The Stoltman Brothers: The Cold Is My Teacher

Loch legends

Meet the world’s strongest brothers, Tom and Luke Stoltman. With world and European strongman titles between them and a trophy cabinet almost as heavy as the brothers put together, their personalities are as big as their biceps. 

Three times the World's Strongest Man, Tom, and two times Europe’s Strongest Man, Luke have a secret weapon. The cold. They began to realise its true potential when they started swimming in the loch near their gym after their gym sessions. Luke noticed how their mood transformed after the swim. Luke would be laughing, joking and bouncing off the walls, Tom who has lived with autism from childhood found an inner calm in the cold. 

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Cold means gold

Luke told us, “I don’t believe in coincidences. Since Tom and I started doing cold water therapy, Tom and I have become two of the strongest men in the world. We’re the first set of brothers to make the World Strongest Man final. So it’s no coincidence that that trajectory of success and strength has been the same as how we’ve used the cold. It goes hand in hand for me. It’s just a fact and it’s helped massively.

“Being professional strong men, doing what we do is quite painful a lot of the time. Our knees, hips, backs, shoulders, elbows, but doing that cold water after training gives us more energy and we recover a lot quicker.

“We looked to Eddy Hall and his recovery process. He’s a big advocate of contrast therapy. But back in 2019 we didn’t have as bigger profile as we do now, and we didn’t have the finances to pay for the amazing stuff we have now, and so we had an inflatable lazy boy spa for the hot and we had a cow feeder from one of the farms that we filled with cold water, and that was our contrast set up.”

The cheat code

“Having autism, if something works I’ll get addicted to it. It can be something to do with diet, sleep or whatever. 

“The first time I did cold water for strongman performance-wise when I went in the water, I didn’t have the mental clarity or get that buzz, but when I went to bed and woke up the next morning I woke up and felt like “wow”, my body feels unbelievable. It was like a cheat code. I’ve unlocked something that’s free. You can do it almost anywhere. 

“It had to be in my routine. I always do it after a gym session. I have to wait a few hours until I have that feeling and that purpose. I always go 100% in the gym, my body’s really sore and I love waking up in the morning and not having that DOMs, and then I can go harder and harder in the gym. And that’s what using hot and cold has done. That’s 100% because of my recovery and it’s so easy to do and I know it works. It makes me perform to the best of my ability which is what I need to do in my line of work. Then,  It mentally switches me off at night. There’s definitely a big mental side to it. It relaxes me, takes my heart rate down so I can go and have the best night’s sleep ever.”

Brotherhood bond

It’s plain to see that these two brothers are close. As the older brother, Luke helped Tom take charge of his autism, getting him out of his bedroom and into the gym. That was the start of an incredible story for both of them. They do everything together,  including climbing into their customised Brass Monkey Duo bath to dip. 

“I haven’t done a dip without Luke or a good friend doing it with me. That big Brass Monkey tub that’s full of ice and looks so intimidating. Having Luke there makes it better. The cold makes him happy. He’s just smiling and joking about like a kid and he makes five minutes feel like one or two minutes. For me, the cold switches me off.

Big energy

Luke and Tom have started a tradition. When they travel around the world for competitions, they find a spot for a cold-water swim.. They post about it on their social channels and invite local people (mainly their fans) to join them for a dip the day before their competition. They turn up all year round and in all weathers.

“When you dip with a group of people, you get that energy and that connection with different people. It’s beautiful really. You see an instant change in people’s moods and mindsets and their physical being.

“When we go in, we’re tired. we’re rubbing our eyes. you don’t feel like doing it. but then afterwards, the changes are huge. We’re smiling. Our posture changes. The physical changes in our being is just different, and that’s when I really utilise other people’s energy. I absorb that. People radiate positive energy and you take all that in.”

“We’re very fortunate to have so many people support us the way they do, and going swimming with them, we find people open up to us.  There was a guy, you could tell he was really struggling and you could tell it meant a lot to him that we did this dip. He was sat there. He was crying and I went over and gave him a hug, and you saw him change. That’s really powerful especially when a big burley man is sat there crying. It’s really difficult to embrace with another man. To hold on for a couple of extra seconds sometimes is all the help you need.  The presence of being in that moment with that person is really powerful.

Everyone should dip

“Physically I believe, unless you’ve got some external condition that stops you from doing it, if you’re in general good state we can all do cold water. It’s just having that mind set to over come that though of “oh, I can’t do it”. Of course you can, you did it when you were a kid. I enjoy going back to that feeling like a child, to that place where I was happy and I felt safe. There weren’t any boundaries and as adults we sometimes put boundaries in ourselves that we can’t do x y and z and the cold is a great way of teaching ourselves that we can, just by stepping in,  fully immersing ourselves and you’re there, it’s a big morale boost. I can do that, I can achieve something that I didn’t think I could ten minutes ago. So imagine what else we could achieve going forward. 

We need a revolution

“I want to be strong as fuck. I want to see Tom win six World Strongest Man titles. I was listening to Tracy Chapen’s Revolution on the way here and that’s what we need. We need a revolution to regenerate people because look around us here, we’ve got the cold, we’ve got fire, we’ve got breathwork. It’s nature, nature’s got the answer and that’s a revolution that we need. We need to go back to nature. Back to the basics in life. We’re all so busy in life. All we do is sit on our fucking phones and we need to switch off. You have to go out and find hard work and do the hard work and embrace it and that’s where you find joy. You can’t expect to just wake up and be happy. You have to embrace the hard work. I just want to keep finding joy in the small things and grow.”

How do cold water and ice baths help mental health?

Cold water and ice baths positively impact mental health by reducing stress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression. Immersing the body in cold water triggers the release of dopamine, the body’s natural “feel-good” chemical, while simultaneously lowering cortisol, the stress hormone. This creates a sense of calm and mental clarity post-immersion. Cold exposure also activates the vagus nerve, which plays a key role in the parasympathetic nervous system, helping to reduce feelings of overwhelm and improving overall resilience to stress. Additionally, the act of voluntarily exposing oneself to discomfort, like cold water, can boost self-discipline and mental toughness. Over time, these effects may foster improved emotional regulation and a sense of accomplishment, enhancing overall mental wellbeing.

When should I use an ice bath when strength training?

Ice baths can be most effective after intense strength training sessions, particularly those involving heavy lifting or high-volume workouts. These baths aid in reducing muscle soreness, inflammation, and fatigue by constricting blood vessels and decreasing swelling in overworked muscles. However, ice baths are best avoided immediately after sessions where muscle growth is the primary goal, as cold exposure may temporarily blunt the anabolic signalling necessary for muscle repair and hypertrophy. Instead, schedule ice baths on recovery days or after sessions focused on endurance or high-intensity intervals. For best results, wait at least 2–4 hours post-workout before using an ice bath if hypertrophy is a key focus, allowing your body’s natural recovery processes to take place first.

How does using contrast therapy improve sleep?

Contrast therapy, alternating between hot and cold exposure, enhances sleep quality by improving circulation, reducing muscle tension, and calming the nervous system. The cold phase lowers core body temperature, which signals the body to produce melatonin, the hormone responsible for regulating sleep. Meanwhile, the warm phase relaxes muscles and promotes a parasympathetic state, reducing stress and preparing the body for rest. The combination of hot and cold also aids in flushing out metabolic waste and reducing inflammation, which can ease physical discomfort that might otherwise disrupt sleep. Engaging in contrast therapy a few hours before bedtime helps signal to the body that it’s time to wind down, creating the perfect conditions for a deeper, more restorative night’s sleep.