THE temperature in Blackpool may be forecast to top 20 degrees centigrade today, but Barrow Raiders' players have been keeping cool as part of their preparation for the League One Cup final.

Wednesday evening saw the squad undergo a training session with a difference as the Raiders headed to an industrial estate in town to take advantage of a cryotherapy session at the manufacturing centre of Cryopod Ltd.

The company, which was founded by ex-Millom and Furness Rugby Union player Karl Benn and Paul Broom, have a list of clients including the England rugby union team, Huddersfield Giants and Newcastle United, with Barrow being offered the chance to utilise their expertise ahead of today's final against North Wales Crusaders.

“Paul knows a few of the players and one of the other directors of the company, Karl, is a keen ex-rugby player too, so we thought it was a good opportunity to help them out,” said Cryopod designer Darren Ball, who was pleased with how the Raiders players fared.

“We've got one on loan with the England rugby union team at the moment and they get a chance to use it, so we thought we would share it locally. What's good enough for them should be good enough for both!

“They were all a little bit nervous to start with; they're all big bruisers, but they all went slightly quiet. Nervous excitement is probably the best way of describing it, followed by a lot of expletives once they've been in for a minute!

“It is cold; it's minus-120 degrees and they're in for two minutes, so the first minute is not too bad but the second they start swearing a bit, but they all coped well with it.”

The Cryopod requires players to strip down to their underwear and put on thermal slippers, warm socks, gloves and a headband or a hat, with the idea being to expose as much of the skin as possible to the cold.

Cryotherapy is designed to aid recovery from injury and improve sleep, with getting a good night's rest sometimes an issue for professional athletes following a big game or an intense training session, and has proven an especially popular treatment in both codes of rugby.

“In particular, it seems to be really good for impact sports where you're picking up knocks, and aches and pains,” explained Ball.

“The theory behind it is it's geared towards a fight-or-flight response. It's slightly different to ice baths where you get a really chill and your core gets cold.

“In the case of cryotherapy, it's more a physiological response, so deep in your mind you're thinking 'I'm in serious trouble' and your body goes through the motions of putting into place a set of measures to try to counter that, helping you recover better than you would do normally.

“It's not the sort of thing you can use every day, but now and again it's quite effective because I think deep down you'd realise it's safe, but used infrequently it's a shock.”

In that sense, it will have been welcome for a Barrow squad who have endured a punishing schedule during the past three weeks and have been carrying a number of knocks and injuries ahead of the cup final at Bloomfield Road.

In total, 25 of the squad took part in the cryotherapy session and Ball is hopeful that, in some small way, it can help contribute to the Raiders going on to lift the League One Cup.

“I hope they do well,” said Ball. “They were all really chipper after it and as a bonding thing, I think it was quite entertaining.”