County Derry man to take on mammoth 40 minute ice bath challenge

A County Derry gym owner is set to push himself to the limit this weekend by submerging himself in an ice bath for 40 minutes in an effort to raise more awareness of mental health and the work a local men's shed carries out.

Conor Lynch of Focus Gym in Dungiven will take the plunge this Saturday (December 18) and says its 'the biggest challenge' he has ever taken on.

The 34 year-old is no stranger to ice baths, having taken his first one when he was just 12 years-old while racing go-karts competitively.

However, 20 minutes has been the longest stint he has managed so far.

Now Conor hopes to double that time and in turn raise vital funds for the local men's shed in Dungiven which was established in September.

“This is a massive challenge - one of the hardest challenges of my life but I want to prove it can be done because the only place it can't be done is in your mind,” said Conor.

“It's the same when someone says they can't start the gym or they can't go for a walk every day - you can do it, you just need to take action and believe in yourself.”

The challenge, which will be held at Conor's newly-opened hot and cold retreat called Valhalla, beside the gym, will see over 60kg of ice bringing the water temperature down below an icy one degrees celsius.

Over the last number of months, the Dungiven man has taken on intense training in preparation for the mammoth challenge.

“I've been doing a lot of breath work, cold showers and cold baths every day now for months. The longest I've done at this temperature – 0.5 degrees - was 20 minutes and to be honest I thought at that time that was the limit,” he said.

“This is dangerous and I'm very aware of the dangers but I have a good crew and coaches that I work with. Also, my nutrition has to be on point for this challenge and I'm excited to take this on.”

Conor says hot and cold therapy provides many health benefits and is something he incorporates into his daily life.

“It is something I do every day as a challenge,” he continued.

“To be able to get into a cold shower or a cold bath daily recharges and elevates my energy. Taking control of the shock of the water through the breath and being able to stay in control of my breath and mindset throughout the cold therapy builds resilience to anything in life. It's the same feeling when you do a workout in the gym. It gives you a feeling of being alive.”

Conor admits that his desire to help others is ultimately what drove him on to take on the challenge. 

“I have decided to raise awareness for mental health as mental health is everything for men and women.

“We all have our good days but it's when we are not having a good day that we need tools, we need support. Tools being the hot and cold therapy, the gym, going for a hike up a mountain or breath work. I help and support our community with all these tools. This gives people somewhere to go and be a part of something. People need people, they need support and I believe most of all they need community so they are a part of something bigger. I have seen over the years what my coaching programmes do for my clients and it makes me push harder every day to keep doing what I'm doing.

“Mental health is everything and what we do is give people the headspace they need and our clients and members know how important these tools are to them. 

“I am like anyone else - I have challenging days. I'm lucky to have a lot of clients and have thousands of conversations over the years with people about their mental health and my own.

“I'm a massive believer in keep pushing forward no matter the battle in your head and this is where I use the tools in my life. I look after my own mental health with these tools. I also have an amazing family, my kids and wife are my support network and are here for me every day. I have struggled days, some days deeper than others, but I'm grateful that I have and understand the power of the mind and I want to use it to help as many as I can while looking after me also.

“We need to use the tools around us to overcome what's going on in our head. 

“This challenge starts in your mind and finishes in your mind the same as most of the negative thoughts that go on in our life - they start and end in our mind. If we can change our thought process, we can change our lives.”

Conor hopes people will turn out on the day to show their support and help raise vital funds for the local men's shed, which he says is 'invaluable' to the local community.

“I believe the community need people and places to go to, even for a chat to keep the mind busy so I'm excited to raise funds for the men's shed and help them continue supporting the men of the community.”

The event starts at 11am on Saturday (December 18) at Valhalla and people are invited to come along and join in on the cold baths or showers.

For those who can't make it on the day, online donations can be made here