Most gyms have a sauna, steam room and a hot tub available for customers. But there is little advice about how and when to use them. Should you use it before your workout or after? Which gives you the most benefits? Is there a chance you’ll undo your hard work if you use a sauna after your workout? So I decided to write a short post about saunas and exercise, to try and put some of the confusion to rest :)

So to start you off- DO NOT use sauna or a hot tub immediately before your workout! The heat causes your muscles to relax and you risk injury if exercising after a sauna.
Also, a sauna is not only a way to relay physically but mentally as well. As you head into your cross fit session od spinning class you want your mind focused and determined to push yourself, not all dreamy and relaxed in your happy place
However, using a sauna after your workout is beneficial. And here’s why:
Perhaps the strongest argument is that sweat is one of the most efficient mechanisms for clearing metabolic wastes from your body. As you work out, all sorts of metabolic waste builds up in your muscles and joints. When you cool down after a hard workout, you are giving your body time to move those wastes out of your joints and back into your bloodstream where they can be dealt with, either by your kidneys or your sweat glands. Taking a post-workout sauna helps take some of the load off your kidneys. As you sit still in the heat of the sauna, your blood is directed to your skin to help keep you cool. This allows that waste-laden blood totransfer much of its load to your sweat glands and purge those wastes from your body.
Heat is another benefit of a post-workout sauna. It helps relieve the pain of a hard workout by relaxing your muscles. Sitting in a sauna helps with recovery after a workout.
Finally, a sauna also offers a cardio workout while sitting still! The heat causes your heart rate to increase to what it would be during moderate exercise. Some studies even show that a 30 minute sauna session burns as many calories as a 10km run would! This being said, do not use sauna instead of your wokrout. Also do not use saune more than once a day to try and burn more calories!

Sauna safety: DO NOT use sauna more than once a day! If you are not used to sauna, keep it short. As you get used to it you can stay in the sauna for 12-20min at a time, then take a cool shower to cool down. after the shower lay down and relax.
I like to use the sauna for 10min, then head out for a cooling shower and relax. I do it 2-3 times and I find it very relaxing.
Can sauna undo your workout? The short answer is NO. There are no studies that show that your workout will be any less efficient if you use a sauna after. And let me tell you- if your workout is hard it will not stop you from feeling sore, but it may help with the pain a little :)
So enjoy a sauna after your workout, but do it smartly :)