Many endurance athletes will tell you that their success starts in the sauna. This might sound a little strange, but the benefits of using a sauna before an endurance event are clear. In this article, we’ll talk about the science behind how heat exposure can help boost your performance and recovery—and what some of its potential drawbacks are as well.
Endurance athletes have long known about the benefits of sauna sessions
You know that feeling you get after a good workout? The rush of endorphins, the sense of accomplishment and purpose. If you’re an endurance athlete, you might have noticed that this feeling can last for hours or even days after your workout — even if you don’t do any sauna sessions.
You’ve probably also noticed that some people are able to make these feelings last longer than others. This is because they’ve learned how to use sauna sessions as part of their training routines in order to boost their endurance performance and recovery from workouts.
So what exactly are sauna sessions? How do they help boost our endurance performance? And how can we use them during our regular training routines?
Sauna use may help improve endurance performance and recovery
Sauna use may help improve endurance performance and recovery
Sauna use may help reduce muscle damage and soreness. Saunas are known to produce a strong sweating response, which may help reduce muscle damage and soreness after exercise. A study published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism found that regular sauna use can reduce post-exercise inflammation. Inflammation is an indicator of tissue damage from exercise, so reducing it can help you get back on your feet faster after a hard workout or race.
Sauna use may improve recovery between workouts. In another study published in the same journal as above, researchers found that regular sauna bathing was associated with higher maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max), or your body’s ability to transport oxygen during physical activity—an important measure when it comes to endurance sports like running or cycling!
How saunas work to boost endurance
Sauna sessions can help you improve your endurance in a few different ways. Here are a few of the most notable benefits:
Heat exposure increases blood flow and boosts oxygen delivery to the muscles. This means more oxygen is available for physical activity, which leads to greater performance overall.
Heat also helps flush out lactic acid from your muscles faster than usual, which means that after workouts, you’ll experience less muscle soreness (and therefore be able to recover faster).
Increased blood flow during sauna sessions can lead to lower resting heart rates, meaning that your heart doesn’t have as much work when at rest—which can reduce fatigue over time as well!
The potential benefits of using a sauna before endurance events
The potential benefits of using a sauna before endurance events are numerous. Heat can induce physiological changes that increase blood flow and oxygen delivery to muscles, which can help you perform better in your event. However, it is important to use the sauna safely and effectively for these benefits to be realized.
Some things to keep in mind if you’re looking to add sauna sessions into your training routine
As I mentioned above, sauna use may be beneficial for endurance athletes, but it’s not for everyone. Likewise, sauna use may be beneficial for recovery and injury prevention, but it’s not for everyone.
As with any training or recovery method:
Don’t overdo it! Use common sense and listen to your body if you feel tired or ill after a session in the sauna (or any other activity). If this happens more than once or twice during a period of training or competing, stop doing it until you feel better. You don’t want to do anything that will hurt your performance or worse!
Conclusion
So, are you ready to give it a go? We hope this article has given you some insight into what sauna use can do for endurance athletes and also given you some ideas on how to get started. If you’re feeling brave, then by all means, go ahead and try out some of these ideas in your own training!