Athletes freeze their bodies to -275 degrees to get an edge

(By Michael Trei, DVICE) - Professional athletes will do pretty much anything to get a performance edge, but this latest trick sounds especially nutty. Using a machine called a Cryosauna, the athlete stands in a tube filled with nitrogen gas at -275 degrees Fahrenheit for two minutes, causing blood to rush towards their vital organs.

The idea is that the super cold dip tricks the body into thinking it's dying, and rushes blood to vital organs like the heart, brain, and lungs to preserve them. Then when you step out of the cold the blood rushes back to your muscles again, only now it's saturated with extra oxygen from being in your heart and lungs.

The system is being used by trainer and three time NYC Marathon winner Alberto Salazar to help the athletes he trains, although he admits that he's still trying to figure out the best way to use it. I just hope he figures it out before the sporting authorities ban this thing.