Sauna After Workout

Benefits and harm of sauna after workout

There is even a special type of yoga that involves performing asanas in a sauna – bikram

Benefits of going to the sauna after strength training:

• the opportunity to completely relax and unwind;
• additional hardening of the body and strengthening of immunity;
• muscle relaxation and fatigue relief;
• excretion of excess water and toxins from the body through sweat;
• acceleration of lactic acid in muscles;
• acceleration of protein metabolism.

Infrared sauna is considered more beneficial than usual after strength training.

Negative aspects of visiting the sauna after a workout:

• in case of problems with the cardiovascular system after training, the procedure is categorically contraindicated (pressure surges that are too sharp and dangerous to health are possible);
• in case of skin problems, a visit to the steam room is also not recommended, as this can aggravate well-being;
• after too hard or long (more than 45 minutes) training, you should not go to the sauna because of the heavy load on the heart and the body as a whole;
• if you are very thirsty during a workout, you should abandon the procedure, since the body no longer has enough fluid, and the sauna simply removes water.

Doctors have not yet come to an unambiguous opinion about the benefits of sauna after sports. Some studies show that visiting the steam room has a positive effect on the state of the muscles and the body as a whole, while others, on the contrary, characterize the procedure from the negative side. Therefore, if you want to try to combine training and a sauna, keep track of your specific condition, fix any changes and draw conclusions.

Rules for visiting sauna after workout

Sauna reduces muscle pain after exercise, especially when combined with relaxing music

To reap the benefits of combining a workout with a sauna, don’t go into the steam room right after your last set of machines. Wait a few minutes, or better yet, take a warm shower without soap.

Visiting the sauna requires compliance with certain rules:

• do not eat before the procedure;
• do not drink alcohol;
• it is better to hide your hair under a cap or a towel so that it does not dry out;
• in case of severe dryness of the skin, natural oils can be applied to it beforehand;

• with a high sensitivity of the body to high temperatures, one should not stay in the steam room for a long time (if desired, you can enter and exit several times);
• If your body temperature is elevated after a workout or you feel severe discomfort, it is better to postpone visiting the sauna.

During training and after leaving the sauna, it is necessary to drink pure non-carbonated water.

In addition, visiting the steam room is prohibited in the following cases:

• diabetes mellitus;
• diseases of the nervous system;
• high blood pressure;
• period of menstruation.

Sauna and training

Whether to visit the sauna after strength training, everyone decides for himself. But it is important to take into account the state of health and the intensity of training, so as not to harm your body.

Types of saunas

Before determining the benefits of the sauna after the gym for the body, it is necessary to consider the types:

• Dry sauna. A characteristic feature is extremely hot air from 90 to 110 degrees. The humidity level is the lowest at around 15%. Dry steam is used for heating. Such a sauna is a Finnish sauna.
• Wet sauna. The difference lies in the air temperature, which ranges from 75-90 degrees. The humidity level in the steam room is increased. The steam room is heated by pouring liquid over hot stones. Aroma oils, honey and various cosmetic preparations are also relevant. After the soaring procedure, a pool of cold water is usually used. It is a tonic and invigorating procedure. These varieties include Russian and Turkish baths.
• Infrared sauna. This is the newest of all types of saunas. This is a small room made of wood, which is heated by infrared emitters. Usually produced in the form of booths, which accommodates no more than two people. The temperature is much lower, which ranges from 40-50 degrees. That is why the procedures are much easier to tolerate and do not burden the heart.

Infrared sauna is the most useful, which relaxes tired muscles after exhausting workouts. The rays penetrate the skin up to 4 cm, allowing you to get rid of cellulite and many skin pathologies. This is the most acceptable option for athletes.

Benefits of sauna after workout

Sauna has a good effect on the body after physical exertion, but only with the right visit. The main benefits of visiting the steam room:

• The steam bath increases blood flow, and after each visit, the muscles feel renewed. In addition to raising body temperature, sauna also increases heart rate, the metabolic rate. The temperature of the epidermis noticeably rises in just a few minutes. Blood vessels become more elastic and flexible, blood circulation through them increases. The heart nearly doubles the amount of blood it pumps.
• Sauna after a hard workout can relieve muscle pain due to the production of endorphins in the body. Also, manipulations help eliminate lactate lactate, as well as remove toxins.
• The most important benefit is detoxification of the body. Through sweat, harmful substances, toxins, poisons leave the body. An infrared sauna is more suitable for this. Also, the sessions deeply cleanse the pores and allow the dermis to breathe in a new way. This is very important for regular exercise. Sweat removes excess salts and urea (a product of natural metabolism).
• Sauna helps lower cortisol levels. It’s a destructive hormone. The combination of relaxing music and warmth will make you feel relieved. It relieves both physical and emotional stress. Combats excessive fatigue.
• You can burn 600 kcal in half an hour in an infrared sauna. Weight is lost due to an increase in heart rate and metabolic rate.
• The heat of infrared saunas penetrates deep into tissues, joints, muscles, increasing blood circulation and accelerating the flow of oxygen. Many doctors advise using it to treat sports injuries.
• Sauna is a plus for bodybuilders, because under the influence of high temperatures, the level of growth hormone production increases by 2-3 times.
• Sessions improve neuromuscular communication. Muscles are strongly strengthened.

But the condition can be improved only if a number of rules are observed. To get only the benefits, it is recommended to consult with a personal trainer before visiting the sauna.

What is the right way to visit the sauna after a workout?

It is important to know how to properly stay in the sauna after a workout in order to reduce harm to health to zero and receive only benefits. There are a few simple rules, following which you can protect yourself from a heart attack and other unpleasant consequences:

• Do not resort to sessions in the sauna with severe complexes. Due to this, the heart rate will not accelerate.
• Do not perform sessions during drying. This is due to the cause of excessive dehydration, especially in the last stages.
• 10-15 minutes before visiting the sauna, close the window of carbohydrates and proteins. Only under such conditions can the effect of catabolism caused by exercise be reduced.
• Do not go to the sauna if you have nausea or if you feel unwell.
• Prematurely replenish the fluid balance in the body. It is preferable to choose healing mineral water with a special alkaline additive.
• When in the sauna, have an extra source of fluid.
• Never leave the sauna abruptly.
• Don’t let the humidity and temperature in the room become uncomfortable.
• Do not exceed the session time by more than 40 minutes. If an infrared sauna is used, then the period is even shorter.

These simple rules will help you feel better.

There are many myths and disagreements around the topic of sports and bath procedures. We answer questions – how best to combine training with a sauna and whether it will help you lose weight.

Despite the fact that bath procedures have contraindications –

• feverish conditions,
• elevated body temperature,
• exacerbations of chronic diseases,
• oncological diseases,
• persistent arterial hypertension,
• advanced varicose veins,
• severe diseases of the cardiovascular and central nervous systems,
• the presence of a pacemaker,
• mental illness,
• epilepsy,
• postoperative period,
• first trimester of pregnancy, first day of menstruation

— with the right approach and proper use of bath products, the procedure will have a therapeutic effect. The main thing is to listen to yourself, your feelings and understand what happens to the body during soaring.

In the process of learning, a person experiences physical stress, during the day (at work and in society) – psychological. Bath – due to the heat that expands the blood flow, aromas that soothe the mind, and the horizontal position, natural for relaxation, allows you to relieve tension and stop thoughts. Feelings during a stay in a warm room can be compared with intrauterine, relatives – a person begins to “let go” of the whole world, psycho-emotional and physical disorders, spasms, and “squeezing” go away.

Sauna and weight loss

There is an opinion that regular visits to the sauna can help you lose weight. It is a myth. Yes, it will help you sweat and lose fluid, which means that the weight will go away. But if you use the same amount of fluid that you lost when you exited the sauna, then the weight will be restored. However, there is some truth in this myth. Which? During bathing procedures, sweating occurs, the work of all internal organs is started, in a scientific way, metabolism is started, as a result of which the speed and quality of work of the cells that make up the body improve. In simple terms, cells are such small “factories” that feed, multiply and produce waste products – slags – which are just released during sweating. And the fresh water we consume feeds them. Proper quality drinking and nutrition normalize the work of the whole organism, it is renewed and, as a result, weight loss: cellulite, “clamps”, spasms in the intestines and other “stagnant” phenomena disappear, due to which there is no proper nutrition of organs and tissues. Thanks to the restoration of metabolic processes, the body heals, the level of energy increases and mood improves.

Greetings! Today we are waiting for a relaxing note, because in it we will talk about the topic – a sauna after a workout. In the course of the note, we will figure out whether this thing is needed at all, what happens to the muscles in the steam room itself and how this affects the growth of muscle mass. I must say right away that the material is unique, so we absorb every millimeter of letters.

So, make yourself comfortable, let’s warm up now!

Well, I would like to start with the fact that we owe this note to our loved ones, because it is this topic – a sauna after a workout – that haunts many readers. In particular, some of them reported through the project mail that a regular fitness center has such a service as a bath / sauna. In other words, after a workout, you can relax, take a steam bath and relax. However, it is not clear whether this is beneficial for the muscles and how they will be affected. Like, some speak well, others speak badly, others just sit and remain silent in a rag :), please clarify the situation. With joy, my dear, and in the most expanded form. Well, let’s get started.

For better assimilation of the material, all further narration will be divided into subchapters

Sweat and its functions

Sauna is a place designed to increase the body temperature of a person and cause profuse sweating. Even though many of us try to avoid sweating, sweat has two important functions:

• cooling;
• elimination of toxins (liberation of the body from waste products).

The body contains two types of sweat glands:

• apocrine glands – located mainly in the armpits, on the pubis and scalp. They secrete sweat, which contains fats and other organic compounds. Bacteria found on human skin interact with these compounds, which causes a specific (for each person) body odor. These glands become especially functional during puberty, they secrete hormones and pheromones to attract the opposite sex;
• eccrine glands – there are over 2 million of them and they are scattered throughout the body. They really are workhorses when it comes to sweating. The eccrine glands are activated by heat, as well as by stress and emotion. These glands secrete watery sweat that cools the body by evaporating from the surface of the skin.

As for the types of saunas, they are:

• convection is the most common and occurs in most places;
• infrared – directional.

Their main difference lies in the degree of thermal effect on the human body. In an infrared sauna, a person warms up from the inside in a matter of minutes, in a conventional sauna, the air itself heats up more, and not the body.

Sauna and its effect on muscles

Let’s go a little deeper into the theory and find out what processes take place in the muscles after the end of the last repetition, and how a sauna or a cool shower affects all this.

During exercise, the muscles meet their energy needs at the expense of glycogen. It is stored in the muscles and liver and is a derivative of glucose, which is replenished through the consumption of carbohydrates. That’s why it’s so important to consume carbohydrates before and after training – it’s the only way to ensure optimal nutrition for muscle growth.

Sauna or cool showers are two remedies that many athletes often use after training for better recovery. However, it must be remembered here that they affect protein synthesis and recovery in different ways. After a power load, all the calories expended within half an hour go to the formation of new contractile proteins (growth of muscle tissue). If during this period the body does not receive energy from the outside, it begins to burn the existing muscles. This is the so-called carbohydrate window. And to close it, you need to load it with fast carbohydrates in the amount of 40-60 grams.

In addition to carbohydrates, the body needs fast building blocks – proteins. And the ideal choice in this case are liquid amino acids or whey protein hydrolyzate. Therefore, it is more correct to say that after training, it is necessary to close the carbohydrate-protein window.

Now about the sauna and its effect on the muscles.

A number of independent studies have been conducted by the American Institute of Physiology and Sports, which have proven that sauna (mostly) negatively affects muscle growth. These studies have shown that glycogen synthesis, and hence muscle recovery, is significantly slowed down at temperatures above 30 degrees. In other words, post-workout sauna is not the best choice.

Sperm motility for several days after visiting the sauna is markedly reduced. Therefore, it is not necessary to arrange a bachelor party in the bathhouse before the wedding night

These studies have also shown that cooler than room temperature, such as a cool shower, is the best post-workout option. Such a shower accelerates glycogen synthesis and muscle recovery.

Another scientifically proven fact is that washing your face with cold water immediately after a workout is also very beneficial. This procedure slows down the heartbeat, normalizes blood pressure and prepares the body for taking a post-workout cocktail. In addition, the oxygen content in the blood and its availability to muscle tissue increases. The latter is very important for the rapid transfer of nutrients to the muscles and optimal post-workout recovery.

So, is the sauna really such a bad place and not worth visiting? What, he does not give anything to the body? Of course it gives, and a lot, let’s look at the main advantages of going to the steam room. So it can be classified as such.

Sauna increases blood flow to all lower backs and muscles feel more rejuvenated. In addition to raising body temperature, it increases heart rate and metabolic rate. In just a few minutes, the temperature of the skin rises significantly (up to about 104 degrees Fahrenheit), the vessels become more flexible and elastic, and blood circulation through them increases. The heart nearly doubles the amount of blood it pumps.

The North American Sauna Society conducted a study showing that a steam bath after exercise helps reduce muscle soreness through the release of endorphins in the body. Saunas are also claimed to help eliminate lactic acid lactate (a major factor in muscle failure) and toxins released during exercise.

Detoxification of the body is one of the main benefits of the sauna. And it consists in the removal of accumulated toxic substances through sweat. Ridding the body of these toxins will help prevent many diseases and improve overall well-being and vitality (hello from Star Wars :)). And since athletes who visit the gym actively raise iron, constantly eat 5-6 times a day, such a relief procedure is very relevant for them. It is also worth noting that the infrared heat generated by an appropriate sauna produces sweat that is almost 20% toxins, compared to only 3% in a traditional sauna.

In addition to detoxification, the sauna deeply cleanses the pores of the skin and makes it breathe in a new way. This is very important with constant training and tightening iron. Sweat removes excess sodium and urea, products of natural metabolism. In general, the sauna has an excellent “cleansing” effect.

Relaxing in a sauna can help reduce levels of the damaging hormone cortisol. The combination of warmth and relaxing music will help take the blinkers off your workout and experience the deepest relaxation and relief.

About 600 calories are burned in 30 minutes of visiting an infrared sauna, i.е. lie down, do nothing, and the weight goes away. In one scientific study, women lost weight and reduced waist circumference in 3 months of visiting an infrared sauna (and normalizing their diet). It all does this by increasing your heart rate and metabolic rate so that your body can burn more calories.

Infrared saunas and their heat penetrate deep into the joints, muscles and tissues, increasing blood circulation and accelerating the flow of oxygen. Many sports doctors recommend visiting the sauna to relieve sports injuries and chronic fatigue syndrome. A 2003 study showed that using near infrared heat helps produce white blood cells, which reduce inflammation and swelling, two key factors in relieving pain in the body.

Do you think the list of usefulness is impressive? Yes, I think so.

And now let’s summarize all this chatter and answer the main question of the note in one line. So the sauna after training is the place to be, however, with some reservations:

• training on this day should be moderate;
• class time no more than 45 minutes;
• be sure to drink water during training;
• be sure to drink water after the sauna (up to 300 ml);
• stay in the steam room for no more than 20 minutes;
• at the exit – a cool shower or pool;
• after the sauna we close the carbohydrate-protein window;
• it is better to relax in the sauna on non-training days (then the time can be up to 40 minutes);
• infrared sauna is preferred over its regular counterpart.

Today we found out if the sauna is useful after a workout. Now you know the answer to the question and you can decide for yourself if you need it. On this I say goodbye, until we meet again and with light steam!

Friends, if you have saunas in your gyms, do you go there?