re: How many of you workout gurus or lazy arses use a sauna? (NSFW Sweaty Girls)

I am not incredibly fat.
5'10"
201
I did get up to around 230 about a year ago. I freaked out and the diet changed.

Tim Ferris the 4 hour body was the shite. I recommend that for anyone trying to shred the pounds and still getting a cheat day once a week.

I still eat pretty clean, try to limit carbs and all that jazz.

I just wondered what you guys thought.

What makes the steam room better? There is one of those but I knew nothing of them until I saw it the other day.

it terms of soreness, nothing beats 5-10 minutes in an ice bath.

when I was in high school we would practice from like 6-11 AM during "two-a-days" and then lift from like 11:30-12:30, and then take shifts getting in a kiddie pool filled with ice water. It was fricking miserable but my legs never felt better in terms of getting up the next day

My post work out or post basketball routine when I have time is wet sauna for 10 minutes, hot tub for 3 minutes, cold dip for 3 minutes, hot tub for 3 minutes, and end with cold dip for 5 minutes. Helps so much with soreness

How is 201 remotely close to being "fat"??

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it terms of soreness, nothing beats 5-10 minutes in an ice bath.

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Nothing better for muscle recovery. That first first 30 seconds sucks worse than getting kicked in the nutz though.

When I'm not at school the gym at home has a sauna and I sit in it for 5-7 minutes full blast after every workout. I don't think it will help you lose belly fat though. You'll lose water weight.

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the football players would sit in huge kiddie pools of ice water right after practice

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This actually does temporarily increase your metabolism...just because your body is trying not to freeze to death.

One reason in really cold climate the average caloric intake is much higher...more energy required to maintain body temps.

Remember reading something in anthropologic archaeology about the Vikings in greenland, they worked their asses off and the climate was cooling...as a result the average caloric intake for a male farmer towards the end of the colony was something like 10k calories a day just to maintain.

From Columbia's health site:

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Dear Alice,
I am wondering what is the difference between a steam room and the sauna, is one better than the other? My gym has both and I am interested in trying them out.

—Confused

Dear Confused,

Saunas and steam rooms are heat rooms that people use for relaxation or to relieve some medical conditions like congestion or arthritis. But what is the difference between the two?

Saunas provide dry heat in a wood-paneled room from a wood or electric stove. Generally the stove heats rocks, which radiate heat throughout the room. A sauna may have small amount of steam if water is poured over the hot rocks, however a sauna overall provides dry heat. The temperature in a sauna typically ranges from 160-200 degrees Fahrenheit with a low level of humidity (ranging from 5-30 percent). Steam rooms provide moist heat from a water-filled generator pumping steam into the enclosed room. The temperature in a steam room typically ranges from 110-114 degrees Fahrenheit with a humidity level of 100 percent. Neither one is necessarily better than the other; so go ahead and try them both out and decide which one you prefer.

Benefits of heat baths (dry or moist air)
Sweating opens pores and can temporarily cleanse the outer skin, but sweating in saunas doesn't remove toxins from within the body as some people believe. Also, scientific evidence doesn't support the widely-held belief that using saunas or steam rooms causes weight loss, which is a popular reason why many people use these facilities. Both do make you warmer, make you sweat and relax, lower your pulse and blood pressure by causing blood vessels to dilate, and remove salts from your system.

Cautions
There is a risk of dehydrating in the dry heat of a sauna, so be sure to drink plenty of water before and after using a sauna. Try limiting your bathing time to 15-20 minutes the first few times using these rooms to get used to the experience. Also, beware that steam rooms provide ideal breeding conditions for various infection-producing microbes. For example, athletes' foot or other fungal infections can be better avoided if you wear a towel and shower shoes or flip flops in the steam room (and in the sauna, for that matter).

Finally, because of the extreme heat — especially in saunas — people who are pregnant, have heart disease, high or very low blood pressure (or who are taking any medication that affects blood pressure), epilepsy, those taking antibiotics, or those using any type of mind-altering drug (like stimulants, tranquilizers, alcohol) shouldn't use saunas or steam rooms. As always, you can talk to your health care provider to make sure using a sauna or steam room is safe for you. If you are a Columbia student on the Morningside campus, you'll be happy to know that the Dodge Fitness Center does have a sauna available to some members. Contact the membership office for more details. Similarly, for CUMC students, the Bard Athletic Center has saunas available for use.

Most importantly, when heat bathing RELAX and ENJOY! Heat baths can be hard to come by as many people don't have space or money to build them in their homes, so you may want to take advantage of those facilities at your gym!

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