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For many athletes and fitness enthusiasts, running is a popular form of exercise. In the United States, over 50 million people opt for running or jogging as their primary workout. The essentials are straightforward: a good pair of running shoes and some water. However, there are various strategies and advice to consider for improved performance and reduced injury risk during your run, whether it’s on the pavement or a path.
For instance, every avid runner knows just how important it is to warm up and recover post-run. An intense workout like running places a lot of stress on the muscles, ligaments, and tendons. It’s essential to have a solid post-workout recovery regimen on deck to help your body repair, restore, and reduce muscle soreness and fatigue. Following proper recovery steps can, in turn, lead to better strength, endurance, and performance. Not allowing sufficient time for recovery can result in injury and imbalanced muscles.
Some of the standard steps after running include stretching, cooling down, foam rolling, hydrating, consuming protein-packed snacks, performing light physical activity (such as walking), and resting. But there’s one particularly simple post-workout trick that can actually help runners last 32% longer, according to research—so listen up.
A Post-Workout Sauna Habit Can Improve Runners’ Endurance and Performance
A study published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport tracked six distance runners, all male, for a period of three weeks. Throughout this time, the runners participated in sauna sessions after their training, in addition to control training for three weeks, followed by a three-week “washout” period. The sauna phase consisted of sitting in a 89.9°C sauna. The men did this following each training session for 31 minutes. All participants also completed a 15-minute treadmill prior to and following every trip to the sauna.
Upon conclusion, the research revealed that using the sauna boosted time to exhaustion by 32%, which means the men improved their endurance by 1.9%. The participants also experienced an increase in red-cell and plasma volume by 3.5% and 7.1%, respectively. The research team felt the better endurance performance was a result of the boosted blood volume during the sauna sessions.
This is excellent news for runners; but whether you’re a cardio enthusiast or not, breaking out a sweat in the sauna offers many health benefits. Time in the dry heat can help lower stress, improve anxiety, eliminate pain, and boost your heart health. It can also help make sore muscles feel much better and promote a good night’s rest.
This is nothing new, as saunas have been around for quite some time. Although they are safe, it’s essential to use them wisely—after all, you don’t want your body to overheat. In addition, be sure to hydrate after your session!
Alexa Mellardo
