Today we were at the new spa: Regen, for a trendy cold plunge session. Previously you could only enjoy the benefits of over heating yourself then cooling down with cold temperatures at select spas that required travelling out to. However, now they are more popular and more accessible within the heart of the city.
Tucked within the courtyard of several high rises, on the second floor with no directional signs it is hard to find. This is a stunning space, however, if you didn’t already know about it, you wouldn’t know to go.
Opened in June they were still installing and making a few cosmetic changes when we visited in late July. We began with a tour of the entire complex. Vaulted ceilings and concrete walls, ample space given to pass through the foyer and hallways, offering guest a tranquil and peaceful experience.
Starting with the lounge and their help yourself tea and coffee station. You could sit and enjoy your beverage while appreciating their dried flower displays that included tennis balls.
Adjacent, they offered IV drop treatments to help hydrate, cure hangovers, as well as provide anti aging benefits. All within its own dedicated lounge. This is only available on Sundays, where a trained nurse administers the service.
The following are the other services they offer, each with its own dedicated room. The hyperbaric oxygen chamber is a specialized, airtight room where patients breathe 100% oxygen at a pressure higher than normal atmospheric pressure. This too offers anti-aging benefits in 60-90 minute stints.
The Red Light treatment was like a tanning bed, where light waves super charge mitochondria to help heal the cells 20 minutes at a time. It is said to help aid in muscle injury repair and serve as an anti-inflammatory measure.
They also provide physio and RMT services with direct billing.
We were most intrigued with the Dexa scans, which is a body composition scan. This scanner is operated with less radiation than your typical airport scanner, providing low does of x-rays to report on muscle and fat mass, plus bone density. These reports are printed out, and offer information like where all the above is being stored in your body. This provides a good baseline of your fitness, and is especially helpful for aging bodies like mine. With these results, the Regen staff create/ an exercise and diet plan to help you improve any areas of concern.
The scan takes 7 minutes and provides 10-15 pages worth of information. Each session is approximately 45 minutes long, to have enough time to go over the results. This definitely peaked my interested, so much so that I have already booked a return trip to under go the scan; so will report on that in a subsequent post. And maybe try a few of the other services I didn’t get to today, as well.
Although distracting and tempting, we were here for the cold plunge so stuck to task. They have two 1-2 person rooms available for rental, and one 3-4 person room, which we would be using today.
Each of these rooms has a sauna box and cold plunge tub, tea and coffee station, shower with products, fresh towels, changing curtain stall, and lounge chairs to relax on.
You are given 60-90 minutes to enjoy the room as you please. It is recommended that you start off in the sauna sweating to its dry heat. Depending on who you ask, there is a set amount of time you sit and bake, increasing your heart rate and opening pores.
This increased body temperature is the perfect segue into the cold plunge. We were given the option of making things colder with ice; but this was plenty frigid for us as beginners. We didn’t last long with the prickle of the cold giving us pins and needles from feet, climbing up to the thighs.
It is recommended that beginners start with 30 seconds up to 1 minute plunges and work up to 5-10 minute stints. I lasted 15 seconds on my first run from toes to mid torso. My longest was 45 seconds, with hands and feet out of the cold. This is definitely something you have to build up to and build a tolerance for.
Hot and cold, in and out, in a clean and peaceful arena, ideal for quality time and girl talk.
Cold plunge or cold water immersion can help reduce muscle soreness and inflammation. It offers improved recovery after exercise, and enhanced mental well-being. It may also boost the immune system, improve mood, and increase resilience.
During this visit, I also got a chance to zip up in their Compression Boots. These thigh high, zip up boot to leggings offer a range of benefits, primarily focused on enhancing muscle recovery and circulation.
You enjoy their lounge chairs while the boots expand and contract, constricting with padded air to reduce muscle soreness, inflammation, and swelling, while also improving blood flow and lymphatic drainage. This can lead to faster recovery times, increased flexibility, and even potentially prevent injuries for athletes and active individuals.
In short, this was a great experience and I will be back to report on more of their services in the near future.
Regen Recovery
1433 Cedar Cottage Mews, Vancouver, BC V5N 2R5
(604) 336-8141
regen-recovery.ca
