Dosing: the right cold, for the right person, in the right state
Most of the category doses by habit rather than by variable: "X minutes at Y degrees." The Cold Standard doses it like training, because that's what it is. The framework comes from our Head of Science, Phil Learney: the minimum effective dose, for the right person, in the right state, for the right purpose. It's a process we run with you, not a syllabus you have to master.
Time is the final variable, not the first.
Six variables govern every dose, in order: Purpose (what the session is for), State (how ready they are today), Acclimation (their training history), Geometry (position, depth, contact area), Response (what's observably happening, during and after), and only then Time. Duration falls out of the other five. It is never set first.
Purpose: what the session is for
State: how ready they are today
Acclimation: their training history
Geometry: position, depth, contact area
Response: what's observably happening, during and after
Time: only then
That's the single biggest correction to how the wider category doses cold. Six variables are our job to run, not yours to memorise. In consultation we work through them with you and hand your team the simple version: who gets what session, today.
Warmer than you think.
Our systems hold as low as 3°C all day, and Pro Ice holds 0°C. That's engineering headroom, not an operating target. Cold shock responses peak between 15°C and 10°C, which is why the machismo around single-digit numbers misses the point: the accessible cold that serves most of your users, most sessions, is warmer than the category's habit. Our Head of Science puts it: “Colder doesn't buy more. It buys the same or less, faster, with less margin for error. Below about 8°C, the thing you are managing is time, not temperature.” Chasing the lowest number serves a handful of adapted users and loses you everyone else. Set warmer, serve more people, progress the ones who earn it. Which brings you back to the first variable: what is the session for, and who is it for?
Phil Learney, Head of ScienceOrientation
Habituation
Main cold
Staff-authorised, adapted users
At a single-unit site, the temperature is a fixed property of the facility, and progression runs on time, frequency and coaching instead.
One variable at a time.
Progress one variable per step, never temperature and duration together. First-minute control matters more than session length. A calm exit and normal rewarming are part of the dose, not the aftermath. Consistency beats occasional maximum exposure. And facial immersion and breath-holds stay out of novice programming entirely. Boring rules, trained outcomes. That's the point.
Your experience, dosed properly.
Standalone meditative free access, a sauna-paired contrast circuit, a coached recovery corner. You know the experience you want to run. The dose design is what we bring. That's the consultation.