Post: #26

Personally I like a mix of both wet and dry saunas.

Wet sauna: great for your skin and complexion. I normally take in a gritty body scrub to really clean out my pores (scrubbing once per week is enough)

Dry sauna: Great for recovering after heavy training. That heat feels like it gets right down to your bones. A heavy stretch in a dry sauna also keeps your joints / muscles nice and healthy.

Post: #27

I prefer steam rooms over saunas. Just had one today (first time in ages).

Gotta' say - there is nothing better in the winter than a steam room.

They are cool in the summer - but in the winter they are awesome. It is like your body gets instantly transported to a foreign holiday wher it is really warm. A really nice break from the cold of the normal English winter.

Skin loooks much nicer as well and actually feels cleaner.

Some things go so well with the winter. Hot chocolates and steam rooms would be top of my list!

Post: #28

(08-04-2013 10:34 PM)MikeCF Wrote:  Good thread.

It's called contrast therapy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrast_bath_therapy

In Russia they have contrast spas. You sit in a sauna and then run outside into the cold.

we have a contrast spa here at the Russian Turkish Baths in the East Village. I usually get a membership in the winter. The have a cold pool, which you can go dunk in.

there has been some controversy about it of late, at least according to this doc, saying heat has been the only proven way to improve bloodflow i.e. flushing muscle belly. I just know how it makes me feel and I love the cold bath, interesting video if you are into this sort of stuff none the less;
http://www.mobilitywod.com/2012/08/peopl...ooo-wrong/

(09-05-2013 11:44 AM)Aer Wrote:  I know this is not applicable to most, but what I used to do was this while I was in Finland:

1. Take a bus trip to Ruissalo (studied in Turku) in the dead of winter (20 degrees fahrenheit, -5 deg C)
2. Go to REAL sauna (wood burning), which was usually very hot because it was only Finnish people who liked it hot
3. Take a dip in the freezing Baltic Sea after getting out of the sauna
4. Roll in the snow for a couple seconds
5. Back in the sauna for 10-15 minutes, rinse repeat
6. Fall asleep on the bus ride home
7. Very large meal
8. Sleep

There is a spot like this in the Rocky Mountains, in Colorado near Aspen
http://www.hotspringspool.com/

Super hot pool 108F, jump out and you are in chest deep snow, one of the best spots in the US. If you are ever driving through Colorado on the I-80, or going to Aspen, this is a must

Post: #29

Sauna's are the shit.

I'm fortunate to have one at my spot and I utilize it around 3-4x a week.

After working out.

After a night of drinking.

And...

Try it right after you have sex. Relaxing as fuck, just make sure to drink a lot of water afterwards.

I've fucked in it too a few times, but the heat is too much. Blowjobs while in one is dope though, because it's complete relaxation.

Post: #30

^Note: it's a wood burning sauna.

Post: #31

(08-06-2013 03:13 PM)The Great Basilisk Wrote:  I guess i could give you guys a mini datasheet on Finnish saunas...

Saunas located everywhere in Finland; apartments, summer cottages(i've never been to one that doesn't have a sauna), gyms, swimming pools, even on boats and trailers.

Typical summer cottage sauna:
-No running water, water is taken from the lake and put in a container that is part of the sauna stove, which will then heat it.
-No electricity. It's pretty dark in there. Stove is heated with logs.
-Is nearby a lake; if it's an old one you can jump straight to the lake from the sauna, newer are built 25(or more) meters from the shore.

I have been to so many like this that i have lost count.

Sauna protocol:
-No clothes
-No towels
-Drinking in Sauna is ok("sauna beer")
-Mixed gender saunas are ok(and more likely as the evening or drinking goes on), but often you either go with your own gender or couples go together.
-It's not a sexual environment by default, but obviously when naked males and females mix together in a single room, things might change once you go outside.
-You are a pussy if you don't sit at the top bench
-Close the fucking door

Hilarious to see the finlanders all over this thread. The finnish sauna rules can all be had in Thunder bay, Canada (due to all of the finnish immigrants) something like 1/3 of all of the homes in the cities have saunas built in them and there is even a public/rent-a sauna.

I'll second the contrast option, either as snow or water. One of the places I stayed at for work had a sauna built by the lake and after a sauna and a swim I have never slept so good in my life, nor has my skin been so good.

One thing that has been missed, and maybe a finlander can answer is what the hell the birch branches are for? I don't know if they are for fanning or just whipping other people?

Post: #32

I think they whip their skin in order to increase the circulation of blood in the skin.

Post: #33

(12-14-2013 11:55 AM)cardguy Wrote:  I think they whip their skin in order to increase the circulation of blood in the skin.

Yes and they also smell good.

Post: #34

The only thing I like about a man made sauna is getting that heated air in my lungs. Other than that I've never really been able to tell a difference. Cold showers do much more for me.

The whole ME is a fucking sauna. Get off a plane mid summer in Dubai and you'll know what I mean. It get so hot and dry you'll lungs burn if you breathe in heavy. Another reason you won't see me voluntarily stepping into a steam room, unless its directly after a deep tissue massage, cause the hot chick says I have to.

Post: #35

A sauna in winter is heaven, and now you know why the Finnish suicide rate isn't as high as it should be with those winters.

Post: #36

(12-16-2013 05:17 PM)Aer Wrote:  A sauna in winter is heaven, and now you know why the Finnish suicide rate isn't as high as it should be with those winters.

what do they call that, Sisu?

Post: #37

(12-16-2013 10:19 PM)puckman Wrote:  

(12-16-2013 05:17 PM)Aer Wrote:  A sauna in winter is heaven, and now you know why the Finnish suicide rate isn't as high as it should be with those winters.

what do they call that, Sisu?

I believe "sisu" is a general Finnish term for hardiness or strength of constitution, a defining and aspirational characteristic for the Finnish/Suomi people.

Post: #38

I read this report recently on the benefits of sauna's and have since started incorporating them into my routine, I'll usually do 30 minutes after a workout

http://www.foundmyfitness.com/reports/sauna-report.pdf

I had always just walked by them and thought their only legitimate benefit was to help drop weight before for an event. Admittedly I don't understand half of things talked about in this report, but it's easy to implement and it's very enjoyable especially when it's -30 outside.

I'll usually read a book for the first 20 mins until I start sweating over the pages, then close my eyes and focus on my breathing. F
or the rest of the session.

A simple tip I got from a friend is to do a slow 10 count inhalation and then a slow 10 count exhalation. Building up the amount of time as you continue

Post: #39

Hmm. I just noticed in my OP I said sauna's are 100 degrees Celsius. My mistake; that is Fahrenheit. In Canada we go by C so I've confused the readings before during the odd time a measure indicates in F.

Post: #40

I was just reading the "How to Dress in a Tropical Environment" thread and wondered why I never really sweat in hot countries like Thailand or Philippines. Back home I am using a sauna 3-4 times a week (about 80-90 degrees Celsius). Could it have something to do with that? Is my body used to the heat because I hit the sauna on a regular basis?

Post: #41

Sauna is good. Even Morpheus likes it. saw him naked in the sauna :O

Post: #42

I enjoy saunas, as far as actual benefits as others have mentioned I've heard conflicting reviews with some saying lots of benefits and others saying its pointless. Regardless I would agree its relaxing and if only for the placebo affects I guess its good.

If anyone really enjoys saunas or wants to have a pimped out pad, you can buy an in home sauna for 2-4 people, you'd be surprised how cheap they are. Currently I'm renting out my place and renting my parents house but as soon as I'm in my next house and plan to be there a few years I'll probably put in a nice workout room with a sauna and maybe a hot tub.

Post: #43

^I plan to get the home sauna eventually, but for now I use this:

And set it either in my bathroom or closet, and shut the door. After about an hour it reaches 115 degrees at the top of the room, 95 near my waist and 80 at my legs.

I notice when taking a shower afterwards, I take only half the time and barely need to use soap. My theory is if I start doing it on a daily basis + eating Paleo I won't even need to take a shower and can just rinse off with water afterwards.

Post: #44

Just came across this short video about Finnish sauna culture in summer time.
For those who are intested..

The womans voice is a bit annoying but it gives you a general picture of the sauna ethiquette here in Finland.

Post: #45

I started recently to do Russian sauna (or as they say, russkoe baniya), in wich after exposure to high temperature, and literally beeing spanked with bunch of eucalyptus, next step is to dive in a pool of freezing water. Then rinse and repeat.
Amazing, I feel like a new man everytime I do it. Been doing it in sundays, the weeks after where probably the ones I felt better this year.

Post: #46

I like the sauna. It makes my skin, especially on the face feel much fuller and softer.

Question for sauna veterans, if you use the sauna at the gym do you shower in between working out and the sauna?

I like taking a cold shower after the sauna but not sure if it is necessary, for etiquette or otherwise to take one before.