The following post was originally published on January 7, 2017. More than five years later, it has no likes, and only four comments, two of which are mine.
Despite those anemic numbers, it has always been one of my favorite posts. I told myself that if I ever started reblogging some of my previous posts, this would be one of the firsts, and so here we are.
I hope you enjoy it…
I was doing my required daily reading at the website “The Art of Manliness” (I’ve still got a lot of reading to do), and I came across an article that talks about how James Bond would take a shower. He would start off with the water nice and hot, and then turn it down to cold for the last few minutes. This type of shower is known as a Scottish Shower.
It’s articles like this that make the Art of Manliness my go-to website.
The article provides some historical background on Scottish Showers and some of the alleged benefits of such a shower. Here’s one line from the article:
The Spartans, hard-asses that they were, felt hot water was for the weak and unmanly.
Well, what guy doesn’t want to be Spartan-like? And what guy wants to think of themselves as weak and unmanly?
So the very next day I started taking Scottish showers.
It’s been a week now, and I thought I would share some of the benefits I’ve noticed during that time.
- I feel a lot more confident. I was on an elevator the other day with a bunch of guys and I felt like I could body slam every one of them if I wanted to, since I knew I was the only guy on the elevator that probably had taken a Scottish Shower.
- I’ve caught multiple women stealing glances at me on the train, which I’ve never experienced before.
- My bench press doubled from 30 pounds to 60 pounds.
- I’ve noticed people stepping aside to make room for me as I walked down the sidewalk.
- I’ve started dropping the f-bomb a lot more, and I don’t care who’s within hearing range.
- I just signed up for the NFL playoff package and the NBA and NHL season packages.
- From scratch, I grew a full beard that would make a lumberjack jealous.
- Out of the blue, I drove down to Atlantic City and played no-limit poker for six hours. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I didn’t care. I knew I could body slam every guy at the table if it came to that.
In other words, the Scottish Showers were making me more manly!
But as much as I’ve enjoyed these benefits, I’m not sure I will keep using this type of shower.
Can you imagine what I would be like after a month?
I might want to become an Accountant…
By the way, the Art of Manliness seems to have quite an engaged audience. The article about Scottish Showers has 199 comments. Here are a selected few people sharing their experiences with a Scottish Shower:
- I just start right out with the cold water and jump in. No starting with hot. In my opinion, this is even more “manly.”
- I do it every morning, no hot to cold bullshit – just straight-up cold showers
- You’ll notice that it kinda HURTS to rub your skin vigorously when it is being doused with very cold water. this is a great thing if you are trying to build up your pain tolerance and overall toughness.
- The ritual of taking a cold shower will show you the facets you are truly made up of and will very quickly and noticeably develop your willpower and discipline (if self-mastery is what you are into)
- I believe that in actuality, exposing yourself to colder temperatures and inclement weather toughens you up, boosts your immune system, and generally makes you more hardy.
- He (Hugh Jackman) got up early one morning and got into the shower and was hit with bone-chilling, Toronto-in-Winter water (no hot water). He said the rage he felt made him think that this was what it was like to be Wolverine and he found it got him pumped for his morning workout and has been doing it ever since.
- As for those who question the scientific evidence, I say grow a pair and turn the knob!
- It also keeps a shower beer a lot colder than a hot shower, and who doesn’t enjoy a nice beer in the shower?
- I’m going to man up and go to full-on cold showers w/ no hot water whatever.
- My granddad has taken cold showers all his life and he is so healthy and strong
- It also helps me to recover from strenuous exercise (of the old-fashioned manly variety with very heavy weights)
- Oh, and I’m a woman – does this now make me an honorary ‘manliness man’? 😉
- Gives you a great virile, hard, tight body.
- Ever since I have been taking cold showers over the past month I feel like a NEW MAN.
Now we are back to the present, and I have to admit I have not taken a Scottish Shower in over five years.
Maybe after reading this, I should get back into the routine. I could probably use a little manning-up.
*image from LifeHack
Okay, my husband has been practicing this “Scottish Shower” thing the last month and he’s been boasting about it every time… “Look, babe, you can’t do this I bet!” lol… little did I know that’s what it’s called and he probably saw it on YouTube Shorts or Reddit one day lol… I told him I’ve done it before (not by choice), I couldn’t figure out how to turn the water to “warm/hot” during an outdoor shower fiasco at a cottage lol… so I chose a cold shower rather than NOT to shower at all!
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Your husband must becoming more manly 🙂
and that is a tough choice -a cold shower or no shower, but I think I would go with the cold shower – a very quick one…
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🤣🤣 love this! Oh the great benefits of a Scottish shower 🤣 I will try it out in the morning and let you know if it made me feel like a womanly woman 😁😁
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I hope it worked for you! 🙂
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Well Jim to be quiet honest, I chickened out. Hahaha 😂
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most likely, a wise move 🙂
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I tried it. I froze my balls off. Now I am no longer a man.
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😶🤚!
I have to get to bed before …”smacking my head”.. again. You got too many in the last 10 minutes!
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😄
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Pfffft!
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👍
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that was a classic line!
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LOL.
I wonder if you do a reverse Scottish Shower if it will reverse the damage…
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If you mean take a scalding hot shower, then I’ll have to admit that I’m getting a little tired of following your suggestions.
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but they build character…
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I suspect they’ll build me into a drip.
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we’ve all got our role to play, even drips…
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I guess even drips are needed. One drip at a time.
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and soon enough, there’s a whole bucketful of drips…
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But when considering the ocean of others, they pail in comparison.
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perhaps they need to spend some time in the sun to work on their complexion.
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I have never been more happier and content to be a woman! My shower’s are hot and refreshing, you can have all the cold water you want, and the “benefits” that come with it. 🙂
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some of the benefits are gender neutral 🙂
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Quote from Jim Borden: “I started taking Scottish Showers, but all of the other professors in the business department wanted to know why enrollment numbers were going off the charts, rivaling my WordPress stats.”
I worked at a summer camp for boys one year. One of the camp traditions was to jump into the freezing river as soon as we got up in the morning. These dips were called “polar bears.” Somewhere in that experience, I decided I would never take a cold shower again. After all, as the great philosopher George Costanza said, “Shrinkage.” 🤣
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maybe more teachers should start taking Scottish showers 🙂
and I have no interest in taking a 100% cold shower, for a variety of reasons, one of which you mention 🙂
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I’ve done this for years because I read it would tame the frizzy locks on my head & be good for my skin, never knew it was called a Scottish shower though (& I was born 9 miles away from the Scottish border).
I find I get the same level of invigoration when I jump in a cool pool in summer. Mid jump I’d give anything to take it back, but once I hit that cold water I feel like I could take on the world, grrrrrr!
Apparently Ice Man Wim Hoff is taking it to the next level, but I’ll stick with the shower & occasional swim.
I’m all woman though definitely no womanlier (or manlier for that matter).
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great way of describing that last second sense of regret! I don’t think I could take a cold plunge like that, but one of my sons loves to do so. I’d be worried about a heart attack…
I hope the cold water controlled your frizzy locks and helped your skin!
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I always end my shower with cold water!
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you’ve got something in common with James Bond!
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Some say that golden showers are manly….🤣
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you had to go there 🙂
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My juvenile sense of humor couldn’t resist.😉
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it’s my favorite type of humor!
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It interests me to that Spartans regards cold bath as a form of manliness cos I have always taken cold 🥶 bath
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I can’t imagine taking a cold bath – you are more manly than me!
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I took this to the natural next level and have forgone bathing for a month. I am not sure it makes me manly enough to body slam fellow elevators riders, as now no one will get in the elevator with me…🤣
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it’s a clever way to get the elevator all to yourself 🙂
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I want to assume the Art of Manliness is satire, but probably not, right? When I biked across country, at community parks I always took cold showers rather than insert four quarters for five minutes of hot water. Manly? More like cheap.
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I am guessing there might be a little tongue-in-cheek aspect to the art of manliness web site, but just a little.
I think I would have given up lunch so that I could have a hot shower!
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not into pain by choice and purposely inflicting it upon myself, and I happily offer my cold water to all of you. rather than practice the Scottish shower, I love to practice the Irish goodbye. )
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your choice of using hot water does seem to be the wiser one. and I know you are a fellow fan of the Irish Goodbye!
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This whole phenomenon probably started because the Scots, known for pinching their pennies,didn’t want to pay for the hot water. Just saying, it probably has more to do with being stubbornly cheap than being manly.
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maybe that means that part of being a man is being cheap 🙂
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Unfortunately, I read instead of pinching pennies, pinching something else that is somewhat similarly spelled. I am still laughing.
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you’re laughing; I’d be crying… 🙂
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Now that is funny… except if you’re manly.
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my thoughts exactly!
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Thanks for the laugh and insights Jim. Being Scottish I am well aware of the showers. It does a woman good as well 🤣
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it’s good to know there is no gender bias with the Scottish Shower! 🙂
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Have you watched the movie Brave? There she is 💪🏻👩🏼🦰🔥
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I have not see that movie. I just checked and saw that it is from Pixar, so I am sure it is a good one!
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I guess that if you take a Scottish Shower one of the benefits is knowing that you won’t have a problem if the wind lifts your kilt, as there’ll be nothing to see…
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😂 very funny, Clive
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I like to treat Jim’s blog with the respect it deserves, Robbie 😉
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but at least there was no poop emoji… 🙂
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I did consider it, but it would have been a little harsh 😊
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but as a man, especialy after my Scottish shower, I would have just laughed it off. And then do 50 pushups…
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As long as you used your hands…
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you are on fire today! 🙂
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Some might say I’m full of 💩, as usual 😉
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Haha, Clive.
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he’s a funny guy 🙂
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you can always count on Clive!
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I can always count on you to get right to the heart of the matter, and to make me laugh! 🙂
By the way, I don’t think you will ever see me in a kilt…
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It seemed worth pointing out.
And for that relief, much thanks 🤣
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yes, I am sure everyone is relived to know that I won’t wear a kilt; especially my wife…
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And she should know 🤣
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🙂
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It read this article with great interest, Jim, and after careful consideration I’ve decided that I prefer being a privileged softie who takes lovely hot BATHS. 😂
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My wife is exactly the same way; she loves her baths. She seems to enjoy her baths more than I enjoy my Scottish Showers!
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“I just signed up for the NFL playoff package and the NBA and NHL season packages.” – The Scottish impact is clearly real.
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and expensive 🙂
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You sure got a lot more popular in five years! I do the Scottish Shower only on the hottest days of summer.
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is that when you want to be at your manliest?
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I just crave cold water, be it shower or lake, on the dog days of August.
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I can handle cool water; cold, not so much…
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As a guaranteed, nae nonsense, deep fried Scottish bloke, i can confirm i take a foaming bath with plenty bubbles every week, whether i need one or not. Cheers!
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I was hoping you would comment Peter. Good to know that foaming baths are still OK for us blokes… 🙂
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😀 ha ha. Nice fluffy towels crucial too. Cheers jamesy
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ahhh. yes. I forgot about the fluffy towels…
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I occasionally take Scottish showers when I wash my hair because I heard it’s good for your hair but I don’t know if that’s just my sister messing with me…
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sisters do like to pull pranks on each other 🙂
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Mine just enjoys torturing me 🙂
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it’s a fine line 🙂
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I thought that this was like a baby shower, except your friends all come over and bring you Scotch as presents (instead of babies).
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now that sounds like a manly type of shower…
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In the summer, I sometimes turn the water down cool at the end of a shower so I don’t get out and immediately start sweating. But I am trying to maintain cleanliness rather than manliness. I am about as manly as I need to be at this point in my life.
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I’ve always said, cleanliness before manliness…
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Insightful throwback! This post is actually about “something,” but cold showers aren’t my answer to a manly experience. Jumping on my old exercise bike is 20 minutes of manly bliss.
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I don’t know how people take a 100% cold shower. and I am also a fan of using my old stationary bike…
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Real Men go swimming in the ocean in winter at sunrise… salt is cleanses better than soap as well.
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dang… I guess I’ll never be a real man…
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I met a man on the beach in the middle of winter who just came out of the water and he does it year round, every day. He may have been Scottish and he looked manly and healthy. I am on my way to the shower, so I may try it. Already doing something similar for my hair.
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I should clarify that my hair is a mess. Jane Goodall style…
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we all have our crosses to bear 🙂
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I’m Jewish lol
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just another in a long line of faux pas 🙂
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I admire someone who is able to do that; I would have zero interest. Even if it means being less manly 🙂
and good luck with your hair!
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Absolutely loved your Bench Press stats. Too funny.
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This was hilarious!!
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thanks, Jennie. It was fun to write…
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And equally fun to read!
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👍
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Good to see you’ve got a few more likes and comments this time round. 🙂
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what a difference five years can make 🙂
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Maybe comments increase like grey hairs, eh? Not meaning that you have any, of course.
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maybe more grey hairs causes more comments. if that’s the case, I’m happy to have lots of grey hair 🙂
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🙂
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Lol Jim, seems you made up for lack of comments from 2017 now well over 100 I see. Probably this could have been your beginning of blogging before people who now follow you had yet to understand your sense of humor? 🙂
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I think back then I probably had less than 100 followers. And most people don’t get my sense of humor 🙂
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But look at you now. 🙂
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do I have to? 🙂
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🙂 🙂
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👍
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