Can you take the heat?

We need to talk about something that’s been around for a while but is now showing some powerful data.

Saunas and deliberate heat exposure.

Most people only associate the sauna with relaxation.

And it is definitely relaxing. It always feels nice to get into a nice, toasty room and sweat for a few minutes.

But that’s not all it’s good for.

It comes with a ton of performance-boosting benefits as well.

Many players (like Ronaldo, Haaland, Kane, and van Djik, just to name a few) are already reaping the benefits.

As more data comes out on saunas, the more popular they're going to become.

So if you want to get ahead, start now.

We won’t keep you waiting any longer. Let’s get into it!

Improved circulation

We’re going to start with the most basic, but also the most vital.

Improving your circulation comes with countless positives.

I mean, pretty much every function in your body relies on blood getting delivered somewhere.

Getting oxygen to your muscles, getting rid of metabolic debris, detoxification, and more all rely on the movement of blood.

So on a basic efficiency level, improving your circulation makes life a lot better.

As you heat up, your blood vessels expand, allowing for more blood flow.

To keep you cool in that kind of heat, your heart rate needs to speed up.

So not only are you allowing more blood to move, but you’re circulating blood quicker.

Let’s take a deeper look at how that helps you in your performance.

Recovery

As an athlete, your most important job is, arguably, to recover.

It doesn’t matter how skilled or fit you are.

If your body can’t recover before your next training or match, there’s no possible way you can perform at your best.

Obviously, increasing circulation comes with recovery benefits.

More tools for repair can get to where they need to go quicker and in greater numbers.

However, there are some other tricks we have up our sleeves.

Our bodies produce this thing called growth hormone, and it does exactly what it sounds like it would do.

It stimulates growth in nearly every tissue, including muscle, bone, and cartilage.

Building muscle from a hard workout and repairing injuries you’ve picked up becomes significantly easier when you ad GH to the mix.

We naturally produce a ton of this stuff as our bodies grow, but we only make a fraction once we’re done.

Well, this is where saunas step in.

Some sauna regimens can increase growth hormone by up to 16x.

This might be one of the biggest recovery hacks out there.

Heat adaptation

Just like you can develop your skills, your body can improve its functions to run more efficiently.

One of those functions is cooling yourself down.

Yes, you can actually get better at sweating, and you’re going to notice a difference.

This study showed that implementing a sauna after workouts could improve time to exhaustion by 32% in just 3 weeks.

Not only that, but red blood cells (the cells that carry oxygen) increased by nearly 8%.

That’s a big difference.

So what’s happening here?

The sauna provides a more intense heat stimulus than normal exercise would.

Your body needs to cool you down from a temperature that you’ve most likely never experienced before.

By becoming more efficient at cooling yourself, your body doesn’t have to spend as much energy on it.

And this allows you to spend that energy elsewhere (including keeping your legs moving or your brain alert).

Sauna safety

Drink about 475 ml (16 oz) of water per 10 minutes you spend in the sauna.

If you’re under 16, you should not get into a sauna.

If you’re trying to conceive a child, do not use a sauna.

Useful sauna resources

Sauna regimens

Sporting KC sauna for recovery

For when you’re ready to improve:

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Until next time,

Footytutor