Limitless (2022): Season 1, Episode 2 - Shock - full transcript
Chris heads to the icy Arctic in his search for health and longevity.
What we thought we’d do Chris, is
just talk you through the plan,
so you’ve got a rough idea as
to what you’re getting into.
So, the main risk is really that
the longer you spend in the water,
the risk goes up exponentially. If
you push yourself beyond the point
at which you should be coming out,
there is a real risk you could die.
Yup.
As you can tell,
the safety team have one or two
concerns about what I’m about to do.
So do I.
Right, this is where
we switch it on now, okay?
Somehow, I’ve been talked
into an open water swim...
Good.
in the Arctic.
Impose your
will on the sea.
Two minutes! Two minutes!
And if there’s one
thing I really, really hate...
it’s the cold.
Why am I doing this? Why am I doing
this? Why am I doing this?
- Special change of scenery.
- Epic surroundings.
I'll say, there's no mangoes
falling off the trees here!
Yeah.
As part of my mission to live longer,
I’ve traded the warmth of Australia
for the frozen north.
And along for the ride,
I’ve got these jokers.
My younger brother Liam,
and my older brother Luke.
When I invited them to
hang out at the beach,
not quite sure this
is what they imagined.
Feather that clutch, mate.
Dude, I can’t feel the floor.
These boots are a bit thick.
We’ve let the worst
driver of all drive us.
- Why is Chris driving, mate?
- Are you kidding?
I’m the best driver ever, dude.
We’re here with a man who says
extreme temperatures are actually
gonna be good for me. Sports
scientist, Ross Edgley.
I mean, it doesn’t get much
better than this really, does it?
I mean, as a training
ground, as a sports lab...
I'm in my element.
I don't know how
comfortable I am with that!
Ross Edgley is one of the
fittest humans on the planet.
The kind of guy who
takes everything to the limit.
He's the only person in the world
to swim all the way around Great Britain.
And he did it in
157 days straight.
But then he
takes it even further...
...you know, with,
like, swimming in ice-cold water.
I believe we humans only really
thrive in the face of adversity.
You find out about your physiology,
you find out about your mentality...
and there are now theories that subjecting
your body to extreme temperatures
could even help you live longer.
And that is why I signed
up for this Arctic adventure.
Ross might love the cold,
but I'm more like Goldilocks.
Not too hot, not too cold, I'm
happiest right in the middle.
And you’d think that staying
in a comfortable temperature
is also the best way to keep
healthy for the long haul.
But new science says embracing
extreme cold, and extreme heat...
could force your body to
upgrade its defenses...
and power up its microscopic
repair systems...
which could cut the risks of disease,
and maybe add years to your life.
So, it’s time for some
serious shock therapy.
After three days of training,
Chris will attempt a cold-water swim
that's going to test his
body to the absolute limit.
Two hundred and fifty yards across
a bone-chilling Arctic Fjord,
wearing nothing but
swimming trunks and a smile.
If he can endure that, then maybe he
could fall in love with the cold...
and make it part of his life.
So, how’s your Australian
physiology coping with this?
It's in complete shock right now.
My ears are about to snap off.
They’re like little icicles
and I’m a little concerned.
This is the plunge.
Yeah.
And I want you to basically get
down to your trunks, get in,
and I just want you to experience
the cold at its rawest form.
- Yeah.
- Think of it almost like a baptism.
That’s what we’re doing.
Because you need to understand
what's going on
inside the body. So...
Oh, it knows it's gonna
freeze in a second, yeah.
- Yes. Yeah. This is it.
- Yeah.
This is it. No, no, no. But it's
gonna be a shock to the body.
I’m not gonna lie.
- Yeah.
- I’m gonna be so honest with you.
To prepare for the swim,
the first step is subjecting
Chris to full immersion.
The problem is that cold water triggers
some really powerful survival mechanisms.
But if you’re training for an ice
swim, they actually work against you.
I need Chris to understand
what those reactions feel like,
and then start to tame them.
One of the first things
that we're gonna experience
is this gasp reflex.
The body's basically just going...
Is exactly it. You wanna gasp,
perfectly normal. That is...
- It’s just self-preservation.
- Mm-hmm. Perfectly normal.
- Yeah. Once we start the timer...
- Yeah. Yeah.
Once we’re in, make no mistake,
we basically started the
timer on hypothermia,
and to put it bluntly,
consciousness and dying.
And saying, "goodbye,
life." Yeah. All right.
Oh, yeah. Here we go!
Before we let Chris
loose in open water,
I want to see if he can get
through the initial shock
and tough it out for at least a
couple of minutes here in the harbor.
Do I reckon this warm-blooded
Aussie can do it? I don't know.
Oh, yes, this is a great idea!
- Here we go.
- Follow my lead.
All right.
- That's it. Breathe, breathe.
- Oh, boy.
- Good. Good. Really good.
- Whoo!
- Breathe.
- Wow!
Okay, there you go, okay. There
you go. So that's that gasp reflex.
You know, that hyperventilation.
Control it. Control it.
Don’t let it bully me.
Self-preservation, your
body is going, "get out!"
But override that.
- How we feeling?
- Oh, freezing.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
Feels like I’m in the fire.
Okay, breathe! We are at one minute.
So, now, what's happening?
Now we’ve got
over that gasp reflex.
No, no, we haven’t.
- It's still going?
- I haven’t got over anything!
Someone forgot
to put the hot tap on.
- Oh, God! Oh, God!
- As if things weren’t bad enough,
Luke and Liam, and our buddy,
Mick, have got front row seats.
Summer swim?
Yes, boys!
Oh, God!
Now, why did
I invite them, again?
How is it?
Oh, it’s amazing,
it’s so warm in here.
What’s the level of shrinkage?
How would you feel if I said,
"Let’s put our face under?"
Okay, let's go.
- Oh, boy.
- Oh, wow!
Terrible idea.
Yeah. I'm impressed.
All right, I think we’ve proved
our point, right? Can we get out?
Right. Hang on,
give me 30 more seconds.
Oh, what?
Can you feel that blood going
away from your extremities?
Yeah, I can
feel all sorts of pain.
- So, quick test.
- Yeah.
- Quick dexterity test for me.
- Yeah.
- How's that?
- They feel like...
- How quickly can you move your hands?
- Pins and needles!
Shit.
- We are at...
- Awesome.
Two minutes, 50.
- Talk to me. How are we feeling?
- I feel like I’m dying.
Okay...
You actually probably are.
- Let’s just get out!
- No, no, no, no,
give me 30 more seconds.
- No, don't get out.
- Stop saying that!
- Five minutes.
- Just another 30.
We're done, we're done, you
did good, man. You're good.
I don't think I
can get out.
- Nice, big man, nice.
- I can't...
- Let's go.
- You got it, Chris.
My hands,
I can’t feel them.
Go on, straight into
push-ups, Chris!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh, my God, is there
a towel somewhere?
I got it, I got it. Here you go.
- What’s that towel?
- What are you...
The world’s smallest towel!
- It's okay, it's a warm wind.
- Oh, God. Wow.
Fifty-year storm's coming in,
guys, we've got to get to safety!
To safely recover from the shock, we
have to bring Chris's core temperature
back to normal gradually.
Man. My toes, mate.
Keep it going,
keep it going.
Yeah, good. There you go.
- Whoo!
- All right, on three.
My fingers just don’t
exist right now.
They'll recover,
don't worry about it.
That was the hardest
thing I’ve ever done.
I'm fine. Yeah, by far.
- That was...
- That was terrific.
The most awful thing.
You know when you, like,
regret moments in your career?
That was one, Ross.
Wow! That’s something else, Ross.
Being that cold,
it’s just so intense.
And I feel like I’m
outside of my comfort zone
further than I've
probably ever been.
- Do you want me to hug you?
- My arms are cold.
My arms are like freezing.
- Thank you.
- There you go.
Finger in
there. Is that boiling? Yeah?
No idea.
That was a struggle.
And out in open water,
it's only gonna get harder.
To stand any chance of doing this swim,
Chris has to start taming those reactions.
And there are scientists who
believe controlling the body’s response
to the cold could also have huge
health benefits down the line.
As I get older, one quirk to
look forward to is that my built-in
defense system could
get trigger happy.
Throughout the
body's blood vessels,
an unwelcome surge of immune cells
can cause collateral damage...
doing more harm than good.
The resulting breakdown in tissues
and organs is called "inflammaging."
And it fuels two of the biggest
killers in the modern world.
But there’s a theory that dialing
down our reactions to the cold...
could also help to reset
that rogue immune system,
and cut the risks of
deadly disease in old age.
So, I’ve gotta subject myself
to regular blasts of icy pain,
and I might not even see
the benefits for years?
Fantastic.
Fortunately,
there is another upside
that can kick in much sooner.
After Johanna Nordblad smashed
her leg in a cycling accident,
her fractures healed, but
the pain never stopped.
It
felt like fire in my bones.
I couldn't sleep.
My leg had been in
agony for three years.
I was ready to try anything.
Conventional
drugs didn’t cut through.
So, doctors prescribed
a radical alternative.
A new treatment, based on the theory
that cold water can scramble pain signals
before they reach the brain.
When
I put my leg in the water
for the first time since the
accident, it stopped hurting.
Tears welled in my
eyes, and I cried.
Johanna
got her life back...
but she didn’t stop there.
She was already
a free diver...
but taking on these
frozen lakes...
has allowed her to not
only to endure the cold,
but to embrace it.
The treatment
took away my fear of the cold.
If you keep calm, you
can stay in much longer.
This has brought more
than just pain relief.
By swimming in cold water,
you get ill far less often.
I feel healthier
and full of energy.
The right dose of shock
could enhance your ability
to fight off infection.
And you don’t have
to be an ice-diver.
In one study, people who flipped
to cold for the last 30 seconds
of their daily shower, ended up taking
almost 30 percent fewer sick days.
That’s pretty impressive.
It's good
to be outside your comfort zone.
Open your mind.
Embrace the feeling of the cold.
As more
benefits come to light,
people are finding their own ways
to harness extreme temperatures.
And as we take my training
to the next level,
Ross has come up with the perfect
way to lure me back into the water.
The one thing he
knows I can’t resist.
Whoo!
It’s absolutely beautiful,
but your brain’s going,
"What’s going on here? Why
are we heading to the water,
"Why are we trudging
through snow?"
You’re gonna feel alive after this.
Back in Australia, I surf a lot,
but going out in these conditions...
now, that's gnarly.
Luckily, I've got
my good buddy here.
Three-time world champion
surfer, Mick Fanning.
Who Ross has roped in
to keep me on track.
Coming to a
place like this...
it’s such a different experience
than what we’re used to at home.
Yeah.
- It’s so easy at home, you know?
- Yeah.
You have board shorts, it’s warm,
you can park right at the beach.
When here, you gotta think about
your warmth, you gotta think
about getting through
the waves and...
With the elements
just so raw and real,
you have to zero in
in these conditions.
Otherwise, you’ll end up
on the rocks over there,
- somewhere.
- Yeah.
Let's get on with
it, shall we?
I want Chris to experience
prolonged exposure.
But in these conditions, half
an hour in his trunks could kill him.
So, this is the wetsuit test.
As he steadily cools down, he’s
gonna experience a significant loss
in muscle strength, and his
coordination is gonna go to pieces.
I’m keeping warm,
- with Liam and Luke.
- What are they doing?
I wanna see if Chris can hold
it all together and stay mobile.
Let's see how much
harder it is to paddle, eh?
All right, here you
go. Here goes Mick.
Wow!
- Little boost on the end. Epic!
- Whoo!
I started surfing when I was
about ten, ten years old.
It's not a bad
obsession to have.
But this is like being
on another planet.
A pretty brutal experience.
You, go. You, go! Jump on.
It's Chris.
There you go!
Oh, I can't believe it!
Oh! Yes!
Oh, yes, mate!
- That's an actual turn!
- An actual good wave! Oh!
- Yeah!
- That's huge!
I’m not easily impressed
by Chris’s surfing...
- Right. Yeah. Yeah.
- But that was pretty impressive.
To begin with, you
feel like you’re winning.
- You all right?
- It's just so hard to swim.
But eventually...
you start to get so cold.
They're so far out now.
It’s so mental out there.
I can feel it sucking
the strength out of my arms.
It’s harder to maneuver.
My balance is off...
and I'm feeling pretty
vulnerable at this point.
- He’s taking a break.
- Oh, my God.
Oof! Oh!
- I think he's...
- He got poleaxed on that one.
Oh, my God.
It's absolutely freezing.
And at this point,
I’ve had enough.
- How was it?
- It was so intense.
- It's like... It's kind of scary.
- Yeah.
The storm kicked
back in and started hailing,
couldn’t even see the waves.
- The hail was hitting me in the eye.
- Yeah.
- It's a completely different, you know...
- And I’ve noticed as well...
- game, right?
- The wind chill. Did you feel
- that out there as well?
- For sure.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- At the end, not catching waves...
- Yeah.
I started to get
a little colder.
And when you get cold,
it just hurts, right?
Yeah. It was... Feels like knives
in your fingers and your toes.
Generally speaking, you’d probably
do everything that you can to avoid
- a surf like that, but...
- Yeah.
Hats off to you, guys.
It was pretty
wild out there.
That kind of cold is completely ridiculous
and alien to anything I've ever done.
So, the idea of now going and swimming
without all of that gear and the wet suits
and so on...
has become a really...
intense, scary reality.
I think Chris has
earned a break from the cold.
And up here, there’s another
way to boost longevity.
At the other end of
the temperature scale.
Whoo!
Ross has hooked me up with
longevity expert, Dr. Peter Attia.
All right.
It's intense.
But Peter's convinced that regular
saunas can boost my long-term health.
You know, now that
we just got in here, Chris,
let's take your pulse.
All right.
Yeah, you're
about 64 beats per minute.
But we've got this temperature
cranked up to about
- hundred and ninety-five degrees...
- Yeah.
Fahrenheit.
So, let's see where you
are in a couple of minutes.
I guess I gotta get used
to this heat.
Yeah, we're uncomfortable
right now because we're hot.
And in response to that, our
body is trying to cool us off.
- Yeah.
- And so, it's pumping harder
so that your heart can quickly get
the blood to the outside of your body.
And just as exercise is known to
help with cardiovascular disease,
I think sauna has a number
of those benefits as well.
- Like a workout. Yeah.
- Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, you're about
135 right now.
About twice what you
were when we started.
- It also...
- It goes back to how beneficial
- stress is, right?
- Yeah. Yeah.
I mean, stressing
our bodies in any way
is... It forces us to adapt
and evolve and change.
Yeah. Well, we just... Our body wants
to stay in a certain temperature range.
And right now, we're pushing ourselves
way outside that comfort zone.
And in the process of adaptation,
our body protects us by increasing
the production of these special
molecules called heat shock proteins,
which are extremely effective
in the fight against disease.
I like to think I
look healthy on the outside.
But on the inside,
deep in my cells...
heaps of molecular junk piling
up from the wear and tear of age.
Hoarding all that trash could lead
to serious problems when I'm older.
But the blistering heat of the sauna
tells my body to send in a cleanup crew...
heat shock proteins.
And these tiny heroes get
to work fixing up the junk
to give my cells the
ultimate spring cleaning.
By upping my heart rate and
releasing heat shock proteins,
getting this hot
can work wonders.
The two places where sauna
is having the most benefit
is in cardiovascular disease, where
it is about a 50 percent reduction
in risk of death, and Alzheimer's
disease, where it's about
- a 65, 66 percent reduction.
- Wow.
Yeah, this exceeds that of
virtually any drug that we can imagine.
Incredible.
That's from simply
taking frequent saunas,
fired up to around 170
degrees Fahrenheit.
Now, that's the kind of
prescription I can handle.
But right now...
I've got some unfinished
business with the cold.
Yes, boys, how we feeling?
- Wow, mate.
- That's what I'm saying, mate.
Yeah, Rossy!
With the swim looming,
there’s no let-up in the training.
- Are you plotting something?
- I just think...
I’m gonna be completely
honest, now we’re out here.
I just... I don’t think there’s such
a thing as too much acclimatization.
I just think we need to get you as
cold as possible, as often as possible.
Let’s go, let's go, let's go!
All right. All right.
All my brothers and my friends
have done so far is laugh at me.
So, this is payback time.
Let's do it!
Ross says that each blast of
the cold will help tame my reactions.
And here’s another
kind of Arctic torture.
- We're going.
- Let's go.
We're going.
My brothers and I, we love a
bit of pointless competition.
So, we’re going all in.
- All right, let's go, fellas.
- Let's do it.
Go, get him. Where's he going
with it?
I’ve got to keep using
my muscles in the cold...
and maintain that coordination.
Oh!
Or try to, anyway.
And according to Ross,
repeating these doses...
should eventually break the
body’s resistance to the cold.
- Oh, boy.
- How do we feel, boys?
I feel...
- I feel actually...
- I felt like I was gonna vomit.
- For me, it’s like absolute agony.
- Yeah. Yeah.
Does training for this
actually make any difference?
Well, it's... I don't know if
it's any less uncomfortable
or you're just more familiar
with being uncomfortable,
and I feel like
definitely having done it
- a few times, you're like, "Okay..."
- Yeah.
- "...this is what it is." But...
- Yeah.
I don't know that there's
a massive change in my body
because it's still pretty
uncomfortable, but...
- Yeah.
- Still pretty incredible.
- Yeah.
- It's... Thanks.
Yeah, I think doing things that
hurt, there's a benefit, right?
There's doing things that
test you, doing things that...
- Yeah.
- Are hard.
You know? Really pushing beyond
the boundaries of what you think
- is possible. And that really is...
- Yeah. And also a mental thing
when you have to reeducate your mind,
you have to change your mind to be like,
"No. I just need to find
a way to get through it."
Yeah.
You know, keep moving and don't
sort of let things fall apart.
Yeah. You wanna get every opportunity
possible to live a longer,
- healthier, happier life. And...
- Yeah.
And also not just living longer,
but living longer and strong.
Especially having kids, you wanna be
able to play with the grandchildren
- and still be active and...
- Yeah.
And run down in the snow, and
jump in the ocean. You know?
- The emotional strength that comes...
- Yeah, there's a real sense of achievement
- from doing that too.
- Yeah.
Just the reward from actually run
through the snow and diving into this...
- Yeah.
- You know, three degrees water...
- I think it also... It's... Yeah.
- And running back again.
And I do think there's something to
what Ross is saying about just...
We've just become far too
comfortable in everything...
- Yeah.
- The temperature of our house,
- our clothing. We're not used to...
- Yeah.
Any discomfort. And that
initial handbrake is really
an emotional response of your
body trying to preserve itself.
You know, whereas actually the body
has a whole lot more in the tank...
- Yeah. Yeah.
- And you just gotta get past that.
I guess it’s easy to talk
about embracing the cold
when you’re sitting
in a hot tub.
In reality, this swim is
gonna take it to another level.
And if I’m honest, it’s a
pretty daunting prospect.
But for one community in Japan,
the fact that the cold is daunting
is the whole point and leads to
benefits that go beyond the physical.
Entering the mountains
you can test your capacity
for all kinds of suffering.
Becoming a
Shugendo monk takes years of training.
For some, it's a fresh start.
Like Mr. Shinbo, who joined the
order after the death of his wife.
I couldn’t see
the point in life anymore.
I was in great distress.
Then I encountered the Shugendo.
Today,
for the very first time,
Mr. Shinbo faces a
truly terrifying test.
The waterfall.
Fresh from the snowfields
upstream, this torrent of meltwater
is so cold it can
cause heart failure.
To pass, he needs to
withstand this freezing cascade...
until his master is satisfied.
The
effect of the cold water...
is like an electric shock.
Putting yourself
in a place where you feel fear.
That’s the test.
There’s a
story about baby eels.
If you add a predator like
a catfish to the tank...
they say more of the
young eels will survive.
Humans also excel
in the face of adversity.
That’s what we’re
trying to achieve.
I have
experienced huge trauma,
but through these tests, I’ve
come to terms with the past.
If I met my younger
self, I’d say,
"It’s going to be all right."
Even if you endure suffering,
you’re going to be all right.
I know
extreme temperatures could help
combat physical decline.
But during a long life, there are
bound to be mental challenges too.
The Shugendo rituals show
that confronting fear
and enduring the cold can
build a stronger mindset.
To do it with such
focus and such grace...
that’s truly inspiring.
- What happens if you don’t make it?
- You’re gonna be there to fish me out!
Although, I’m not getting in.
You know, it’s
snowing right now, too?
It is snowing, yeah.
- Oh, good luck with that.
- Thanks.
- Exhilarating.
- Yeah. Hmm.
Yeah, I think I’ve lost my mind.
Yeah.
My challenge
is to reach that buoy.
Two-hundred and fifty yards
in water close to freezing.
But I know why I’m here.
Enduring extreme conditions
could help me fight inflammaging,
manage pain and boost
my immune system.
It can trigger repairs inside my cells,
and even improve my mental wellbeing.
So, it’s time to step up,
and just get this thing done.
Here we are.
And I have got to admit, I'm nervous,
because despite all the training,
this is now uncharted
territory...
and so much could go wrong.
- Hey, boys. How are ya?
- Hi, Andy, safety team doctor.
- I see, yeah. Hey, mate.
- How you doing? I'm Tom.
- Hi, Ross. How are you?
- Andy, how are we, mate, we good?
- You good?
- Hey, mate, you all right?
Oh, yeah!
So, when you’re swimming, you’re
gonna have a tow-float tied to you.
And so, any issues, you can obviously
just grab that and hold that.
Do we have to have
that or to... What?
Yeah, I mean... And especially
on ice swimming as well.
It just means if something goes
completely wrong and you go under,
- you’re still attached to it...
- Yeah.
So we can then find
you, we grab the float.
Obviously, it’ll be a lot harder
than anything you’ve done so far
and your muscles are gonna get very stiff,
cold, and you'll become uncoordinated.
And when you get out of the water, we
don’t want you to warm up too fast,
because your limbs are gonna
have lots of cold blood in,
and if that all disappears
back to your heart quickly,
that can cause
significant problems.
So, we need to warm you
up slowly and gradually.
Please make no
mistakes. It's a brutal swim.
You’re gonna be gasping
for air into a headwind.
It’s literally coming
straight down the barrel.
- Hmm.
- So, you’re gonna be pushing off there,
gasp reflex, going,
"Oh, good God, what’s going on?"
So, if all of a sudden if I say,
"Now, you’re coming out." Believe
us. It'll be for your own safety.
If you overegg this, if you
push yourself beyond the point
at which you should be coming out,
there is a real risk you could die.
Yep.
- From here. Yeah.
- Here? Right.
That's where we
switch it on now, okay?
I mean, even having
all these things in place
and having the people around.
I'm really nervous.
There is a whole
lot of weather coming
and, you know, it’s
quite choppy and windy.
It's absolutely
freezing cold.
You know, the reality
is really kicking in.
Two minutes. Two minutes!
I just want controlled
and calm aggression.
So, when you go in, you’re just
so confident in every single one
of your strokes. Overcoming
that gasp reflex.
There you go, there you go.
There you go, there you go, there you go.
Let’s go. Come on!
- Yeah, mate.
- Yes, Chris.
The weather is
getting worse by the second.
Yeah.
Yeah. That wind just picked
up another ten knots.
- Yes! It's getting wild.
- It literally is.
My brothers are there.
They’re cheering me on.
So, I kinda got to do it.
Getting quite
nervous now actually.
- Heart rate's definitely coming up.
- Suspense... is terrifying.
But the biggest
motivation of all...
is that this isn’t a
battle against the cold...
it’s a chance to fight back
against death and disease.
A battle against what
time can do to me.
Focus on your breathing
and your physiology will follow!
Here he goes!
That instant
shock is just so intense.
It’s far colder than
anything that’s gone before.
All I’m thinking is, "Get this
over with as quickly as possible."
And I just take off.
- Almost there, mate!
- Go on, Christo!
Come on, mate!
He’s doing really well.
He’s keeping a good pace.
- Yeah.
- Ah, he’s killing it.
But after ten strokes,
it burns, it hurts.
My head's thumping.
My body is screaming, "This
is crazy. What are you doing?"
Good, Chris. Let's
go! Let's go! Breathe!
Come on! One arm after the
other. Just focus on that.
One arm after the other.
And then the worst ice
cream headache starts kicking in,
and I’m starting to
really feel the cold.
- He’s slowing down.
- Oh, no!
Oh, come on, keep going.
Then all of a sudden, my arms
and legs feel like lead balloons.
I’m completely off in my balance.
And I just feel paralyzed.
Chris, come on!
Stay with me. Focus!
There's sort of two voices that
were very intense and loud.
One was just saying to
me, "You’re gonna die."
- Let’s go, mate!
- Come on.
But the other
voice is saying...
- "No way!"
- Come on, Chris. Go!
And all of a sudden, you discover
different parts of yourself.
So, I block everything
else out and I'm telling myself...
"Just get out of here."
Nice, nice! Let's go,
big man. Let's go!
- Go! Go! Head down!
- Yeah, mate! Head down!
Oh, that's the spirit!
Mind over matter. Mind over
matter. Turn it into a fight.
Last ten. Last ten!
Finish this. Finish!
Yes! Yes!
Yes, big guy!
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
You are an animal.
- Yes, Christo!
- Yeah, boy!
Yeah, yeah. Up you come, mate. Well done.
Get here, get here, get here, get here,
get here, get here, get here, get here.
Wrap it round so we
can... Turn around, turn around.
- Oh, I'm so dizzy.
- Get in, get in.
Yeah, we got gloves?
Have we got some gloves?
Get down, get down. Come
on. Sit there, sit there.
Sit there, sit there, sit there,
sit there, sit there, sit there.
I’ve never felt like that before,
physically and emotionally so challenging
in such a short,
concentrated period of time.
Yes! Yes!
And it’s an experience that
will stay with me forever.
You did absolutely everything
that I told you to do.
You did it, and then some.
And it did make
me think how comfortable
we’ve all become,
in this day and age,
and that we’re far more
capable of doing things
that we think are impossible.
Chris, the cameras weren’t
rolling. We need one more take, mate.
I am never doing that again!
We forgot to load the film.
You know, we have an
opportunity to live longer, better.
Group hug, group hug!
- Yeah!
- You made it!
Challenging my body
with extreme temperatures...
could help me get there.
- They’re gonna defrost me now.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
I know my body
can cope with it,
and I am confident it's working
its magic deep within my cells.
We'll see you
in the Caribbean.
- I’m wintered. I’m wintered. I'm adapted.
- Fully wintered.
You're fully wintered. Yes!
- What a time.
- Good job, mate.
- What a time to be alive.
- Yeah, boy.
And the cold never
bothered me anyway.
Oh, my
God. There you go.
just talk you through the plan,
so you’ve got a rough idea as
to what you’re getting into.
So, the main risk is really that
the longer you spend in the water,
the risk goes up exponentially. If
you push yourself beyond the point
at which you should be coming out,
there is a real risk you could die.
Yup.
As you can tell,
the safety team have one or two
concerns about what I’m about to do.
So do I.
Right, this is where
we switch it on now, okay?
Somehow, I’ve been talked
into an open water swim...
Good.
in the Arctic.
Impose your
will on the sea.
Two minutes! Two minutes!
And if there’s one
thing I really, really hate...
it’s the cold.
Why am I doing this? Why am I doing
this? Why am I doing this?
- Special change of scenery.
- Epic surroundings.
I'll say, there's no mangoes
falling off the trees here!
Yeah.
As part of my mission to live longer,
I’ve traded the warmth of Australia
for the frozen north.
And along for the ride,
I’ve got these jokers.
My younger brother Liam,
and my older brother Luke.
When I invited them to
hang out at the beach,
not quite sure this
is what they imagined.
Feather that clutch, mate.
Dude, I can’t feel the floor.
These boots are a bit thick.
We’ve let the worst
driver of all drive us.
- Why is Chris driving, mate?
- Are you kidding?
I’m the best driver ever, dude.
We’re here with a man who says
extreme temperatures are actually
gonna be good for me. Sports
scientist, Ross Edgley.
I mean, it doesn’t get much
better than this really, does it?
I mean, as a training
ground, as a sports lab...
I'm in my element.
I don't know how
comfortable I am with that!
Ross Edgley is one of the
fittest humans on the planet.
The kind of guy who
takes everything to the limit.
He's the only person in the world
to swim all the way around Great Britain.
And he did it in
157 days straight.
But then he
takes it even further...
...you know, with,
like, swimming in ice-cold water.
I believe we humans only really
thrive in the face of adversity.
You find out about your physiology,
you find out about your mentality...
and there are now theories that subjecting
your body to extreme temperatures
could even help you live longer.
And that is why I signed
up for this Arctic adventure.
Ross might love the cold,
but I'm more like Goldilocks.
Not too hot, not too cold, I'm
happiest right in the middle.
And you’d think that staying
in a comfortable temperature
is also the best way to keep
healthy for the long haul.
But new science says embracing
extreme cold, and extreme heat...
could force your body to
upgrade its defenses...
and power up its microscopic
repair systems...
which could cut the risks of disease,
and maybe add years to your life.
So, it’s time for some
serious shock therapy.
After three days of training,
Chris will attempt a cold-water swim
that's going to test his
body to the absolute limit.
Two hundred and fifty yards across
a bone-chilling Arctic Fjord,
wearing nothing but
swimming trunks and a smile.
If he can endure that, then maybe he
could fall in love with the cold...
and make it part of his life.
So, how’s your Australian
physiology coping with this?
It's in complete shock right now.
My ears are about to snap off.
They’re like little icicles
and I’m a little concerned.
This is the plunge.
Yeah.
And I want you to basically get
down to your trunks, get in,
and I just want you to experience
the cold at its rawest form.
- Yeah.
- Think of it almost like a baptism.
That’s what we’re doing.
Because you need to understand
what's going on
inside the body. So...
Oh, it knows it's gonna
freeze in a second, yeah.
- Yes. Yeah. This is it.
- Yeah.
This is it. No, no, no. But it's
gonna be a shock to the body.
I’m not gonna lie.
- Yeah.
- I’m gonna be so honest with you.
To prepare for the swim,
the first step is subjecting
Chris to full immersion.
The problem is that cold water triggers
some really powerful survival mechanisms.
But if you’re training for an ice
swim, they actually work against you.
I need Chris to understand
what those reactions feel like,
and then start to tame them.
One of the first things
that we're gonna experience
is this gasp reflex.
The body's basically just going...
Is exactly it. You wanna gasp,
perfectly normal. That is...
- It’s just self-preservation.
- Mm-hmm. Perfectly normal.
- Yeah. Once we start the timer...
- Yeah. Yeah.
Once we’re in, make no mistake,
we basically started the
timer on hypothermia,
and to put it bluntly,
consciousness and dying.
And saying, "goodbye,
life." Yeah. All right.
Oh, yeah. Here we go!
Before we let Chris
loose in open water,
I want to see if he can get
through the initial shock
and tough it out for at least a
couple of minutes here in the harbor.
Do I reckon this warm-blooded
Aussie can do it? I don't know.
Oh, yes, this is a great idea!
- Here we go.
- Follow my lead.
All right.
- That's it. Breathe, breathe.
- Oh, boy.
- Good. Good. Really good.
- Whoo!
- Breathe.
- Wow!
Okay, there you go, okay. There
you go. So that's that gasp reflex.
You know, that hyperventilation.
Control it. Control it.
Don’t let it bully me.
Self-preservation, your
body is going, "get out!"
But override that.
- How we feeling?
- Oh, freezing.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
Feels like I’m in the fire.
Okay, breathe! We are at one minute.
So, now, what's happening?
Now we’ve got
over that gasp reflex.
No, no, we haven’t.
- It's still going?
- I haven’t got over anything!
Someone forgot
to put the hot tap on.
- Oh, God! Oh, God!
- As if things weren’t bad enough,
Luke and Liam, and our buddy,
Mick, have got front row seats.
Summer swim?
Yes, boys!
Oh, God!
Now, why did
I invite them, again?
How is it?
Oh, it’s amazing,
it’s so warm in here.
What’s the level of shrinkage?
How would you feel if I said,
"Let’s put our face under?"
Okay, let's go.
- Oh, boy.
- Oh, wow!
Terrible idea.
Yeah. I'm impressed.
All right, I think we’ve proved
our point, right? Can we get out?
Right. Hang on,
give me 30 more seconds.
Oh, what?
Can you feel that blood going
away from your extremities?
Yeah, I can
feel all sorts of pain.
- So, quick test.
- Yeah.
- Quick dexterity test for me.
- Yeah.
- How's that?
- They feel like...
- How quickly can you move your hands?
- Pins and needles!
Shit.
- We are at...
- Awesome.
Two minutes, 50.
- Talk to me. How are we feeling?
- I feel like I’m dying.
Okay...
You actually probably are.
- Let’s just get out!
- No, no, no, no,
give me 30 more seconds.
- No, don't get out.
- Stop saying that!
- Five minutes.
- Just another 30.
We're done, we're done, you
did good, man. You're good.
I don't think I
can get out.
- Nice, big man, nice.
- I can't...
- Let's go.
- You got it, Chris.
My hands,
I can’t feel them.
Go on, straight into
push-ups, Chris!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh, my God, is there
a towel somewhere?
I got it, I got it. Here you go.
- What’s that towel?
- What are you...
The world’s smallest towel!
- It's okay, it's a warm wind.
- Oh, God. Wow.
Fifty-year storm's coming in,
guys, we've got to get to safety!
To safely recover from the shock, we
have to bring Chris's core temperature
back to normal gradually.
Man. My toes, mate.
Keep it going,
keep it going.
Yeah, good. There you go.
- Whoo!
- All right, on three.
My fingers just don’t
exist right now.
They'll recover,
don't worry about it.
That was the hardest
thing I’ve ever done.
I'm fine. Yeah, by far.
- That was...
- That was terrific.
The most awful thing.
You know when you, like,
regret moments in your career?
That was one, Ross.
Wow! That’s something else, Ross.
Being that cold,
it’s just so intense.
And I feel like I’m
outside of my comfort zone
further than I've
probably ever been.
- Do you want me to hug you?
- My arms are cold.
My arms are like freezing.
- Thank you.
- There you go.
Finger in
there. Is that boiling? Yeah?
No idea.
That was a struggle.
And out in open water,
it's only gonna get harder.
To stand any chance of doing this swim,
Chris has to start taming those reactions.
And there are scientists who
believe controlling the body’s response
to the cold could also have huge
health benefits down the line.
As I get older, one quirk to
look forward to is that my built-in
defense system could
get trigger happy.
Throughout the
body's blood vessels,
an unwelcome surge of immune cells
can cause collateral damage...
doing more harm than good.
The resulting breakdown in tissues
and organs is called "inflammaging."
And it fuels two of the biggest
killers in the modern world.
But there’s a theory that dialing
down our reactions to the cold...
could also help to reset
that rogue immune system,
and cut the risks of
deadly disease in old age.
So, I’ve gotta subject myself
to regular blasts of icy pain,
and I might not even see
the benefits for years?
Fantastic.
Fortunately,
there is another upside
that can kick in much sooner.
After Johanna Nordblad smashed
her leg in a cycling accident,
her fractures healed, but
the pain never stopped.
It
felt like fire in my bones.
I couldn't sleep.
My leg had been in
agony for three years.
I was ready to try anything.
Conventional
drugs didn’t cut through.
So, doctors prescribed
a radical alternative.
A new treatment, based on the theory
that cold water can scramble pain signals
before they reach the brain.
When
I put my leg in the water
for the first time since the
accident, it stopped hurting.
Tears welled in my
eyes, and I cried.
Johanna
got her life back...
but she didn’t stop there.
She was already
a free diver...
but taking on these
frozen lakes...
has allowed her to not
only to endure the cold,
but to embrace it.
The treatment
took away my fear of the cold.
If you keep calm, you
can stay in much longer.
This has brought more
than just pain relief.
By swimming in cold water,
you get ill far less often.
I feel healthier
and full of energy.
The right dose of shock
could enhance your ability
to fight off infection.
And you don’t have
to be an ice-diver.
In one study, people who flipped
to cold for the last 30 seconds
of their daily shower, ended up taking
almost 30 percent fewer sick days.
That’s pretty impressive.
It's good
to be outside your comfort zone.
Open your mind.
Embrace the feeling of the cold.
As more
benefits come to light,
people are finding their own ways
to harness extreme temperatures.
And as we take my training
to the next level,
Ross has come up with the perfect
way to lure me back into the water.
The one thing he
knows I can’t resist.
Whoo!
It’s absolutely beautiful,
but your brain’s going,
"What’s going on here? Why
are we heading to the water,
"Why are we trudging
through snow?"
You’re gonna feel alive after this.
Back in Australia, I surf a lot,
but going out in these conditions...
now, that's gnarly.
Luckily, I've got
my good buddy here.
Three-time world champion
surfer, Mick Fanning.
Who Ross has roped in
to keep me on track.
Coming to a
place like this...
it’s such a different experience
than what we’re used to at home.
Yeah.
- It’s so easy at home, you know?
- Yeah.
You have board shorts, it’s warm,
you can park right at the beach.
When here, you gotta think about
your warmth, you gotta think
about getting through
the waves and...
With the elements
just so raw and real,
you have to zero in
in these conditions.
Otherwise, you’ll end up
on the rocks over there,
- somewhere.
- Yeah.
Let's get on with
it, shall we?
I want Chris to experience
prolonged exposure.
But in these conditions, half
an hour in his trunks could kill him.
So, this is the wetsuit test.
As he steadily cools down, he’s
gonna experience a significant loss
in muscle strength, and his
coordination is gonna go to pieces.
I’m keeping warm,
- with Liam and Luke.
- What are they doing?
I wanna see if Chris can hold
it all together and stay mobile.
Let's see how much
harder it is to paddle, eh?
All right, here you
go. Here goes Mick.
Wow!
- Little boost on the end. Epic!
- Whoo!
I started surfing when I was
about ten, ten years old.
It's not a bad
obsession to have.
But this is like being
on another planet.
A pretty brutal experience.
You, go. You, go! Jump on.
It's Chris.
There you go!
Oh, I can't believe it!
Oh! Yes!
Oh, yes, mate!
- That's an actual turn!
- An actual good wave! Oh!
- Yeah!
- That's huge!
I’m not easily impressed
by Chris’s surfing...
- Right. Yeah. Yeah.
- But that was pretty impressive.
To begin with, you
feel like you’re winning.
- You all right?
- It's just so hard to swim.
But eventually...
you start to get so cold.
They're so far out now.
It’s so mental out there.
I can feel it sucking
the strength out of my arms.
It’s harder to maneuver.
My balance is off...
and I'm feeling pretty
vulnerable at this point.
- He’s taking a break.
- Oh, my God.
Oof! Oh!
- I think he's...
- He got poleaxed on that one.
Oh, my God.
It's absolutely freezing.
And at this point,
I’ve had enough.
- How was it?
- It was so intense.
- It's like... It's kind of scary.
- Yeah.
The storm kicked
back in and started hailing,
couldn’t even see the waves.
- The hail was hitting me in the eye.
- Yeah.
- It's a completely different, you know...
- And I’ve noticed as well...
- game, right?
- The wind chill. Did you feel
- that out there as well?
- For sure.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- At the end, not catching waves...
- Yeah.
I started to get
a little colder.
And when you get cold,
it just hurts, right?
Yeah. It was... Feels like knives
in your fingers and your toes.
Generally speaking, you’d probably
do everything that you can to avoid
- a surf like that, but...
- Yeah.
Hats off to you, guys.
It was pretty
wild out there.
That kind of cold is completely ridiculous
and alien to anything I've ever done.
So, the idea of now going and swimming
without all of that gear and the wet suits
and so on...
has become a really...
intense, scary reality.
I think Chris has
earned a break from the cold.
And up here, there’s another
way to boost longevity.
At the other end of
the temperature scale.
Whoo!
Ross has hooked me up with
longevity expert, Dr. Peter Attia.
All right.
It's intense.
But Peter's convinced that regular
saunas can boost my long-term health.
You know, now that
we just got in here, Chris,
let's take your pulse.
All right.
Yeah, you're
about 64 beats per minute.
But we've got this temperature
cranked up to about
- hundred and ninety-five degrees...
- Yeah.
Fahrenheit.
So, let's see where you
are in a couple of minutes.
I guess I gotta get used
to this heat.
Yeah, we're uncomfortable
right now because we're hot.
And in response to that, our
body is trying to cool us off.
- Yeah.
- And so, it's pumping harder
so that your heart can quickly get
the blood to the outside of your body.
And just as exercise is known to
help with cardiovascular disease,
I think sauna has a number
of those benefits as well.
- Like a workout. Yeah.
- Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, you're about
135 right now.
About twice what you
were when we started.
- It also...
- It goes back to how beneficial
- stress is, right?
- Yeah. Yeah.
I mean, stressing
our bodies in any way
is... It forces us to adapt
and evolve and change.
Yeah. Well, we just... Our body wants
to stay in a certain temperature range.
And right now, we're pushing ourselves
way outside that comfort zone.
And in the process of adaptation,
our body protects us by increasing
the production of these special
molecules called heat shock proteins,
which are extremely effective
in the fight against disease.
I like to think I
look healthy on the outside.
But on the inside,
deep in my cells...
heaps of molecular junk piling
up from the wear and tear of age.
Hoarding all that trash could lead
to serious problems when I'm older.
But the blistering heat of the sauna
tells my body to send in a cleanup crew...
heat shock proteins.
And these tiny heroes get
to work fixing up the junk
to give my cells the
ultimate spring cleaning.
By upping my heart rate and
releasing heat shock proteins,
getting this hot
can work wonders.
The two places where sauna
is having the most benefit
is in cardiovascular disease, where
it is about a 50 percent reduction
in risk of death, and Alzheimer's
disease, where it's about
- a 65, 66 percent reduction.
- Wow.
Yeah, this exceeds that of
virtually any drug that we can imagine.
Incredible.
That's from simply
taking frequent saunas,
fired up to around 170
degrees Fahrenheit.
Now, that's the kind of
prescription I can handle.
But right now...
I've got some unfinished
business with the cold.
Yes, boys, how we feeling?
- Wow, mate.
- That's what I'm saying, mate.
Yeah, Rossy!
With the swim looming,
there’s no let-up in the training.
- Are you plotting something?
- I just think...
I’m gonna be completely
honest, now we’re out here.
I just... I don’t think there’s such
a thing as too much acclimatization.
I just think we need to get you as
cold as possible, as often as possible.
Let’s go, let's go, let's go!
All right. All right.
All my brothers and my friends
have done so far is laugh at me.
So, this is payback time.
Let's do it!
Ross says that each blast of
the cold will help tame my reactions.
And here’s another
kind of Arctic torture.
- We're going.
- Let's go.
We're going.
My brothers and I, we love a
bit of pointless competition.
So, we’re going all in.
- All right, let's go, fellas.
- Let's do it.
Go, get him. Where's he going
with it?
I’ve got to keep using
my muscles in the cold...
and maintain that coordination.
Oh!
Or try to, anyway.
And according to Ross,
repeating these doses...
should eventually break the
body’s resistance to the cold.
- Oh, boy.
- How do we feel, boys?
I feel...
- I feel actually...
- I felt like I was gonna vomit.
- For me, it’s like absolute agony.
- Yeah. Yeah.
Does training for this
actually make any difference?
Well, it's... I don't know if
it's any less uncomfortable
or you're just more familiar
with being uncomfortable,
and I feel like
definitely having done it
- a few times, you're like, "Okay..."
- Yeah.
- "...this is what it is." But...
- Yeah.
I don't know that there's
a massive change in my body
because it's still pretty
uncomfortable, but...
- Yeah.
- Still pretty incredible.
- Yeah.
- It's... Thanks.
Yeah, I think doing things that
hurt, there's a benefit, right?
There's doing things that
test you, doing things that...
- Yeah.
- Are hard.
You know? Really pushing beyond
the boundaries of what you think
- is possible. And that really is...
- Yeah. And also a mental thing
when you have to reeducate your mind,
you have to change your mind to be like,
"No. I just need to find
a way to get through it."
Yeah.
You know, keep moving and don't
sort of let things fall apart.
Yeah. You wanna get every opportunity
possible to live a longer,
- healthier, happier life. And...
- Yeah.
And also not just living longer,
but living longer and strong.
Especially having kids, you wanna be
able to play with the grandchildren
- and still be active and...
- Yeah.
And run down in the snow, and
jump in the ocean. You know?
- The emotional strength that comes...
- Yeah, there's a real sense of achievement
- from doing that too.
- Yeah.
Just the reward from actually run
through the snow and diving into this...
- Yeah.
- You know, three degrees water...
- I think it also... It's... Yeah.
- And running back again.
And I do think there's something to
what Ross is saying about just...
We've just become far too
comfortable in everything...
- Yeah.
- The temperature of our house,
- our clothing. We're not used to...
- Yeah.
Any discomfort. And that
initial handbrake is really
an emotional response of your
body trying to preserve itself.
You know, whereas actually the body
has a whole lot more in the tank...
- Yeah. Yeah.
- And you just gotta get past that.
I guess it’s easy to talk
about embracing the cold
when you’re sitting
in a hot tub.
In reality, this swim is
gonna take it to another level.
And if I’m honest, it’s a
pretty daunting prospect.
But for one community in Japan,
the fact that the cold is daunting
is the whole point and leads to
benefits that go beyond the physical.
Entering the mountains
you can test your capacity
for all kinds of suffering.
Becoming a
Shugendo monk takes years of training.
For some, it's a fresh start.
Like Mr. Shinbo, who joined the
order after the death of his wife.
I couldn’t see
the point in life anymore.
I was in great distress.
Then I encountered the Shugendo.
Today,
for the very first time,
Mr. Shinbo faces a
truly terrifying test.
The waterfall.
Fresh from the snowfields
upstream, this torrent of meltwater
is so cold it can
cause heart failure.
To pass, he needs to
withstand this freezing cascade...
until his master is satisfied.
The
effect of the cold water...
is like an electric shock.
Putting yourself
in a place where you feel fear.
That’s the test.
There’s a
story about baby eels.
If you add a predator like
a catfish to the tank...
they say more of the
young eels will survive.
Humans also excel
in the face of adversity.
That’s what we’re
trying to achieve.
I have
experienced huge trauma,
but through these tests, I’ve
come to terms with the past.
If I met my younger
self, I’d say,
"It’s going to be all right."
Even if you endure suffering,
you’re going to be all right.
I know
extreme temperatures could help
combat physical decline.
But during a long life, there are
bound to be mental challenges too.
The Shugendo rituals show
that confronting fear
and enduring the cold can
build a stronger mindset.
To do it with such
focus and such grace...
that’s truly inspiring.
- What happens if you don’t make it?
- You’re gonna be there to fish me out!
Although, I’m not getting in.
You know, it’s
snowing right now, too?
It is snowing, yeah.
- Oh, good luck with that.
- Thanks.
- Exhilarating.
- Yeah. Hmm.
Yeah, I think I’ve lost my mind.
Yeah.
My challenge
is to reach that buoy.
Two-hundred and fifty yards
in water close to freezing.
But I know why I’m here.
Enduring extreme conditions
could help me fight inflammaging,
manage pain and boost
my immune system.
It can trigger repairs inside my cells,
and even improve my mental wellbeing.
So, it’s time to step up,
and just get this thing done.
Here we are.
And I have got to admit, I'm nervous,
because despite all the training,
this is now uncharted
territory...
and so much could go wrong.
- Hey, boys. How are ya?
- Hi, Andy, safety team doctor.
- I see, yeah. Hey, mate.
- How you doing? I'm Tom.
- Hi, Ross. How are you?
- Andy, how are we, mate, we good?
- You good?
- Hey, mate, you all right?
Oh, yeah!
So, when you’re swimming, you’re
gonna have a tow-float tied to you.
And so, any issues, you can obviously
just grab that and hold that.
Do we have to have
that or to... What?
Yeah, I mean... And especially
on ice swimming as well.
It just means if something goes
completely wrong and you go under,
- you’re still attached to it...
- Yeah.
So we can then find
you, we grab the float.
Obviously, it’ll be a lot harder
than anything you’ve done so far
and your muscles are gonna get very stiff,
cold, and you'll become uncoordinated.
And when you get out of the water, we
don’t want you to warm up too fast,
because your limbs are gonna
have lots of cold blood in,
and if that all disappears
back to your heart quickly,
that can cause
significant problems.
So, we need to warm you
up slowly and gradually.
Please make no
mistakes. It's a brutal swim.
You’re gonna be gasping
for air into a headwind.
It’s literally coming
straight down the barrel.
- Hmm.
- So, you’re gonna be pushing off there,
gasp reflex, going,
"Oh, good God, what’s going on?"
So, if all of a sudden if I say,
"Now, you’re coming out." Believe
us. It'll be for your own safety.
If you overegg this, if you
push yourself beyond the point
at which you should be coming out,
there is a real risk you could die.
Yep.
- From here. Yeah.
- Here? Right.
That's where we
switch it on now, okay?
I mean, even having
all these things in place
and having the people around.
I'm really nervous.
There is a whole
lot of weather coming
and, you know, it’s
quite choppy and windy.
It's absolutely
freezing cold.
You know, the reality
is really kicking in.
Two minutes. Two minutes!
I just want controlled
and calm aggression.
So, when you go in, you’re just
so confident in every single one
of your strokes. Overcoming
that gasp reflex.
There you go, there you go.
There you go, there you go, there you go.
Let’s go. Come on!
- Yeah, mate.
- Yes, Chris.
The weather is
getting worse by the second.
Yeah.
Yeah. That wind just picked
up another ten knots.
- Yes! It's getting wild.
- It literally is.
My brothers are there.
They’re cheering me on.
So, I kinda got to do it.
Getting quite
nervous now actually.
- Heart rate's definitely coming up.
- Suspense... is terrifying.
But the biggest
motivation of all...
is that this isn’t a
battle against the cold...
it’s a chance to fight back
against death and disease.
A battle against what
time can do to me.
Focus on your breathing
and your physiology will follow!
Here he goes!
That instant
shock is just so intense.
It’s far colder than
anything that’s gone before.
All I’m thinking is, "Get this
over with as quickly as possible."
And I just take off.
- Almost there, mate!
- Go on, Christo!
Come on, mate!
He’s doing really well.
He’s keeping a good pace.
- Yeah.
- Ah, he’s killing it.
But after ten strokes,
it burns, it hurts.
My head's thumping.
My body is screaming, "This
is crazy. What are you doing?"
Good, Chris. Let's
go! Let's go! Breathe!
Come on! One arm after the
other. Just focus on that.
One arm after the other.
And then the worst ice
cream headache starts kicking in,
and I’m starting to
really feel the cold.
- He’s slowing down.
- Oh, no!
Oh, come on, keep going.
Then all of a sudden, my arms
and legs feel like lead balloons.
I’m completely off in my balance.
And I just feel paralyzed.
Chris, come on!
Stay with me. Focus!
There's sort of two voices that
were very intense and loud.
One was just saying to
me, "You’re gonna die."
- Let’s go, mate!
- Come on.
But the other
voice is saying...
- "No way!"
- Come on, Chris. Go!
And all of a sudden, you discover
different parts of yourself.
So, I block everything
else out and I'm telling myself...
"Just get out of here."
Nice, nice! Let's go,
big man. Let's go!
- Go! Go! Head down!
- Yeah, mate! Head down!
Oh, that's the spirit!
Mind over matter. Mind over
matter. Turn it into a fight.
Last ten. Last ten!
Finish this. Finish!
Yes! Yes!
Yes, big guy!
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
You are an animal.
- Yes, Christo!
- Yeah, boy!
Yeah, yeah. Up you come, mate. Well done.
Get here, get here, get here, get here,
get here, get here, get here, get here.
Wrap it round so we
can... Turn around, turn around.
- Oh, I'm so dizzy.
- Get in, get in.
Yeah, we got gloves?
Have we got some gloves?
Get down, get down. Come
on. Sit there, sit there.
Sit there, sit there, sit there,
sit there, sit there, sit there.
I’ve never felt like that before,
physically and emotionally so challenging
in such a short,
concentrated period of time.
Yes! Yes!
And it’s an experience that
will stay with me forever.
You did absolutely everything
that I told you to do.
You did it, and then some.
And it did make
me think how comfortable
we’ve all become,
in this day and age,
and that we’re far more
capable of doing things
that we think are impossible.
Chris, the cameras weren’t
rolling. We need one more take, mate.
I am never doing that again!
We forgot to load the film.
You know, we have an
opportunity to live longer, better.
Group hug, group hug!
- Yeah!
- You made it!
Challenging my body
with extreme temperatures...
could help me get there.
- They’re gonna defrost me now.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
I know my body
can cope with it,
and I am confident it's working
its magic deep within my cells.
We'll see you
in the Caribbean.
- I’m wintered. I’m wintered. I'm adapted.
- Fully wintered.
You're fully wintered. Yes!
- What a time.
- Good job, mate.
- What a time to be alive.
- Yeah, boy.
And the cold never
bothered me anyway.
Oh, my
God. There you go.