После парилки он выбрал обливание холодной водой.

Because после requires the genitive case.

• парилка = dictionary form, nominative singular
• after после (after), it changes to парилки = genitive singular

So:

• после парилки = after the steam room / after the sauna session

This is a very common pattern in Russian:

• после работы = after work
• после урока = after the lesson
• после бани = after the bathhouse

So the learner should remember: после + genitive.

Парилка is a colloquial, everyday word for a steam room or the hot steam section of a bathhouse/sauna.

It comes from пар = steam.

Depending on context, it can suggest:

• the steam room itself
• the hot steaming part of a баня
• sometimes, more loosely, the sauna experience

It is a bit more specific than баня, because баня can mean the whole bathhouse or bathhouse tradition, while парилка is specifically the steaming room.

Выбрал is the past masculine singular form of выбрать, which is a perfective verb.

That means it presents the action as a completed choice:

• he chose it
• he made a decision

This fits the sentence well, because the speaker is describing one specific completed action after the steam room.

Compare:

• он выбрал = he chose / he opted for
• он выбирал = he was choosing / he used to choose / he spent time choosing

So выбрал emphasizes the result: the choice was made.

Because here Russian is using a noun phrase after выбрал:

• выбрал обливание = chose dousing / chose a cold-water pour

This is similar to English expressions like:

• He chose swimming
• He chose rest
• He chose a cold shower

If you used a verb, the structure would be different. For example:

• После парилки он решил облиться холодной водой. = After the steam room, he decided to douse himself with cold water.

That version focuses more on the action itself.
The original sentence sounds a bit more like choosing a procedure, option, or activity.

Обливание is a verbal noun from обливать / облить and literally means something like:

• pouring over
• dousing
• splashing over the body

In this context, it usually means the practice of pouring cold water over yourself, especially after heat exposure in a sauna or bathhouse.

So it is not just any random pouring of water. In Russian cultural context, it often refers to a recognizable health or bathhouse practice.

Because обливание normally takes the thing being poured in the instrumental case.

So:

• вода → водой (instrumental singular)
• холодная → холодной (to agree with водой)

This gives:

• обливание холодной водой = dousing with cold water

The instrumental case often expresses the means or substance used in an action.

Compare:

• писать ручкой = to write with a pen
• резать ножом = to cut with a knife
• обливаться водой = to douse oneself with water

So here холодной водой tells you what he was dousing himself with.

It is in the accusative singular, but because обливание is a neuter inanimate noun, its accusative form looks exactly like the nominative form.

Why accusative? Because it is the direct object of выбрал:

• он выбрал что? → обливание

So grammatically:

• он = subject
• выбрал = verb
• обливание холодной водой = direct object

Not really in standard Russian.

After выбрать, Russian normally prefers:

• a noun: выбрать обливание
• or a choice between alternatives: выбрать что-то

If you want an infinitive, a more natural verb is usually:

• решил = decided
• захотел = wanted
• собрался = intended

So these are more natural:

• После парилки он решил облиться холодной водой.
• После парилки он захотел облиться холодной водой.

The original sentence sounds more like choosing a method/treatment/activity, while the infinitive version sounds more like deciding to perform an action.

The word order is natural and neutral:

• После парилки = sets the time/context first
• он = subject
• выбрал = verb
• обливание холодной водой = what he chose

Russian word order is flexible, but changing it can shift emphasis.

For example:

• Он выбрал обливание холодной водой после парилки.
  This is also understandable, but it sounds a little more like after the steam room is being added later as extra information.

• Обливание холодной водой он выбрал после парилки.
  This puts more emphasis on обливание холодной водой.

So the original order is a very normal way to present the sentence.

Yes, it is grammatical and understandable, but it sounds a bit formal or bookish because of выбрал обливание.

In everyday speech, a Russian speaker might more often say something like:

• После парилки он решил облиться холодной водой.
• После парилки он облил себя холодной водой.
• После парилки он выбрал холодное обливание.
• После парилки он пошёл на обливание холодной водой.
  (depending on context)

The original version is still perfectly possible, especially if the context is talking about wellness options, bathhouse routines, or health procedures.

It most naturally means after the steam-room part of the experience, but the exact meaning depends on context.

It can suggest:

• after being in the steam room
• after finishing a round in the steam room
• after the sauna/steam stage of a bathhouse routine

In bathhouse culture, people often alternate:

1. steam/heat
2. cold water / snow / plunge
3. rest

So после парилки often means after a hot round in the steam room, not necessarily after leaving the entire bathhouse for good.