Post: #1

I'm surprised sauna's haven't been talked about here yet.

I try to get a session in at least a couple times a week, usually after a workout. I'm fortunate that my gym has a sauna in the change room, so I usually go for a bit after I'm done a workout before a shower.

I am familiar with steam rooms, but they aren't as common as dry saunas, so my experiences are largely based on the latter.

Saunas tend to be at or somewhere close to 100 degrees celsius, or 210 degrees fahrenheit. If you have never been before just know you will sweat more than you ever have before. Your body temperature shoots up as a result of the environment and your body's homeostatic systems go into overdrive to maintain normal temperatures through sweating. For this reason, it causes what I believe are a host of benefits to your body.

Upon a quick search, here are 10 benefits of sauna use. I will highlight in bold the ones I'd like to emphasize:
http://www.saunatec.com/lifestyle/healthwellness.htm

- Relieves Stress
- Relaxes muscles, soothes aches and pains in muscles and joints
- Flushes toxins
- Cleanses skin
- Induces deeper sleep
- Recreational and social benefits
- Improves cardiovascular performance
- Burns calories
- Fights illness
- Feels good

When I'm studying gruelling hours during exam weeks, I try to not miss workouts and I sometimes go out of my way to make it to the sauna. It's a great stress reliever, mainly because it relaxes you greatly.

If I'm sore, it helps with recovery.

My skin feels cleaner. My acne reduces in severity.

And it feels amazing. Couple all the benefits together and it actually makes going to the sauna an experience.

Heart rate also rises in the sauna. Your blood vessels dilate due to the increased body temperature and your cardiac output increases as a result. This means your cardiovascular system is at work, and due to the efforts required by the system due to the extreme temperature, your heart rate can rise to ranges of 130, 140 BPM (similar to jogging).

Just make sure you are hydrated beforehand or hydrate afterwards. Take breaks if necessary. And generally anything above 20-30 minutes isn't recommended unless you know what you're doing.

What are your experiences with saunas?

And if you haven't done so before, you should definitely give it a try.

Post: #2

My gym has a sauna and I was thinking of investing some time in it but I've read lots of conflicting material about it's benefits. The range of opinions goes from that it's helpful to that it has no effects. I guess I should at least try it out since at worse nothing will happen - no real downside except lost time.

Post: #3

Nothing better to flush a long weekend of boozing and eating like shit than spending some time in the sauna.

One of the negative aspects is seeing old guys sit on towels with their wrinkly nut sacks hanging out.

Post: #4

Good thread.

If you're at a gym that has good facilities:

1. Jump into the steam room or sauna. Get really hot.
2. Then jump into a cold shower.
3. Then back into the sauna.
4. Do a couple of minutes in the sauna and a minute or so in the shower.

My steam room happens to have a cold shower inside it. So you can stay in the steam room while running cold water over your body.

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.

It's amazing for recovery.

Far Infrared Sauna in a salt room is amazing for your joints:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_sauna

I go to a Korean spa that has salt blocks all over. My joints all pop back into place. I do a few Yoga poses and do some meditative breathing.

Highly recommended if you can find one.

Post: #5

I'm definitely going to have to try out the contrast stuff. My gym comes with a pool/sauna and I never use it. Might as well test it out

Post: #6

I do it 5 days/week. I "warmup" in the sauna. The heat loosens up your muscles, then I do 2-3 mins on the bike, then foamroll 5 mins. My workouts have felt smoother.

I "warmdown" in the sauna and stretch out.

For the wet sauna, pour water over the spout and on the walls. This will increase the steam.

Post: #7

I feel that another property of Saunas (and in particular steam rooms) that is somewhat underemphasised is the fact they reduce illness. I use free weights at home, so don't have access to one in a gym, but when I had a commercial gym membership and used steam rooms twice a week I'd never get ill. I think that it's because you sweat out all of your toxins, which is especially important for those living in cities where you inhale smog etc.
Anyway, even if that's bullshit, they are a really effective mood enhancer / stress reliever (as the OP commented).

Post: #8

I'm not a fan of the Finnish-style wet saunas, those things are like a Petri dish for bacteria.

Most (commercial) saunas outside of Eastern Europe are dry saunas - wood-encased rooms with a heating element. They don't get hot enough for my tastes.

Bring a spray bottle or a water bottle, and spray some water on the rocks in the heater and the temperature sensor. Bam, higher humidity, feels much hotter. Try not to pour water on the heating elements (unless it's not your sauna, heh) because the hot/cold can break them.

Fan the air with a towel to help the air circulate. It'll feel hotter.

Then, do the contrast thing. Alternate with cold showers. Jumping in the pool works too, but take a shower to wash off the chlorine before you go back in the sauna as heat opens up your pores.

If you're getting into the really hot stuff, I recommend wearing some kind of headgear like a winter hat for insulation. Heat is fun; heat strokes aren't.

Post: #9

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

Post: #10

Lowers testosterone/kills sperm.

I would rather take a really cold shower after a workout. Burns calories, good for the skin too, good for testosterone, improves metabolism and helps recovery from DOMS after a hard workout.

Post: #11

Yes saunas do kill sperm due to overheating of the testicles, but so do hot showers and hot tubs. I think sitting in a sauna a few times a week probably won't be too detrimental to T levels. Just don't overdo it and take a cold shower afterwards to cool your boys down. On top of that with all the health benefits listed above I'm willing to take that risk.

And thanks nascimento for the write up. I swim about once a week and then do the sauna afterwards but need to find more time to get in them.

Post: #12

(08-06-2013 03:27 PM)Tony.5678 Wrote:  Lowers testosterone/kills sperm.

Link?

Post: #13

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

If you're at a gym that has good facilities:

1. Jump into the steam room or sauna. Get really hot.
2. Then jump into a cold shower.
3. Then back into the sauna.
4. Do a couple of minutes in the sauna and a minute or so in the shower.

My steam room happens to have a cold shower inside it. So you can stay in the steam room while running cold water over your body.

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.

It's amazing for recovery.

Far Infrared Sauna in a salt room is amazing for your joints:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_sauna

I go to a Korean spa that has salt blocks all over. My joints all pop back into place. I do a few Yoga poses and do some meditative breathing.

Highly recommended if you can find one.

Ummm, what he said ^

I see Russian guys at the gym bring eucalyptus leaves/small branches into the sauna.

Post: #14

(08-06-2013 04:17 PM)Nascimento Wrote:  

(08-06-2013 03:27 PM)Tony.5678 Wrote:  Lowers testosterone/kills sperm.

Link?

http://doctorbob.com/03_26_13news3.html

Post: #15

As mentioned, yes a sauna will kill sperms. So do hot showers. How many hot showers will you have for every sauna session in a month?

If you count every sperm, move to Alaska.

Post: #16

(08-07-2013 04:24 AM)Tony.5678 Wrote:  

(08-06-2013 04:17 PM)Nascimento Wrote:  

(08-06-2013 03:27 PM)Tony.5678 Wrote:  Lowers testosterone/kills sperm.

Link?

http://doctorbob.com/03_26_13news3.html

Although it does mention lower sperm counts, it does not mention lowered testosterone.

Unless I am missing something here, lower sperm count=/= lower testosterone levels.

And I guess that might just be a case of balance. Going to the sauna 5 times a week might be too much.

And just do other things that promote increase of sperm count to offset if you are worried about it.

Post: #17

(08-07-2013 04:24 AM)Tony.5678 Wrote:  

(08-06-2013 04:17 PM)Nascimento Wrote:  

(08-06-2013 03:27 PM)Tony.5678 Wrote:  Lowers testosterone/kills sperm.

Link?

http://doctorbob.com/03_26_13news3.html

If you can't trust a guy who looks like he never touched a weight in his life and can't afford a decent web developer on matters relating to masculinity, who can you trust?

Post: #18

Slightly off topic - has anyone also used Epsom Salts in the bath as a form of recovery?

I hear great things.

Thinking about trying them.

Post: #19

@dk902- Danger and Play did a post on Epsom Salt. Helps w/recovery.

Personally, I just rub epsom salt all over my body in the dry/wet sauna. Another side benefit is the salt is an exfoliant-my skin is smooth as hell afterwards.

Its a pain in the ass to fill up the tub everyday, but when I am really tweaked from work/life I do it.

Post: #20

edit

Post: #21

(08-06-2013 03:27 PM)Tony.5678 Wrote:  Lowers testosterone/kills sperm.

This is false, since until the recent years the Finnish males in average had normal or higher sperm count when compared to many other male populations around the world.

(08-08-2013 10:43 AM)NuMbEr7 Wrote:  One guy told me that spending more than 5 minutes in a sauna sends your body into a catabolic state.

Correction: spending more than five minutes in a 110 C/230 F hot sauna during the 2010 World Sauna Championship sends your body into a catabolic state. Regular sauna temperatures are considerable lower, around 80 C or 175 F.

Post: #22

I just hit the sauna a couple hours ago at the gym. I did the alternating thing between sauna and cold shower a couple of times. Good advice Feels very relaxing and I can already tell I'm going to sleep well.

Next time I'm in NYC I plan to hit an authentic Turkish bath house. They don't have any in DC to my knowledge.

Post: #23

I've heard that taking a cold shower right after sauna is a must for health benefits

Post: #24

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

Post: #25

(08-06-2013 03:13 PM)The Great Basilisk Wrote:  -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.

avantouinti?