Contrast Therapy Calculator
Sauna-to-plunge is the protocol everyone wants and nobody doses. Set your rounds and timing — get a session plan plus what it banks toward your weekly cold and heat targets.
Not medical advice. The hot→cold transition is a blood-pressure event — move slowly between stations, hydrate, and skip contrast work entirely with uncontrolled cardiovascular conditions or during pregnancy.
A sane default protocol
If you're new: 3 rounds × 4 minutes heat / 1 minute cold, finish on cold. That's 15 minutes, it banks 3 cold minutes toward the weekly 11-minute target, and the heat counts toward your sauna dose. Done 3×/week, the cold side of the ledger closes on its own.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good contrast therapy ratio?
The most common protocols use a 3:1 or 4:1 hot-to-cold ratio — for example 3–4 minutes of sauna or hot water followed by 1 minute of cold, repeated for 3–5 rounds. Total protocol time typically lands between 15 and 30 minutes.
Should you end contrast therapy on hot or cold?
Convention: end on cold for alertness, training days, and daytime sessions; end on heat for evening sessions when sleep is the goal. For acute injuries in the first 48 hours, skip contrast entirely and follow medical guidance.
Does contrast therapy count toward my weekly cold and heat doses?
Yes — the cold minutes count toward the ~11-minute weekly cold-exposure threshold and the heat minutes count toward your sauna dose. The calculator tallies both for you.
Building a contrast setup at home means buying both sides: sauna rankings here, plunge rankings here, or read sauna vs. cold plunge if the budget only covers one.