Integrating infrared sauna sessions into your fitness routine isn’t just for relaxation and recovery; it’s a strategic move that can significantly enhance both your pre and post-workout experience. With SunStream Saunas, we will delve into the distinctive benefits of infrared sauna use before versus after your exercise, ultimately guiding your holistic fitness and wellness routine.
Pre-Workout Benefits of Infrared Sauna
Increase blood flow and oxygenation
Engaging in a pre-workout sauna can serve as a catalyst for your cardiovascular system. The rise in heart rate induced by the sauna initiates improved blood circulation and flow. As the blood vessels dilate during the sauna session, this increases blood flow. This heightened circulation plays a pivotal role in ensuring that your muscles receive an influx of oxygen-rich blood, ultimately optimising your performance for the upcoming workout.
Muscle Warm-up and Flexibility
A pre-workout sauna session is a great pregame routine. The distinctive benefits of infrared sauna therapy revolve around its capacity to elevate both blood flow and core body temperature, facilitating a warm-up of your muscles. This increase in blood flow ensures that your working muscles receive an enhanced supply of oxygen, a crucial element for energy production. While a sauna session isn’t intended to fully replace your standard warm-up routine, it significantly contributes to loosening your muscles and prepping them for the range of motions anticipated in your workout.
Mental Focus and Relaxation
The advantages of a pre-workout infrared sauna extend beyond the physical aspects. The session induces a profound state of relaxation, fostering mental clarity and calmness that significantly heightens focus before stepping into a demanding workout. This not only cultivates a more positive mindset but also strengthens your mental resilience, preparing you with the right headspace to tackle challenging exercise routines with more determination and tenacity.
Post-Workout Benefits of Infrared Sauna
Improve endurance and exercise performance
Following a workout, dehydration may result in a lower blood volume, prompting the body to respond to the sauna’s hot environment by directing blood to the skin for effective sweating and preventing overheating. Given the initial decrease in blood flow and oxygen to organs, the kidneys are stimulated to produce erythropoietin (EPO) and plasma volume, consequently boosting blood volume and enhancing overall performance.
Furthermore, engaging in a sauna post-workout contributes to heat acclimatisation, a process where the body refines its ability to adapt to physiological changes. This adaptation leads to increased efficiency in sweating and skin blood flow. Over time, this acclimatisation not only improves exercise performance but also enhances endurance, enabling the body to better cope with elevated temperatures.
Muscle Relaxation and Recovery
The heightened blood flow induced by a sauna session plays a crucial role in efficiently delivering nutrients and oxygen to fatigued muscles. This becomes especially significant post-exercise, as muscles require these essential elements for effective recovery. Beyond the physical recovery aspect, the benefits of infrared sauna therapy extend to promoting relaxation, facilitating a seamless transition from the intensity of exercise to a more rested state. This transition contributes to a reduction in delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), enhancing overall post-workout comfort and recovery.
Promotes Long-Term Muscle Strength
Engaging in repeated sauna sessions optimises your body’s stress response through the activation of heat shock proteins. These proteins play a crucial role in protecting the three-dimensional structure of proteins within your cells, preventing natural degradation over time. As we age, this structural breakdown can lead to the aggregation and formation of plaques in arteries and brains. Heat shock proteins act as protective agents, inhibiting this process. Consequently, beyond its well-known benefits in muscle recovery, the infrared sauna also emerges as a valuable intervention in protecting muscles from breakdown and preserving muscle mass over time.
The Final Verdict
In the grand scheme, the benefits of infrared sauna therapy offer personalised advantages whether integrated before or after your workout routine. By embracing both pre and post-workout sauna sessions, you unlock the full spectrum of health and wellness benefits. The choice between the two ultimately depends on your specific fitness goals. Collectively, a sauna empowers you to elevate not only your exercise experience but your overall well-being.
At SunStream Saunas, our diverse offerings include 360-degree surround infrared saunas and heaters. If you find yourself in the decision-making process, feel free to request a brand comparison, where we’ll provide an objective list of comparison points with other sauna brands. Contact us today, and we’ll be thrilled to guide you in embarking on your sauna journey.