Sauna Before Or After Workout? | Recovery Guide

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Which comes first: the sauna or the workout?

This is a question that has been debated for years amongst the fitness community. Go into any commercial gym, and you are bound to see someone hop right from the locker room into the sauna, then proceed into weight training.

We are here to tell you that we do NOT recommend performing your sauna session before lifting weights. For most people, your workout session should come before any significant sauna time.

Temperature is the most important credible for improving physical performance and overall recovery.

Let’s talk about why the sauna after a workout is the right protocol for most people.

Top 5 Health Benefits Of The Sauna

Nowadays, most commercial gyms have saunas available to the members. If you have the space and budget, you can even have a sauna in the comfort of your own home.

Did you know that the sauna was one of the most powerful recovery tools? Consistent sauna time will keep your body fresh and on track to lose weight, build muscle, and achieve your goals.

There are numerous sauna benefits including the boosted immune system, improved cardiovascular health, reduced stress, and others.

Let’s review the top 5 sauna health benefits and why it needs to be a part of your weight loss journey.

1) Sweat It All Out

Breaking a sweat when you workout is good right? That means you are really working hard.

  • Heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury)
  • Pesticides
  • Various Petrochemicals

No matter how healthy you eat on a daily basis, it is likely that you are consuming these toxins on a daily basis. Use a sauna to cleanse your body a few times per week. Regularly detoxing your body can improve your metabolic function and improve overall health.

But it turns out that sweating can have real benefits for your health. Using a sauna can produce heavy sweating which can expel many phytoestrogens and toxins from your body such as:

2) Stress Killer

We have all heard that stress is bad. But how bad?

Excess stress can ruin the efficiency of many processes in the body. Blood sugar regulation, inflation, metabolism, cognitive performance, and muscle recovery are a few of the major processes that can be negatively impacted by excess stress.

The stress hormone cortisol is the “silent killer”. Repeated sauna use has been shown to significantly reduce stress in a study on young adult men. You don’t have to be a doctor to know that sauna bathing can be very relaxing.

Anyone who has tried a 15-30 minute sauna session knows the tremendous rush of endorphins you get when you leave the sauna room.

We all have stress in our lives for varying reasons. Give the sauna a try to bring those stress levels down and relax.

3) Production Of Hormones & Heat Shock Proteins

Hormones are chemicals inside of us that play a significant role in our performance and the development of our brain and body from childhood.

Consistent traditional sauna use has been shown to increase the production of growth hormone in the body by up to 16 fold.

In addition to the increase in hormones, consistent sauna use has been shown to increase the production of heat shock proteins. Heat shock proteins are created by the stress extreme heat induces on the body. Some of the benefits of this heat stress response include:

  • Minimize cellular damage, increasing longevity
  • Improve muscle protein synthesis
  • Boost Immune System

The rate of heat shock proteins increases with time as you become more adapted to regular sauna use.

The sauna will improve your body’s ability to produce these hormones, heat shock proteins, improve recovery, minimize muscle soreness, and get you prepared for the next intense workout.

4) Good For your Heart

Sitting in a 175 degree F sauna for 20-30 minutes is not easy. Sweat will be dripping down your face as your heart races and you focus deeply on each breath and keep relaxed. But the health benefits are tremendous.

Consistent sauna use has been shown to improve cardiovascular health and decrease blood pressure in certain individuals.

Studies have proven that sauna therapy for people with congestive heart failure (CHF) improves cardiovascular endurance, reduced heart size, and reduced the chance of heart disease after 2 weeks of therapy.

If a few 20 minutes sessions a week can improve your heart health, why not give it a try?

5) Improved Sleep

Temperature plays a significant role in determining how well you sleep and recover from training.

Unlike cold exposure, which will produce an adrenaline-like energy boost following a period of time. After utilizing the sauna room you will leave feeling calm and relaxed.

This is why many experts and experienced lifters save their sauna time for later in the day closer to sleep. It is often easier to transition from the state of restfulness following heat exposure right into a deep sleep.

In fact, a study found that out of the 482 participants who used the sauna 1-2 times per week, 83.5% had reported sleep benefits.

If you are going to time your sauna time, it’s probably best to avoid before extreme bouts of focus or energy expenditure like a workout or deep work session.

How Long Should I Sit In The Sauna Post Workout?

If you are going to use the sauna post-workout, then we generally recommend a reasonable protocol. 3-4 days per week and 15-30 minutes per session.

This protocol is reasonable for most people and will not impede on a busy life schedule. 3 sessions per week should be sufficient to obtain all the health benefits discussed above.

If you are entering the sauna after a high-intensity workout that was taxing on your body, be sure to hydrate first. Even better, drink your essential amino acids and whey protein shake first if you have them to hydrate and kickstart your recovery.

Avoid setting your sauna above 210-215 degrees Fareheight. This can be unsafe for some people. Prolonged sessions in an overheated sauna can actually cook your brain and have detrimental effects. Your brain cannot regrow new neurons, so excessive sauna use at extreme temperatures could have lifelong effects. Hyperthermia can be just as dangerous as hypothermia.

Infrared Saunas | Is It Effective?

In the infrared sauna, infrared panels emitting infrared light are placed around a person to create deep heating from all angles. The infrared light emitted from the panels penetrates your muscle tissue more deeply.

This form of sauna normally runs at lower temperatures and does not add humidity like a classic sauna. Lower temperatures allow you to have longer sauna sessions. For many people, the infrared sauna is a more pleasant experience than the classic dry sauna.

It is thought that the infrared sauna can produce a deeper sweat and be more beneficial for detoxification. Both classic and infrared saunas have been shown to be great for health.

Sauna For Weight Loss

Although the sauna is great to drop temporary water weight, detoxification, and stress relief it can actually be a tool to help you lose weight.

But not for the reason you may be thinking. Yes, the sauna does put your body in a stressful environment which can burn some calories. It is primarily a tool to lose weight because of its recovery benefits.

Consistent sauna use will have your muscles recovered and ready for the next training session. Cardio and weight training will always be the most effective weight loss tools. Consistent sauna use will improve your exercise routine and fast track your weight loss.

Bad Times For A Sauna Session

The sauna is great…but let’s review some examples when you might want to avoid a sauna session.

Before A Gym Session

Although many people choose to perform their sauna time before training sessions, we do not recommend it. This is mainly due to the fact that your mind and muscles relax in the sauna. It may not be optimal to enter an intense training session overly relaxed after sitting in the heat for half an hour.

This is why a sauna after a workout is preferred. Sitting in the sauna for a few minutes to get warmed up is perfectly ok and will not ruin your workout.

If You Have Medical Condition

If you are extremely overweight or have a pre-existing medical condition such as heart disease, take caution. Consult your doctor to provide medical advice. The high heat may be a dangerous environment for those with pre-existing conditions.

Before Intense Focus

If you have to give a big presentation at work or need to study for the next 6 hours then you may want to avoid the sauna.

As we mentioned earlier the hot temperatures of the sauna can put the body in an overly relaxed state and increase the desire for sleep. Although sleep is great, we do not want to be tired before long bouts of mental focus.

No Sauna Access

If you don’t have access to a sauna there are still ways you can leverage the health benefits of heat and increased temperatures. We just have to get a little more creative.

Sauna Suit

Often used by wrestlers, sauna suits can be great for replicating the effects of an actual traditional sauna. Sauna suits are often used during periods of cardio exercise to increase body temperature and promote sweating.

In the old days, many athletes would simply layer up in their heavy sweats and wrap themselves in garbage bags to create heat. Nowadays, we have the sauna suit.

Do not utilize this method on extremely hot days. Again, overheating is very dangerous and can be deadly in some cases.

Hotel Sauna

If you are out traveling and do not have access to your normal gym or personal sauna, there are still options.

Try running the hot water for a while with the door shut creating a steamy hot bathroom. Enter this room for 15-20 minutes wearing heavy sweatpants and a sweatshirt.

Your body does not necessarily know the difference between a traditional sauna, an infrared sauna, or just something you created yourself in a hotel room. It turns out, you can actually achieve many of the same health benefits as long as you can create elevated temperatures. All your body recognizes is that you have entered a hot environment and your core temperature is increasing.

Bottom Line

Exercise is one of the most important tools for everything. It will improve your quality of life, your physical performance, and how well you age.

Regular sauna time is a tool to improve recovery and maximize the health benefits from exercise. The Sauna can reduce all-cause mortality in both men and women while cleansing the body of phytoestrogens and toxins.

If you want to build muscle, drop body fat, cut water weight, improve blood flow, and get ready for your upcoming workout…the sauna is a must.

So the question remains, why aren’t you using the sauna?

About Post Author

Dave Shelton

Dave founded My Fitness System to pursue his true passions of health & fitness. He has dedicated his life to studying exercise, general well-being, and health supplements. This site was created to share Dave’s years of experience in the fitness industry and provide quality information to the people.

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