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Cold-water forearm immersion

3 soaks of 5 min in 15 °C water, 2.5 min out between, filling a 20 min rest between hard efforts.

Slot
Mobility
Focus
Recovery
Time
20 min
Intensity
Low
Injury risk
Low
Intervals
3 × 5:00 on, 2:30 off
Equipment
Cold water, Timer

How to do it

Use this in a long rest between two hard efforts: a comp round, a benchmark test, or the two halves of a limit session. Fill a sink, bucket or tub with water at about 15 °C: cold tap water with a little ice, checked with a thermometer if you have one. Put both forearms in past the elbow, or the whole arm if the tub allows, and keep them still for 5 minutes. Take them out for 2.5 minutes, then repeat twice more. Dry off and re-warm with a few easy moves before you climb hard again. Skip it if you have circulation problems, or if the cold hurts rather than just feels uncomfortable.

Who it’s for

Climbers with a long break between two hard efforts: comp rounds, a benchmark you want to repeat, or a limit session split in two. The evidence behind it is a small amount of lab work on climbers, so treat it as something to try in training and keep if it helps you.

Common mistakes

  • Making it colder. Ice water isn’t better. The water should feel cool and uncomfortable, and if it hurts, stop.
  • Moving your arms around. Keep them still in the water for each soak.
  • Going straight back to hard climbing. Your forearms and fingers come out cold. Warm them up with easy moves before you pull hard.
  • Using it after every session. It’s for the gap between two hard efforts on the same day, not a routine at the end of training.
  • Trying it first on comp day. Learn how your hands feel afterwards on a normal training day.

How to progress

There’s nothing to make harder. What’s worth finding out is whether it works for you: on a training day, repeat a hard effort once after a plain rest and on another day after the soaks, and compare how the second attempt felt.

When it fits

The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.

  • Base Lots of easy climbing, good movement and aerobic fitness.
  • Strength Stronger fingers and pulling, with weight you control.
  • Power Explosive moves, momentum and coordination.
  • Power Endurance Keep your power through one hard move after another.
  • Endurance Climb longer before you pump out, by moving efficiently.
  • Performance Peak for a trip or a comp: focus, reading problems, trying hard.
  • Deload Train less, let your fingers recover, keep moving.

Start with a ready-made block

A six-week strength plan with a deload, as a file for the app, and seven short emails on how to run it.