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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.

Mobility
Recovery
20 min
Low intensity
Low injury risk
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.

Run it now

The same timer as the app: a five-second get-ready, then every round and rest counted down with a beep. Keep this page open while you train.

Cold-water forearm immersion

0:00 / 20:05

Ready

20:05

3 rounds

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

3
rounds
5:00
work
2:30
rest
20:05
total

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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.