Athletes have long known of the many benefits that come from using infrared saunas. Regular sauna use has been linked to increased endurance and greater physical performance, as well as improved levels of tolerance for more anaerobic exercises.

Heat from infrared saunas causes an elevated heart rate, which is a low impact way to obtain a great cardiovascular work out. The American Medical Association explains that “many of us who run do so to place a demand on our cardiovascular system, not to build big leg muscles. Regular use of indoor saunas may impact a similar stress on the cardiovascular system, and its regular use may be as effective, as a means of cardiovascular conditioning and burning of calories, as regular exercise.”

A great way to supplement an athletes fitness regime is to incorporate the calorie burning power of an infrared ray sauna. The Journal of American Medical Association reported that the average FIR sauna session burns around 500 calories. Regular sauna sessions boost the metabolism, eliminate fat cells, and burn lots of calories. Even though infrared sauna sessions are powerful and efficient calorie burners, do not consider them the absolute equivalent to a traditional cardiovascular work-out. Sauna sessions are great for warming up before, and relaxing after a workout, as well as keeping fit while injured and unable to be very mobile.

For every gram of transpiration we sweat off we burn 0.586 calories (Guyton’s Textbook of medical Physiology). An athlete can measure how many calories he/she is burning during a given infrared sauna session my measuring their sweat. On average, a human will sweat off half a liter of transpiration during a session, which is equal to 1,000 grams of sweat or 500 calories.

The infrared sauna’s deep and penetrating infrared heat relaxes tired, sore or damaged athlete muscles, which creates numerous benefits. The infrared heat will bring about better circulation by dilating the blood vessels which will in-turn assist tired and torn muscles in repairing and strengthening themselves. Additionally, the resulting decreased swelling, reduce lactic acids and loosening of muscles will lessen the pain of worn and tight muscles.

For athletes who want a thorough pre-workout warm-up to increase flexibility and prevent injury, a FIR sauna is the ideal “heat therapy room.” When tissues are warmed to 112 degrees Fahrenheit and then stretched, they retain roughly 0.5-0.9% of their length indefinitely. This means that with twenty sessions of stretching in conjunction with infrared heat, an athlete can produce a 10-18% increase in tissue length. (Justus F Lehmann M.D., Williams and Wilkins, Therapeutic Heat and Cold, 4th edition.)

blooThe heat from the infrared rays is able to go deep into the joints of an ailing athlete. As the heat relaxes the muscles around the joint less strain and pressure is placed on the region. This helps overcome the issue of low d circulation that exists in the body’s joints and in-turn improves their ability to repair and heal.

When it comes to more serious injuries such as sprains, athletes should follow the normal protocol of icing and compressing the area immediately after injury. Following these actions the deep penetrating infrared rays will ease the pain and speed the process of recovery.

The many benefits athletes get out of using infrared ray saunas continues to add to their popularity. No matter the intensity of your work out, we can be happy to have an infrared sauna to relax in.

I:1:J

In order to find out more about the numerous amazing benefits of a FIR sauna, visit HEALTHandMED.com

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