Sauna After Running?

Al Truscott

I came across this 10 year old study from New Zealand about the impact of sauna immediately after a run workout. It was a cross-over study comparing the effect of sauna vs no sauna "immediately" after running in six "competitive male distance runners and triathletes." Meaning, everybody trained the same way, and served as his own control. Nine weeks total, two groups of three, one did 3 weeks of sauna after with data collection, then 3 weeks running only, no data, then three weeks running only, data collected. The other group of three had their sauna in the last 3 week cycle. Compared to the three week period with no sauna, plasma and red-cell volumes in both groups increased by 7% when they sat in an 80C "humid sauna" for 20-30 minutes 3-4 times a week right after a workout. And "...Relative to control, sauna bathing increased run time to exhaustion by 32% (90% confidence limits 21—43%), which is equivalent to an enhancement of ∼1.9% (1.3—2.4%) in an endurance time trial..." 
https://saunaspace.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Effect-of-post-exercise-sauna-bathing-on-the-endurance-performance-of-competitive-male-runners.pdf
Since I have a free schedule, I've begun doing a run-sauna-weight training regime on MWF. Who knows? It can't hurt, can it?

John Withrow

Fascinating!  Keep us updated on what you find.  

I've long been a fan of hot (sauna) and Cold (Cold thermogenesis/coldwater swimming/ice vest/cold showers).  I do think adding those extra stimuli into our training regimen has positive effects, but I've never actually been able to quantify it.  You should try also doing an ICE cold shower immediately after the sauna...

I've also heard that the Sauna exposure could help make heat acclimation better for hot races.  Seems to make intuitive sense to me with better vascularization/blood flow/sweating/etc.

I "wish" I had time to incorporate a sauna regiment into my normal training routine.  

Tim Sullivan

I have never seen a negiative study but I have read tons of studies describing the medical benefits of a sauna.  One of the benefits that is usually mentioned is the benefit to the heart. The recommended temps are between 80-90 C (176-194F). Unfortunately, I dont think the saunas (in the US) or at the gym I go to are near that hot.  I try to get in a sauna most days and just stay in long enough to have a good sweat.

Coach Patrick

Al - very interested.  I read a really interesting article about this back in 2014 that not only cited the same study you are, but also has some more recent data as well. Even a video. The idea basically from the article is that:

"Exercise can induce muscular hypertrophy. Heat in deuces muscular  hypertrophy. Both of these together synergize to induce hyper – hypertrophy."

a good read...here's the link: http://tim.blog/2014/04/10/saunas-hyperthermic-conditioning-2/

Al Truscott

@ JW - I arrived at the article via the same Rhonda Patrick video in Ferris' blog. Can't remember how I got there...I do remember thinking she was a little off as she pronounced "hypertrophy" different then we do in medical circles, so can I trust her?
Anyway, for several decades, a sauna 3x/week was part of my routine, BEFORE going swimming. I would stretch, both static and dynamic, in the hot box. Also, our original house in Snowmass had a sauna my father built, so it was standard AFTER skiing, or any other activity, there. Then, ten years ago, with the loss of that house, and the transfer of my swimming to the Y, I stopped doing saunas. I had just thought of them as (a) fun and (b) a Nordic affectation, but never considered they might have played a role in any athletic success I was having. So seeing this information has me back on the bandwagon. The sauna at the Y is in the 60-70C range, but the one at my other gym, the run where it's easy to run and where I do weights, is always 81C, just the right spot for these effects on plasma volume, red cells, and HGH/muscle growth.
We'll see if I notice anything new as my regimen goes on. But the order: run, sauna, lift seems to make some scientific sense, for several reasons.

Peter Noyes

I used to sit in the hot tub after working out all the time, could that have a similar benefit?

arnold schmidt

Why not just put your treadmill in the sauna and get it all done @ the same time? That would be very time efficient - even better - go take a bikram yoga class right after a hard run or bike - that should really improve performance 

I mean really !  

I run/bike in the heat here in fl - when I am done the last thing I want to do is lay around outside or take a hot yoga class - I prefer air conditioning and getting out of the sun and heat to enhance recovery 

this is like the people who before IM Hawaii don't put the air conditioning on in their rooms thinking it will enhance acclimatization and performance

Look - i go into the hot tub almost every day either before or after I swim (to warm up my muscles and relax - I also start swimming with my main set because I am already warmed up and loose) or later in the day after a hard workout - but it's just to relax and help me recover and to massage sore muscles - I didn't know it was also increasing my Vo2max.

I hope I haven't violated the EN anti sarcasm rule

Tom Box

I just ran across this very topic a couple days ago via my son who is reading a book called "Tools of Titans".  One of the short chapters is about Rhonda Patrick. It also mentions using hot baths can significantly increase growth hormone levels over baseline (although no study was sited).  Interesting stuff.  

David Glenn

Al- Interesting article. I feel great after using the sauna and use it as more as a stretching extension.  I've always associated ice as a superior recovery modality though. 
That said, any thoughts on cryotherapy? Short exposures to -250-300 degree temps for supposed 'instant' recovery. Not much data on its results but I think a lot of anecdotal testimonies. Anybody try it?

John Withrow

I tried Cryotherapy once and liked it, but can't say it did anything meaningful.  It was pretty cool (literally and figuratively).  I thought it was "refreshing".  But it was like a 30 min drive from my house and didn't think it was worth the hour of lost time for a 3 min session...   If it was next to my house, or maybe in my basement, I can imagine doing it 2-3 times a day and would probably love it.  

Dave Tallo

I came across the same study (I think) on Lionel Sander's blog earlier this year and implemented it during my (pre-arrival) Kona lead-up.  Now ... I'm "that guy" that believes in the full belt-and-suspenders approach to heat acclimatization in preparation for racing in the heat - and this comprises both active acclimatization coming from selected pre-race sessions, and passive acclimatization coming from sauna, no AC, and 'living' in the heat pre-race - but both of these speak to creating the types of adaptations that the study highlights.    Where the post-session sauna is intriguing to me is letting adaptations happen in a relatively low-impact, low-stress environment, by taking advantage of a body state that is already warmed up, but taking away the higher stress that doing dedicated run work in the heat entails - I find even an easy run in humidity and heat can really cook me (and because it's pre-race, normally occurs at exactly the time I should be looking to shed stress of all types).  As well, the quality of the workout in heat is normally impaired, and I like the idea of keeping the quality of a given session, but also trying to squeeze out some additive heat work.  

In short, I think it's a good way to accelerate the specific anatomical adaptations that are necessary to mitigate the negative impact of heat on performance.    For the real adaptations, as you've noted a number of times, the real adaptations take 10-12 days - even if I describe this as a possible acceleration, there probably are no shortcuts to being really prepared ... ya just gotta soak in it. 

As as bonus, it's great prep to practice drinking a lot of water (again, as specific race prep, such as HI requires), and just getting used to the suck of heat.

Bill McKinney

I'm a huge fan and have a great wood burning sauna at our cabin.  Unfortunately I don't have one at home, but I'm thinking about it.  Ben Greenfield has a bunch of good sauna studies...he's a fan of infrared which I'm not, but he's assembled lots of good studies.  There was a big study from relatively recently that highlighted impact on heart attacks in Finland too.  I'm not a medical guy so can't comment on the physiological benefits, but if I had one, I would probably use it 4-5 times/week.  

By the way, the sauna at our YMCA runs at around 200 which I find too hot.  At the cabin I like to run it around 160-180 with a decent amount of steam.  

Al Truscott

There have been other, more recent threads on this topic. Including one in which @Sheila Leard linked to a protocol which indicated NOT drinking during the sauna was the way to go.

I altered my post-run sauna protocol in two ways earlier this year. First, I did it most weeks when I was home, rather than just for 3 weeks at a time, which I had been doing. Second, I stopped drinking Gatorade in the sauna. I had been taking about 5-6 oz every 5 minutes. A post run sauna involves, of course, immediate sweating, as you are already over heated when going in. It just takes off from there.

I described this to a nutritionist friend of mine, also a triathlete, who specializes in nutrition for kidney dialysis patients. She talked to one her of MD colleagues, who was aghast at the thought of not hydrating in a sauna - felt it would potentially be so hard on the kidneys it might cause problems. I persisted nonetheless.

Sometime this spring I started getting symptoms which eventually led to a diagnosis of bladder stone (not truly painful like a kidney stone, but it affected my running and swimming, eventually causing me to shut them down.) I got it treated via laser, and all symptoms are gone now.

But I did a lot of exploring on potential causes, and the most common mentioned is de-hydration/concentrated urine. I'm highly suspicious my independent adventures in the sauna with prolonged heat (20+ minutes after being already "warmed-up" by running) and fluid avoidance led to the stone.

I still go in the sauna prior to weight lifting, 5-10 minutes. In Nov, I may do 2-3 weeks of the post-run sauna protocol I describe in the original post of this thread, prior to my A races this fall. But I will NOT be doing run+sauna+dehydration anymore.

Jeff Horn

I've been doing a lot of this since its been hot here.  Hot run for an hour, super hot sauna afterwards.  Sweat box z5.

Bill McKinney

Jeff - you mention Z5. Has anyone ever actually tracked HR in a sauna. I’ve never worn a monitor, but I’ve timed it manually and when I have the sauna running hot (80ish C) my HR will rise steadily as I heat up, usually leveling off around 130. I last commented on this thread in Jan 2017, and I’m finally getting around to putting in a sauna at home. Maybe with one closer to my “regular” home I can do a more thorough self-study.

Dave Tallo

yup - I wear a hr as sop when acclimating in a sauna.   During the early sessions (and this is not using the Stacy Sims protocol - that’s another topic altogether) of passive acclimation, I normally see a hr of the top of zone 1, and it typically corresponds to a feeling of “okay, I’ve had enough.”   Subsequent sessions stay below zone 1.