days, you should be no more than one minute, gradually increasing the time spent in the water. You need to swim every day, despite weather changes and cold snap. Max Time stay in the water in summer - 5 minutes, and in winter - no more than one minute. You should not give a strong load on the heart if you have just started the bathing procedure. After 2-3 years, you will be able to determine for yourself what kind of load your body can withstand while swimming.

In conclusion, it should be noted that hardening is a tested folk remedy strengthening the body, increasing immunity and human performance. Knowing how to properly temper with cold water is necessary for everyone who is not indifferent to their own health, well-being and beauty.

On our skin there is a huge number of so-called "cold receptors", irritating which you can affect the entire body. If you carry out tempering procedures correctly, you will help strengthen the immune system and improve thermoregulation (the body's ability to maintain constant temperature at various conditions external environment). In addition, hardening stimulates metabolic processes in your body, strengthens the nervous system, tones the heart and blood vessels, eliminates arrhythmia. Finally, hardening promotes weight loss, improves skin tone and gives the body a charge of vivacity.

To start - simple rules hardening of the body, which everyone should know about. If you decide to douse yourself with cold water (or choose other types of hardening - we'll talk about them below), keep in mind:

1. You can start tempering only when you are absolutely healthy.

Colds and viral diseases(for example, acute respiratory infections, SARS, influenza), festering wounds on the skin will have to be cured prior to the hardening procedures. Also, hardening of the body is contraindicated for those who suffer from increased eye pressure- with a temperature difference, the pressure can become even higher, which will provoke retinal detachment. Hypertensive patients, hypotensive patients and those who suffer from kidney diseases should consult a therapist before proceeding with the procedures. Ischemic disease hearts, heart failure, tachycardia - diseases in which hardening of the body is strictly prohibited.

2. Start hardening gradually to relieve the body of stress

If your body is not distinguished by good health, start strengthening it by yourself. in a simple way- accustom yourself to washing with cold water (do it gradually - let the water be at room temperature at first 20-22 ° C, then lower it by about a degree every day). Eventually, you'll get used to washing your face with cold tap water and be able to move on to the next step without negative consequences for the body.

3. Carry out hardening procedures regularly, systematically, without interruptions

If you have already decided, then temper yourself daily, in any weather and in any conditions. Even on a trip or hike, you must continue what you started, and what kind of procedure it will be - walking barefoot or wiping with a towel - decide for yourself. Keep in mind that hardening can cause a runny nose, but this is not a reason to stop the procedure. An exception may be temperature rise.

Varieties of hardening procedures

Let's put aside such extreme procedures as winter swimming and talk about procedures that are easy to perform and accessible to everyone.

1. Air baths

Air hardening should be started in a well-ventilated room at a temperature not lower than 15-16°C. At the initial stage, the session should last 3 minutes (over time, you will increase it to 5 minutes). After undressing, do some vigorous "warming" exercises (walking in place, squats, push-ups - whatever your heart desires). You can start taking baths in the open air after at least a month of such preparation.

If you start to harden now, then by the summer you will be able to switch to air baths on the street - it is recommended to start taking them at a temperature of 20-22 ° C. The first session - no more than 15 minutes (and only if you have prepared the body with winter home workouts), subsequent air baths can be longer (add 1-2 minutes every day).

In the cold season, sessions in the air (on the balcony, for example) can be carried out only after a year pre-training(start with 1 minute and gradually increase the “dose” up to 15 minutes).

2. Rubbing

Rubbing is useful for everyone who has no contraindications and - especially - violations of the skin. The procedure consists in vigorously rubbing the body with a towel dipped in water. Rub the neck, chest and back in succession with a wet towel for 2 minutes until redness and warmth, then pat them dry. Repeat the procedure with the hips and legs.

First moisten the towel with water, the temperature of which is 33-34°C, gradually (every 10 days) lowering the temperature by 5°C, so you bring it to 18-20°C. Having fixed the result within 2-3 months, you can proceed to lower the degree of water to cold - also once every 10 days, continue to lower it by 5 ° C.

3. Pouring

The easiest way for beginners is partial pouring. Best time for the procedure - morning. I recommend preparing water in the evening: take a bucket of cold tap water (it will warm up to room temperature overnight). In the morning, pour several times over your arms, legs and neck and rub them dry with a towel. After 2 weeks of daily dousing, you can start dousing the whole body.

With regard to temperature, the effectiveness of hardening increases as the contrast between body temperature and water temperature increases. Every 10 days, as with rubdowns, lower the water temperature by 5°C. Make sure that the air temperature in the room is not lower than 20 ° C - this way you will avoid hypothermia.

4. Contrast shower

The contrast effect of water strengthens the heart and blood vessels, starts metabolic processes in the body due to the rapid flow of blood to the organs. Without staying too long separate parts body, successively pour water from the shower over yourself all over. The simplest and most understandable scheme of the existing procedure, in my opinion, is this: 10-30 seconds - a hot shower, 10-30 seconds - a cold shower, repeat the cycle three times.

Start with 10 seconds, after 2 weeks increase the time to 20 seconds, after another 2 weeks - bring it to 30 seconds. Water temperature in the first 2-3 weeks: hot - 40-45°C, cold - 28-30°C. You can then lower the temperature of the cold water to 15-20°C.

5. Barefoot in the cold

Stop hardening is a method accessible to everyone. Pour water at room temperature (20-22 ° C) on the bottom of the bath, stand in it for 2-3 minutes and alternately step from foot to foot. Lower the water temperature by 1°C every 2-3 days. Gradually, you "reach" the temperature of cold water from the tap.

A nice bonus - this way of hardening the body not only improves immunity, but also serves as a prevention of flat feet and hyperhidrosis ( excessive sweating) stop.

How to temper properly and how to start tempering with water in general

Greetings friends! And little animals, and frogs, kids and old people, we harden a little, it won't hurt us.

Hardening is one of the simple ways to increase the body's resistance to colds such as ARI, influenza, tonsillitis and the most common runny nose.

I used to get sick quite often, especially in my youth, and this despite the fact that I was a very athletic guy. I studied at the same time in the football school and in the athletics section, plus my parents sent me to a music school (probably it was prestigious), although to be honest it’s not mine, but I can play the guitar. Often skipped school leaving for various competitions. And there were even prizes for athletics in the heptathlon.

So, I ran and jumped fast and far, but now I grabbed all sorts of viruses like acute respiratory infections and a cold with enviable regularity. This, of course, interfered with both a career in sports and in general. And unfortunately, no one really told me anything about what is needed and how totemper. If I heard from my parents or so where, then casually and not paying due attention, but in vain.

Summer ends, rains begin, dampness, then slush and cold. Of course, neither we nor our body likes it. We begin to "resent" and eat more garlic, onions, honey and other goodies and usefulness in order to strengthen and protect our body from these bad phenomena.

I'm pretty for a long time I did just that, but still two, or even all three times during the cold season, picking up acute respiratory infections, influenza or something else was the norm. As for the common cold, so he was my "best friend" all long winter never left or cheated on me.

Once I read an article in a newspaper about health, about such a method of dealing with colds as hardening and decided to try it. Let me just say, it helped a lot. Sometimes, of course, it happens to get sick, but now this is more the exception than the norm. Runny nose, "my faithful and devoted friend", began to "cheat" me, but that's his business.

But before you start hardening, there are a few things you need to know about what to do or not to do. Otherwise, instead of benefit, you can easily get what you want to protect yourself from.

Several simple tips and hardening methods according to the "big secret" - they will help much more effectively even than garlic and delicious honey, resist .

I will also add that hardening normalizes the state of the human nervous system. In simple words strengthens our emotional background, it helps us to be more balanced and restrained. And also, scientifically proven, increases efficiency and even lifts our mood. And this is absolutely true.

Several ways of hardening - how to harden with water:

And so: we harden the legs ,- we try to do every day. Before going to bed (an hour or two) we lower our legs into cool water, not ice for 5 min. After a month, you can use colder and further, after a period of time, completely ice water. This is what you need to do so that your body can adapt.

But I like it more, such a way as a contrast shower . This method of hardening not only strengthens the body, but thanks to the temperature difference it improves blood circulation, restores energy after a hard day, relaxes, but what else I noticed improves my hairstyle, or rather my hair (although I don’t have a lot of them, only do not think that a contrast shower is to blame for this, - well, my nature is like that).

I think this is due to the narrowing and expansion of blood vessels and plus good condition after such a shower. How to and where to start:

Remember always, the body adaptation is needed, so we start with a temperature that is comfortable for you:

We climb into the bath, turn on a warm shower and enjoy under it for 5-10 minutes - you should warm up if you are cold and relax.

Then we turn on hot water (but comfortable enough for you), we stand for 5-60 seconds.

And we repeat. It will look like this: cold-hot-cold-hot, etc. .

The first weeks you should not change the contrast more than twice, you can get sick. The water should also not be too cold or too hot. Take your time. You can gradually increase the time spent in cold and hot water from 5 seconds to 1 minute. More simply is not worth it - that will be enough. And also, over time, you can enhance the contrast using ice and hotter water, but it not to a wound than in 1,5 2 months. This is a very effective method of hardening.

Note : for people with a very weakened immune and nervous system it is not recommended to use ice water in the hardening process , cold will suffice.

And now I want to offer you a couple of simple and effective way how to harden yourself with water, if you are not at all accustomed to this:

This method was suggested to me by my friend, who is not only an expert in psychology, but also an athlete, knows firsthand about hardening. And so that your body passes the first and the most important part of adaptation, without any unpleasant consequences for ourselves, we do just such a simple procedure.

Every day, for a couple of weeks, we stick two or three fingers under a stream of ice water. A couple of minutes is enough. Your whole body will adjust itself and adapt to changes (to the cold). Why all? On the fingers, as well as the feet, is a large number of nerve endings and blood vessels associated with all organs of our body. Do this and then you can move on to more thorough methods.

Another very quick and easy (morning) way to harden before work, which I read on the Internet and decided to add to my article

How to harden properly in order to be healthy and not harm your body?

'Cause now so many people start to follow healthy lifestyle life from hardening, but, unfortunately, for many, this is where it all ends. The thing is that for an unprepared person, pouring cold water over or plunging into an ice hole means putting enormous stress on your body. Therefore, it is very important to know how to temper properly.

We all know from childhood that the sun, air and water are our best friends. These are our helpers! They help to strengthen our immunity and harden the body. Our ancestors knew that hardening is good for the body.

The most famous example is the experience Ancient Sparta. Already with infancy they began to harden boys, future warriors. From the age of 7 they were brought up in public houses in harsh conditions: they bathed in cold water, walked barefoot and in lightweight clothes in any weather.

AT ancient Russia hardening was also known to everyone. For example, a bath.

What is hardening?

Hardening is a system of procedures that are aimed at increasing protective properties organism, i.e. on the stimulation of its adaptive properties by various external factors such as cold and hot air, water, Atmosphere pressure, Sun rays, through a dosed and systematic effect on the body of these factors.

In simple termsyou make the body a little unpleasant by accustoming it to these troubles, that is, you make it flinch so that it becomes more active!

Yogis also said that hardening is the desire of the body to be part of nature. Therefore, hardening is a system and a way of life.

So, 5 fundamental principles on how to temper properly!

  1. Correct hardening, what is it?

Hardening is very important point for the health of the human body. But, as for any system, there must be preparation, the frequency of repetition of certain methods and their long-term use. Only then can any result be achieved.

This means that it is impossible to use the technique of dousing or winter swimming and some other types of cold exposure to water in order to human body strengthened. There must be a system, periodicity, duration, constancy. These are the main points that will work for a positive result.

It is also believed that the hardening system must work constantly for 2-3 months, so that a person begins to adequately respond to these factors.

You can start tempering at any time of the year and at any age. The main thing is to take into account the characteristics of your body. It can be a contrast shower, dousing, wiping, even a pool - this is also a kind of hardening.

The main thing is the temperature change.

Of course, it is much more effective if you start tempering from birth. Then it will become your way of life. You will get sick less, become more efficient and more successful.

After all, hardening is actually not a narrow focus on stimulating your thermoregulation system.Hardening is a fairly broad concept. This includes and balanced diet, and sports, and a long stay in the fresh air.

  1. Why you need to harden or the advantages of proper hardening!

Basically, the hardening system is the process of accustoming the body to respond to changes in heat and cold.

When you influence the body with various factors such as fever air, water, ultraviolet rays, you thereby activate many systems in the body that include adaptation mechanisms and this improves the functioning of the cardiovascular vascular system increases the elasticity of the vascular wall.

  • This means that the vascular wall is able to respond more adequately to the temperature difference, to maintain the level of sufficient blood supply in areas that are affected by cold or, conversely, high temperatures.
  • Your skin completely changes its condition. She improves not only peripheral blood supply (vessels work well), but also the subcutaneous fat layer changes its composition. That is, heat-resistant fats appear, the stratum corneum thickens, which is less susceptible to temperature changes.

In a word, there are a lot of processes that enable your body in difficult climatic conditions maintain a normal physiological level!

  1. The main types of hardening procedures

Today, there are quite a few options for hardening procedures.

And you need to start based on your own feelings and knowledge about the state of your body!

To begin with, I advise you to consult with your doctor to choose a specific technique for yourself. Because hardening includes not only dousing and a contrast shower. This includes hardening of individual, specific areas and systems of the body.

Consider the basic hardening procedures:

  1. Cold and hot shower. I myself practice it, and it seems to me the most convenient and easiest way to harden. It has a positive effect on blood vessels and the heart and also increases metabolic processes in the body. The scheme is quite simple: hot water- 10-30 sec., cold water-10-30 sec. And so repeat for 3-4 times. In the morning is great way cheer up and wake up quickly. Better than any coffee! 😉
  1. Rubbing. It is used mainly by those who do not have special contraindications (allergies, irritations). The essence of this method is the active rubbing of the body with a wet towel. First, the chest, neck and back are rubbed. This is done for 2 minutes until redness and a feeling of warmth appear. After that, you need to wipe dry. Then the same procedure must be repeated with the legs and hips. First, the towel is wetted in water with a temperature of 33-34 degrees and gradually this temperature must be lowered by 5 degrees. Gradually means every 10 days. 😉
  1. Pouring. It's also quite simple. I recommend starting with a partial douche. In the evening, you prepare water simply by drawing cold water from the tap, until morning it will warm up to room temperature. In the morning, pour over your hands, neck, legs, and then be sure to rub these places dry with a towel. After 2-3 months of regular dousing, you can already start dousing the whole body. As for the temperature, here, just like in wiping, you need to reduce it by 5 degrees, every 10 days. And the temperature in the room should not be lower than 20 to avoid hypothermia.
  1. Air baths. This method is recommended for beginners. For example, in the morning, during breakfast, try opening the window at first for 5-10 minutes, gradually increasing the time. Thus, you can walk up to 2 hours.
  1. Stop hardening. This method is great for those who often get the flu. First, dip your feet in cool water for 3-5 minutes. It is best to start with water at a temperature of 35-36 degrees, while lowering the temperature every two days by 1-2 degrees. Thus, in 2-3 months you will already have ice water.


In general, it is believed that hardening is more effective if you start with the feet (especially for children). Even walking barefoot is also a hardening method. Pediatricians even recommend that children who have kidney pathologies, tonsils, walk barefoot on the floor at home. And when the warm period comes - to walk barefoot on the grass, on the pebbles, on the warm sand.

  1. Another way to harden is to gargle with chilled water. You need to start with water at room temperature, then gradually lower the temperature of the water by one degree. Thus, it is possible to do prevention inflammatory diseases tonsils. Very effective for those who suffer from chronic tonsillitis, chronic tonsillitis.

I do not recommend immediately starting with a contrast shower, you need to take into account the characteristics of your body. If you still decide to start with a contrast shower, then do not immediately climb under ice water, and then under boiling water. Start with cool and warm water, do everything gradually!

Any contrast between warm and more low temperatures always gives a stimulating effect because it instantly affects vascular wall and it immediately starts working.

  1. The principle of all hardening procedures

In hardening, systematic and dosage is important. You need to know clearly that if you choose a hardening method like winter swimming, then you need to start with water procedures. And the first thing to do is wiping and rubbing after water procedures. You need to clearly remember that your body gets a lot of stress from swimming in cold water. And before diving into an ice hole with cold water, I advise you to soberly assess your capabilities.

  1. Contraindications.

Hardening procedures are strictly prohibited:

  • who have diseases of the cardiovascular system (hypertension, people who have had a myocardial infarction, people suffering from heart rhythm disturbances)
  • The same applies to children suffering bronchial asthma, severe heart defects and, in general, heart defects.

How to temper properly- this is exactly the question that every person who wants to be healthy and successful should ask himself. Since hardening is a great way to increase immunity and performance. Therefore, there is no doubt about the benefits of hardening. The main thing is to know how to temper properly.

I wish you health, and that hardening will bring you only health, joy and uplift of spirit! 🙂

Sincerely, your friend, Alisa Pukhalskaya.