Ice Bath Timer with Round Support — TrackCold for iPhone
Most ice bath sessions aren't a single timer — they're rounds. Sauna in. Ice bath out. Repeat. TrackCold chains the cold and hot phases with haptic transitions on iPhone and Apple Watch, so you can keep your eyes closed and your breathing slow.
Why round support matters
A single timer can't run a contrast protocol.
Serious ice bath practice is rarely one-and-done. The Nordic tradition is sauna → cold → sauna → cold, 3 to 5 rounds. The Wim Hof method stacks 3+ immersions in a session. Even a solo ice bath benefits from a deliberate warmup-cooldown structure. TrackCold's multi-round mode handles all of it.
Independent cold + hot durations
Set a 2-minute cold phase and a 12-minute hot phase. The timer alternates them — and remembers your defaults for next time.
Haptic phase transitions
Eyes closed, fingers numb. A wrist tap tells you when to climb out. No frantic phone fumbling.
Live Activity on the Lock Screen
Glance at the round count and remaining time without unlocking. Helpful when you've stashed your phone in a dry bag across the deck.
Saved as a Ritual
Name your contrast protocol once — "Sauna 12/2 × 5" — and start it from the home screen with one tap.
How rounds work
Three modes for ice bath sessions.
Multi-round contrast
The signature mode for ice bath. Define cold and hot phases, set round count (1–20), let the timer chain them with audio + haptic alerts at every transition.
Single ice bath (timer)
For one fixed-duration immersion. Set the target — 2:00, 3:30, whatever — and the timer counts down with a haptic at the end.
Open-ended (stopwatch)
Push your edge. The stopwatch counts up; tap stop when you climb out. Live Activity shows elapsed time on the Lock Screen.
Compared
Built for ice baths. Not a kitchen timer with extra steps.
| Feature | TrackCold | iOS Clock | Interval timer apps | Sauna timer apps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-round cold + hot phases | ||||
| Haptic phase transitions | ||||
| Apple Watch standalone | ||||
| Live Activity on Lock Screen | ||||
| Session history & filtering | ||||
| HealthKit sync | ||||
| Streak quests & rune achievements | ||||
| No account required | ||||
| History stays in your iCloud |
Compared
vs other cold plunge apps.
What each app's own App Store listing says it does. Where a listing doesn't mention a feature, we mark it as not stated rather than guess.
| Feature | TrackCold | GoPolar | Brisk | Ultra Plunge | IceBuddy | Plunge (official) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free · $4.99/mo · $34.99/yr · $149.99 lifetime | Free · $6.99/mo · $39.99/yr | Free · $4.99/mo · $39.99/yr | 7-day trial, then $4.99/mo · $39.99/yr · $59.99 lifetime | Free · Premium $6.99–$59.99 | Free, no in-app purchases |
| Apple Watch app | ||||||
| Contrast (hot/cold) sessions | — | — | ||||
| Apple Health logging | — | |||||
| Streaks or challenges | ||||||
| Session notes | — | — | — | — | ||
| CSV export | Asgard | — | — | — | — | — |
| Data stored in your own iCloud | — | — | — | — |
✓ stated in the app's App Store listing (description, compatibility, or release notes) · ✗ the listing shows no Apple Watch app · — not stated in the listing. US listings checked September 19, 2026. Prices and features change, so check each listing for current details.
Round protocols
Pick a contrast protocol. Start the rounds.
Three ice bath round structures used by serious practitioners. Save any of them as a Ritual in TrackCold for one-tap restarts.
Nordic 12/2 × 4
12 min sauna, 2 min ice bath, repeated 4 rounds, with a rest after each. The classic Finnish-Nordic pattern.
Contrast therapy guide →Wim Hof 3 × 1:30
Breathwork prep, then 3 ice immersions of 90 seconds with 60-second warm rests between.
Deliberate cold exposure →Huberman 11-min
11 minutes of cold exposure per week, broken across 2–4 sessions. Round-aware so you can split it.
Optimal cold exposure duration →Or run a contrast session right now in your browser, free and without installing anything: the web contrast timer →
FAQ
Ice bath timing, answered.
Now on the App Store.
Free to download. Asgard unlocks up to 20 rounds per workout, with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers.
Want to learn more first? Read the cold-exposure knowledge base →
More on TrackCold: Cold plunge timer · Cold plunge tracker · Apple Watch app