How Infrared Saunas Can Help You Reach Your Training Goals

If you’re in training for a 5k or another other type of race, you know that improvement can require both changes to your running schedule and changes to other aspects of your life, such as sleep, nutrition, or even location.. Much like training at a higher altitude, infrared saunas have been helpful for athletes trying to improve their conditioning.

Sauna Heat Conditioning and Endurance

Most people think of a traditional steam-bath when they hear the word “sauna”. However, modern infrared saunas use electricity to generate light on the infrared spectrum, which can warm you from the inside out. This allows you to reach therapeutic temperatures at a lower temperature. How does this affect your athletic competitiveness? Heat conditioning can improve your endurance in a number of ways.

1. Increase in Red Blood Cells

After three weeks of post-exercise sauna bathing,one study found a 3.5% increase in red blood cell volume. Why is this important? Red blood cells carry oxygen to your body, and get rid of waste. People who live (or train) at high altitudes naturally produce more red blood cells than those at lower elevations, since high altitudes have less oxygen in the air. Upon returning to lower elevations, those with more red blood cells find that their endurance is improved, enabling them to perform at a higher level, because they can transport oxygen more efficiently. Post-exercise sauna bathing can have much the same effect.

2. Faster Recovery

It’s a common saying in fitness that you don’t improve during your workout, but rather, during your recovery. It’s during recovery that your body adapts and becomes stronger. However, most competitive people are anxious to recover as efficiently as possible so they can challenge themselves with their next workout. Using an infrared sauna after workouts can increase blood circulation, decrease stress, and promote quality of sleep, all of which can help shorten recovery time.

If you love to compete, odds are that you’re already doing a lot of things to give yourself the best chance you can. Regular use of infrared saunas after exercise can be a natural way to enhance your performance, and, more importantly, your overall sense of well-being.

Sources:

Sauna: A Simple Proven Performance Enhancer - www.amrapnutrition.com

8 Unexpected Benefits Of The Sauna - www.lifehack.org