Dos and Don'ts for the sauna training

Dos and Don'ts for the sauna training

by john harris fitness

A visit to the sauna is especially good on cold days. If you want to relax your muscles after a workout, the sauna is the right place for you. At John Harris Fitness, the sauna is of course included in your membership. To make sure that your sauna session really does you good and doesn't put a strain on your body, you should follow our simple dos and don'ts of sauna use.

4 Dos for a good effect

Take a shower after your workout

Between your workout and the sauna, you should thoroughly rinse off the greasy film in the shower and dry yourself off well afterwards. This will also remove deodorant and perfume residues. Please do not shower too cold, otherwise you will delay sweating. If you are still sweating heavily from your workout, warm-cold alternating showers can work wonders.

Short sauna sessions

Ideal are 1-3 sauna sessions of 8-15 minutes each. Do not overdo it! If you don't go to the sauna that often, you should start slowly.

Rest after the sauna

Between sauna sessions it is advisable to take a breath of fresh air or a cold water treatment. After your sauna session, you should take a short rest before heading home.

Lie flat

It is best to lie flat in the sauna so that your entire body remains in the same temperature zone. Just before the end, you can sit up to get your circulation going again.

That's not possible - Our 4 Don'ts

Straight from the weight bench into the sauna

Give your body some time to come down after your workout before entering the sauna. As long as your body is still full of the stress hormone cortisol, a sauna visit can even be counterproductive, because it exposes your body to stress again. Before you go into the sauna, your breathing and pulse should be back in the resting range, about 30 minutes break is usually enough.

Drink little

Even during training, a high water intake is necessary to keep your fluid balance constant, preferably by means of isotonic drinks. If you go to the sauna after training, it is enormously important to keep drinking, otherwise you can lose important nutrients that your body needs for muscle building.

In spite of injury in the sauna

As long as you are injured and have not checked with a doctor, it is better to avoid the sauna, because the increased production of red blood cells in the sauna can have a negative effect on some injuries.

Sauna before training

Your sauna session should always take place after your workout. Before that, your cardiovascular system would already be so stressed that your training would be less effective.