A practical guide for other gyms and clubs considering an ice bath
Here at The Fit Club, we have recently taken the step we’ve seen many other independent gym owners talk about. We installed an ice bath, converting an old shower block in our facility into a new feature for our members.
Cold-water immersion has been a significant and growing trend, with high profile, high performance athletes such as F1 drivers and footballers popularising it in recent years. And this trend is showing no sign of slowing down. For us though, it was more about strengthening our position in our area and reinforcing that we are ‘more than just a gym’. It was a substantial investment, but we are confident it will be worthwhile. Once the ice bath service/facility has been up and running for a good period of time, The Fit Club will be back with another guest blog detailing our progress and findings!
So we thought it was a perfect topic for this blog. If you are an independent gym or fitness club owner and you’ve been thinking about installing an ice bath in your facility, here is what we at The Fit Club learned, what we’d recommend and a couple of things we’d do differently in hindsight.
Costs and Costings
An ice bath isn’t a cheap addition. Our setup, a Brass Monkey Pro bath, shower, seating, and access control, represented a major outlay. To justify the cost, we had to have a clear route in place for how it would generate additional revenue, with the Ice Bath facility being a chargeable extra ‘bolt-on’ option for our members.
Our plan is to charge an extra £10 per month as an introductory offer, with that price rising to £15 after the first month. The goal is to use these offers and promotions to ensure we start with a solid base of users. Our goal is to hit 50 subscribers initially. From there, we will review and gather feedback on the user and staff experience, while checking everything from temperature consistency to staff understanding and member satisfaction.
Once we are happy that our ice bath service is able to cope with 50 members and maintain a high standard, we will increase the number of add-on slots to 100, repeating the process until we reach capacity. This staged approach prevents us from being overwhelmed and ensures the service runs smoothly as it scales up. This cautious approach is a great way to introduce any new service, but especially important with something as specialised as cold-water immersion.
The Actual Setup: What You Need to Know
We chose the Brass Monkey Pro Ice Bath. It is a premium piece, but the cost is only part of the story. Here’s what we focused on getting prepared for the Ice Bath room itself.
- Shower: This is non-negotiable and well worth the investment. We have made it a requirement for users to shower before entering the ice bath. This is recommended advice by Brass Monkey and helps to remove oils, sweat and lotion from users. This protects the bath’s water quality and will ensure the longevity of the filtration system.
- Drainage: Vital for hygiene and sustainable usage. In hindsight we wish we had installed a garden tap in the room to make cleaning and drainage easier.
- Heating: The bath’s cooling unit expels warm air. We found this helped take the edge off the room temperature, so additional heating wasn’t necessary.
- Step: The bath came with one, no need to spend time sourcing your own if you choose the same Bath we did.
Finally it was important for us to make sure that only members who had paid for the add-on membership tier had access to the ice baths. To this end, our final piece of preparation
- Access Control: Our plan is to use Ashbourne’s Wallet Pass and Magnetic Lock systems. This guarantees only paying members can enter, automating management and security so this doesn’t require additional staff hours or attention to manage.
Member Safety & Guidance: Your Biggest Responsibility
This is the most critical part. Cold water immersion is new and potentially dangerous for many members. You cannot just install the bath and assume people know how to use it safely.
We rely heavily on the official Brass Monkey user safety guidelines, but nearly all of these points will . Key points we emphasise:
- Never enter alone. Always ensure another person is present to monitor your wellbeing.
- Shower first: As we covered in prep, this is a must.
- Enter slowly: No jumping in. Cold shock is a real risk.
- Keep heads above water: Submerging the head increases risk and contaminates the water.
- Time: While dependent on tolerance, limit initial sessions to 2-3 minutes at very low temperatures, with an absolute maximum of 5 minutes. Maximum of 3 minutes below 0°c.
- Clear contraindications: We prominently list conditions (heart issues, pregnancy, high blood pressure, recent illness) that should preclude use and advise members to consult a doctor if unsure.
A full list of these vulnerable groups for user safety can be found here, we advise any gym owner considering an ice bath to read it thoroughly as neglecting any of these groups could negatively impact vulnerable members.
Providing this guidance isn’t just about duty of care, it protects your members and your business from misuse and preventable incidents.
The Maintenance Commitment...
...Don’t Underestimate It
An ice bath is not a ‘fit and forget’ asset. Just like swimming pools, they represent a big commitment in terms of maintenance and water hygiene. While the maintenance regime is smaller than a swimming pool and requires consistent discipline.
The maintenance of the ice bath within our gym has three distinct stages.
- Filtration: This is the removal of all the physical debris such as hair and skin cells, which, if left in would become sustenance for bacteria.
- Dosing: Using chemicals like chlorine to disinfect and kill microorganisms, much like you would in a swimming pool.
- Dilution: The regular draining and replacement of your ice bath is necessary to maintain the quality of the water.
You must commit to daily, weekly, and quarterly cleaning and testing schedules. We follow Brass Monkey’s detailed Testing and Dosing Briefing as it provides a thorough breakdown of what is required. Neglecting this maintenance routine for even a short period can lead to cloudy water, bacterial growth, and a poor, or unsafe, user experience.
Our Takeaway for Other Gyms
An ice bath is a premium feature and one that can draw in a lot of business if correctly installed and maintained. We would recommend that any gym thinking of paying that initial outlay must also be willing to commit to the maintenance of an ice bath in order to provide the best service to their members.
The ice bath has been a positive move for us, aligning not only with current trends but also with member interest. However, we would advise any fellow independent gyms reading that it is a serious undertaking.
View it as a dedicated, revenue generating part of your facility, not a novelty add-on. Installation is expensive and your model for access and revenue generation needs to be clear. Your safety protocols must be strict and visibly enforced, and finally the maintenance schedule should be treated with the care and respect your members deserve.
If you can manage these three pillars, an ice bath can be a valuable asset that elevates your gym’s offering. If any one of them is likely to be an afterthought in your day-to-day operations, perhaps it is best to reconsider.
We hope this rundown has helped any gym or fitness club owners considering installing ice baths, it can provide a valuable niche over your local competition and has allowed us here at The Fit Club to capitalise on this growing trend.
