Those of you who know me are familiar with my obsession with sports, especially bodybuilding and martial arts. I am regularly at the gym, but last year I got to the point of burning myself out very often. It was very common for me to do 2-hours bodybuilding workout on Mon, just to follow with heavy boxing training on Tue, then again heavy lifting on Wed, boxing or wrestling on Thu, and so on, without a rest-day most of the time.
My results in strength and endurance were great, and also I enjoyed the martial art skills improvement but at a heavy cost. I used to get sick almost every couple of weeks, and had to stay in bed for a couple of days or even a week to recover. My body just couldn’t keep up with the pressure, and at the same time I didn’t want to give up working out almost every day.
Eating more super-foods like garlic, onion, nuts, broccoli, drinking more herbal tea, taking more vitamins, and even some medicine preemptively, had some negligible positive effect and after awhile I was still getting sick.
Sharing my struggle with family and friends didn’t help at first, until one day, a friend of mine asked me ‘Did you try sauna?’. Back then I was not a fan of sauna, I knew it supports body recovery, but also reduce the level of minerals in the body due to the strong sweating. Still skeptical I started doing sauna after heavy workout 2-3 times a week, and especially on a day when I feel irritation in my throat and nose. (I usually get sick by getting sore pharynx). And boom – surprise-surprise - I was not getting sick anymore. Digging up deeply into the positive effects of sauna and how they could be enhanced, here are some benefits of sauna:
- Help the body resistance to cold and flu, by literally boiling viruses and bacteria inside. It is due to the overheated body, that germs do not stand a chance
- Help flushing toxins out of the body through sweat
- Support the production of white blood cells
- Improve endurance, raise growth hormone levels, increase red blood cell count
- Enhance the heart function and raise the pulse rate, so the heart nearly double the amount of blood it pumps each minute
- Increase efficiency of oxygen transport to muscles, and help muscle recovery
There could also be some negative effects, e.g. some studies suggest that the sauna usage could reduce the sperm production temporary (as sperm cells require lower temperature), and sauna could be dangerous for you if you have some heart illnesses, so seek medical advice before jumping in. As precautions avoid alcohol or drug usage, drink plenty of water and limit the time in sauna to up to 15-20 mins. If you are about to start don’t spend more than 5-10 mins in the sauna continuously.
What could benefit the body even more is to combine with some of Wim Hof ‘Iceman’ techniques, e.g. taking cold shower after sauna.
Build the habit of heating and cooling your body on a daily basis to maximize the health benefits. I do it like this: Every morning I wash my face and hands with ice-cold water, then I take extremely hot shower (about 2-3 min.), followed by 1-minute cold shower. After heavy lifting workout I jump into the sauna for about 15 min. and then take cold shower, to help my muscles recover and to reduce weariness. Before going to bed, I do again the hot-cold shower ritual to sleep better. 2-3 times a week I go for one-hour sauna sessions – being inside the sauna for about 10-15 min. (3 times), taking quick cold shower after each and either resting for about 5-10 min. or swimming for the same amount of time before getting in the sauna again.
And that’s it. More than 8 months later I am not getting sick anymore, and I still do heavy-lifting and martial arts workout almost every day. On some days, when I feel exhausted and burnt-out, I avoid any sort of workout and just do the sauna sessions in the evening. And I am as good as new on the next day.
If you try it, please share your opinion in the comments below.
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