Chilling new trend sweeps Sydney’s west
IT’S called cryotherapy. You sit in a tub. Put on robe and soft, Ugg boot-style moonboots. Air temperature drops to -140C and the weight falls off you. WATCH THE VIDEO.
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AS THE cryosauna door opened and a wisp of hyper-cooled air wafted out, all I could think was the air temperature would soon drop to -140C.
I entered the chamber trepidatiously, wearing a provided robe and soft Ugg boot-style moonboots (long knee-length socks my own) thinking of colleagues telling me worriedly I might catch pneumonia as the cloudlike liquid nitrogen started floating around me.
But there was no way of getting out of this now.
I’d already agreed to stand inside for three minutes — literally freezing my arse off.
“It burns 800 calories in three minutes,” Peter Watson later said of the whole-body cryotherapy service offered at his new Penrith business, CryoFitness.
“Your body goes into survival mode because it’s in such extreme temperatures (which) pushes the blood to the core ... it’s protecting the vital organs.
“You fluctuated between minus 130 and minus 145 degrees Celsius, and used 15 Litres of liquid nitrogen.”
Mr Watson said he first experienced cryotherapy at a South Sydney Rabbitohs session and while he’d never jump into an ice pool, he loved this.
“I registered the name two years ago, then the stars aligned,” he said, making reference to his friend Muay Thai kickboxing champion Jason Lapin’s decision to open Zoo Fitness at Penrith, within which CryoFitness has been housed for a little over a week.
“We were out to dinner one night and we got to talking about different services he’d offer here.”
News of the new studio has quickly spread.
Mr Watson said The Biggest Loser trainer Shannan Ponton and the new Real Housewives of Sydney stars have already expressed a desire to try the technology.
“This is a first for NSW,” Mr Watson, a Penrith-born and bred entrepreneur with a background in web development and search engine optimisation, said.
Aside from weight loss, the service has many other benefits, including anti-ageing and cell rejuvenation, he said.
“It’s just exploding in America (particularly) with the UFC,” Mr Watson said.
“It gets awesome results for muscle soreness (and is popular with) people with niggling injuries, and athletes trying to make weight. It’s also good for people with sleeping problems.
“We had a woman in with a sciatic nerve issue who said she felt immediate relief.
“And we had one young guy come ... his two vertebrae had been fused. He couldn’t stop grinning when he came out (of the chamber).”
While the anti-inflammatory benefits of icing are accepted by medical experts, there is little mainstream research to support whole body cryotherapy weight loss claims.
“In terms of weight loss, I’ve seen no evidence whatsoever,” Australian Medical Association vice-president Tony Bartone told the Penrith Press.
“In terms of sports injuries, ice does play a significant role in remedial repair after injury. But in terms of ice blasts to the body, there’s nothing to suggest it should become part of mainstream treatment.”
THE COLD FACTS
■ CryoFitness at 15/241 Mulgoa Rd, Penrith (inside Zoo Fitness) is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm and by appointment
■ Details: CryoFitness.com.au
■ Whole body cryotherapy was originally developed in Japan in 1978, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis
■ The treatment is suitable for people aged over 16 and is not recommended for people who are: pregnant, under the influence of drugs/alcohol, have major cardiovascular/pulmonary and circulatory problems, a history of seizures, or severe anaemia
Originally published as Chilling new trend sweeps Sydney’s west