You’ve likely heard of a sauna or used one once or twice, but did you know saunas offer incredible benefits for your health?

Saunas have been utilized in many cultures for thousands of years and are known today as a gym staple. And if you’re searching for ways to improve your gym performance and recovery, this heat therapy may be the answer you’ve hoped for.

Let’s dive into five benefits of the sauna for performance and recovery to learn why you just might need to start incorporating the sauna into your workout regime for optimal results. 

Muscle Recovery

After a killer workout, chances are you’ve got a sore muscle or five. Notably, exercise such as weight training and sports involving sprinting cause muscle tightness. 

So, how do you alleviate that tension and speed up the recovery process? 

Saunas have a powerful effect on helping soothe your muscles by increasing blood circulation and carrying oxygen-rich blood to them. This releases tension, improves recovery time and leaves you feeling better prepared for your next workout.

The next time you finish up a strenuous workout, hit the sauna for 30-minutes and reap the benefits that lead to a boosted recovery. Fortunately, most Fit Factory gyms have this awesome amenity available for members.

Promotes Relaxation

There’s nothing better than exercising with pure focus and a clear mind. Plus, an intense workout or sporting event can heighten the fight-or-flight hormone adrenaline, and we want to get that in check.

Sitting in a sauna after a workout can relieve stress, clear your mind, and induce a meditative state. Back in the day, people even used sweat lodges for meditation.

And hey, try sitting in a sauna for 10 minutes and telling us you don’t feel even the tiniest bit relaxed!

Improving your performance and recovery is about the mental as much as the physical. So take the time after your next sweat sesh to relax in the sauna and feel your stress literally melt away.    

Detoxification

When it comes to using the sauna, you will sweat. A lot. The truth is that profusely sweating is quite beneficial for performance and enhancing recovery.

Usually, the more exhaustive the workout is, the higher the level of free radicals produced, which are unstable atoms that can damage cells. But don’t sweat it—a sauna can help rid you of these.

By boosting circulation and causing you to sweat, the sauna speeds up the body’s detoxification process and releases these oxidative by-products and toxins. Cool, right?

So, although strenuous exercise causes free radicals, sweating in a sauna after a workout does the trick to combat them, thus aiding in the body’s recovery.

Boosts Cardiovascular Health

Did you know the sauna improves heart health? A recent study concluded that sitting in a sauna makes your heart respond as though you’ve done a moderate cardio session.

Similarly, another study in Finland found that regular sauna use leads to a decreased risk of dying from heart disease.

As you sit in a sauna, the heat increases your heart rate, causing blood circulation to soar throughout the body. So not only is your heart mimicking a cardio workout, but it’s growing stronger, enabling you to perform at your peak.

These are fantastic benefits from simply relaxing in a humid box several times a week.

Relieves Lower Back Pain

Whether it’s from doing one too many deadlifts, making a wrong move, or sitting in a chair too many hours a day, lower back pain is a struggle no one likes to deal with.

In fact, around 80% of the population experiences the inconvenience of back pain at some point in life. 

But great news! A nice, hot, steamy sauna can help relieve that pesky lower back pain so you can exercise optimally and pain-free.

While in the sauna, the heat penetrates muscles and ligaments in your lower back to open up blood vessels. Then, blood circulates better and helps loosen those tight and tense muscles. 

So if back pain prevents you from exercising fully, hit the sauna for a few 30-minute sessions to see if it provides some relief. 

Get Sweating

Sitting in the sauna after a workout for 20 - 30 minutes is what you need if you're looking for a simple way to boost your performance and recovery game.

Luckily, all Premier and VIP Fit Factory members have access to the sauna to enjoy!

From aiding in muscle recovery to melting stress and toxins away, these five benefits of using the sauna are too good to ignore.

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