Exposure to cold ambient temperature may induce subnormal body and muscle temperatures leading to decreased neuromuscular performance. In general, decrease in dynamic performance after cooling is in the order of 2–10 %×°C^-1 decrease in muscle temperature. However, even bigger values have been reported, during drop jump exercise the highest decrease in performance was 17 %×°C^-1. This implies that exercise, which is very fast and efficiently utilises elasticity of the working muscles is very susceptible for cooling. A dose–response relationship between muscle temperature and performance can be found. Whether the muscle is passively cooled or actively rewarmed after cooling is of no importance; the predominant factor in determining the outcome of muscular performance is muscle temperature. In addition to decreased muscular performance cooling has also a profound effect on functional properties of skeletal muscle. The rate of tension development and relaxation, as well as the velocity of muscle contraction itself, shortening and lengthening, is also slower in a given time when muscle tissue is cooled resulting in a less powerful contraction of a muscle. Force production is regulated peripherally and/or centrally. There is evidence that the suppressed T-reflex amplitude is caused by decreased activity of the muscle spindles and thus decreased gamma motoneuron excitability and these changes may lead to decreased force production. On the other hand, it also has been shown that during low-intensity repetitive work in cold, stretch reflex responses are enhanced in relation to thermoneutral responses. This suggests that the increased strain of the working muscles were met by increasing reflex activity. Therefore, more muscle fibres are recruited to maintain the given work level in the cold.