April 29, 2015
Category: Sauna & Steam
As an athlete, whether you are professional or amateur, you may want to consider fitting a sauna into your exercise program. There are many benefits that come with one of these units, and if you aren’t familiar with them, they’re worth taking a closer look at.
One of the main reasons that many athletes are now using the sauna as part of their program is because of its ability to help the body detoxify. What you will need to determine is where it best fits in with your overall plan. You will have the option of using it before or after you exercise, and this will depend on what works best for you and what your goals are for using the sauna.
What will happen during your sauna experience is that you will be exposed to a high temperature. For example, with a dry sauna it is usually around 154°F. As your body adapts to this heat, you will begin to sweat and you will feel your heart rate increase. If you were to compare this to running in terms of heart rate, by spending 30 minutes in the sauna, it would be close to you running 10 kilometres.
Your body sees this use of the sauna as a form of exercise. Based on this, it is very important that you make sure that you drink plenty of water before and after using the sauna to make sure that you remain hydrated. This is the same concept as if you were working out.
View the use of the sauna at the same way that you would if you were going into an exercise session. Replacing your water as mentioned is important. Just as you would not eat a large meal before you exercise, you should adhere to the same rules prior to your sauna use.
You may want to have a snack if this is your regular routine when exercising, especially if you feel that your body needs the fuel. Most likely, you will also want to have something light to eat following your sauna session to refuel.
As an athlete, chances are that you have a schedule that you follow. Depending on the type of athlete you are and what your goals are, you can fit in your sauna sessions accordingly. Whether you want to do it before your exercise or after, you may want to experiment to see which gives you the most benefit.
