Today I did my first proper wild cold plunge… in Scotland… in actual snow. I’m not even going to pretend I was excited — I avoid the cold because I have Raynaud’s (my circulation in my hands and feet is not the vibe when it’s freezing), so I genuinely needed to be careful and properly prepared. Libby came through with a full kit list, so I packed the essentials (rucksack, clean clothes, big towel, snack… yes, a protein bar), plus my little “professional at being cold” hack: rolling my towel with clean clothes and a hot water bottle inside so everything’s warm when you get out. I also chatted through the science-y side of cold exposure: your blood vessels constrict in the cold and then dilate when you warm back up, which is where people argue some benefits come from. But real talk — I don’t regularly cold plunge because studies suggest frequent cold exposure can work against muscle growth (hypertrophy), especially if you’re doing it all the time. For me, the biggest win is mental: doing hard things on purpose. And I mainly did this to support Libby’s 14 dips in February to raise money for Cancer Research UK — she’s honestly so inspiring. We survived, but the cold wasn’t even the biggest obstacle… it was the rocks. Also: if you have tips for cleaning snowy, muddy trainers, please send help.