Blogs

Elite triathletes Rebeccah, left, and Laurel Wassner at the Washington DC Triathlon in 2011. Photo provided.

Last week I got a message from USA Triathlon Communications & Media Relations Manager John Martin saying he was looking to fill a last-minute media request for a New York City-area professional triathlete for a TV show shoot. The last time I got one of these phone calls I ended up being a judge on an episode of The Food Network’s Throwdown with Bobby Flay, so I jumped at the chance.

After getting a few a few details from John, the next thing I know, my sister Laurel and I were heading up the Henry Hudson Drive to the Knicks & Rangers practice facilities in Westchester County. After a few more phone calls on the way up, we found out that we were heading to a shoot for a TV show about the human body, to be aired on the Discovery 3D channel. The segment being filmed was about the cutting-edge technology of Cryotherapy. Laurel and I had heard about this technique from our colleagues at Nike, so with their approval, we knew we were in good hands. 

From left, Rebeccah Wassner, Mark Murdock and Laurel Wassner at the New York Knicks practice facility.

When we got to the facility, we were greeted by Mark Murdock, the sports director for Cryousa, the company that makes the cryotherapy device. He explained to us that many professional sports teams, including the Knicks — who had just installed one that day— are now using the therapy. He gave us his quick description of how it works: The sauna lowers the skin temperature to 30 degrees with a cold air blast  (up to -202F!). The skin’s reaction to this cold is to send a message to the brain to fire all the regulatory functions of the body. For athletes, this translates to accelerated recovery…without having to sit in an ice bath. 

We met the film crew in the players' weight room, where they had already started shooting the other athlete in the show, a decathlon Olympic hopeful and, coincidentally, a college teammate of 2008 Olympic triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker. We were first filmed (with a huge 3D camera) running on treadmills, side by side. We then took turns in the cryotherapy sauna while the camera was rolling. Getting into the sauna is like stepping into a dressing room, with the door only as high as your neck. Laurel and I had to stand on a few phonebook sized foam mats to make sure our heads were above the door level. This machine (along with along with lots of other equipment in the gym) was custom made for 7-footers and not tiny triathletes.

Cryotherapy chamber. Photo provided by Mark Murdock.

The treatment lasts about 3 minutes and as nitrogen fills the chamber, it gets colder and colder.  It's fairly uncomfortable for a few seconds before it's over. It felt like going outside on a really cold day in shorts; no more painful than that. Both Laurel and I felt energized afterward, and the next day I set a new PR in the 3k at an indoor track meet. If cryotherapy had anything to do with that, I can see why many of the top athletes in the country are using it! You can find out more about the technology and where to use by visiting this website: http://lifeofmillennium.com/.

To learn more about Rebeccah and Laurel Wassner, visit the Wassner twins' website at www.wassnertwins.com.