Group of people having fun in an ice bath

Ice Bath for Beginners: A Safe First-Month Protocol

By Alexandre Tsuk, founder of BreathingCold. Last updated October 2026. The short answer: Start with water around 15°C (59°F), stay in for one to two minutes, and do it two or three times a week. Enter slowly, keep your breathing calm and slow, and never do it alone. Research on regular cold exposure points to roughly 11 minutes in total …