Out of the ice, hooray!
After a refreshing ice bath comes the next — and equally important — part: warming your body back up. Step out of the water, gently dry yourself with a towel, and start moving. Your muscles are stiff after the cold exposure, so it's essential to do specific exercises designed for this purpose. Forget about running or anything too intense — you could easily hurt yourself!
The best exercise is what's known as the "Horse Stance." It's fantastic because it warms up your thigh muscles — the biggest muscles in the human body — as well as the intercostal (rib) muscles.
Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, toes pointing outward. Lower yourself as if you were going into a squat and hold the position until you feel your thighs working. Then start moving your upper body — right shoulder to the left, left shoulder to the right — side to side in a flowing rhythm. Use your arms to help the motion. Keep this up for at least two minutes. I usually finish by doing a few gentle jumps and swinging my arms around to get the blood flowing back into my frozen limbs.
Once you're done, finish drying off, put on warm, dry clothes, and enjoy a hot tea that you brought in a thermos.
When you get home, resist the urge to jump straight into a hot shower — your body will naturally return to its normal temperature on its own.