The Protocol
Start warm in the sauna for 30 minutes. Then the next stage is contrast hydrotherapy, where you alternate between cold plunge and hot plunge. Finish in the lounge with compression, vibration, and red light therapy.Sauna for 30 minutes, then contrast hydrotherapy, then the lounge.
What happens, in order
Infrared sauna
Thirty minutes in the full-spectrum infrared sauna, where the heat opens your blood vessels (that's vasodilation) and warms your muscles through.
Cold and hot plunge
Two rounds of cold and hot, and you finish on cold. The cold narrows your vessels (vasoconstriction), the heat opens them again, and you move back and forth between the two tubs.
Compression, vibration, red light
Normatec sleeves on in the lounge, a short turn on the vibration plate, then red light, and nobody rushes you.
#TheProtocol is one visit with five parts in a fixed order: the infrared sauna, the cold and hot plunges, the compression lounge, the vibration plate, and red light. Dr. Jess set that order in 2019.
Why the order matters
Heat first, always. In Dr. Jess's words: "Infrared saunas heat the body directly, penetrate tissues, and promote vasodilation. This increases blood flow and oxygen delivery to muscles and organs." Then the cold narrows those vessels, and the heat opens them again. Going back and forth is what contrast hydrotherapy is all about. Then the quiet part, so you walk out chill instead of wired.
The strongest research is on soreness: across 18 trials, people who went hot and cold after hard exercise were less sore for days than people who rested, and every study we lean on is on the evidence page.
The first time
On your first visit, someone takes you from station to station with the cold rounds counted out for you. Bring a swimsuit and pick a time.
Protocol questions
How long is The Protocol?
Plan on seventy-five to ninety minutes, forty-five of them in the tubs and the sauna.
Can I skip the cold?
Yes, keep the first round short, step out when you like, or skip the tubs and do the sauna with the lounge.
Can I book just one part of it?
Yes, any single station is a Quick Reset, the cold and hot plunges count as one, and The Protocol is all five in one booking.
Who should check with a doctor first?
Anyone who is pregnant or has a heart or blood-pressure condition should ask a doctor before plunging, and tell us on your first visit too.
