Answers to All Your Awkward Questions About Saunas at the Gym

Amazing news: you just joined a new gym, and it has a sauna! Or maybe you’ve been walking past it for months without really understanding how exactly you should use it. Do you need to wear clothes? Should you do this before or after your workout? Can I take my phone with me?

The answers to these questions may vary from room to room, but I’ll do my best to provide helpful tips and tricks. To be clear, I’m talking about the saunas found in gyms and pool complexes in the US and how people typically use them. This is not a guide to, say, Finnish sauna traditions, but simply a survival guide to visiting a sauna at your local YMCA or Crunch.

What are the benefits of visiting a sauna?

Want to know why people even go to the sauna? There are many reasons: some traditional, some scientific, and some based on how the sauna makes you feel.

Many people use a sauna at the gym for recovery. The evidence is not conclusive, but several small studies have shown a decrease in muscle soreness after using a sauna, and some have found that people recover performance (such as jumping height) more quickly after exercise if they have used a sauna. Here are a few examples: This study found the benefits of recovery for basketball players; this study found improvements in endurance performance among runners; and this one found that after using the sauna, swimmers performed slightly worse the next day. If you want to use a sauna to rejuvenate, try it and see how it affects you.

Using a sauna (as it is sometimes called) may have cardiovascular benefits that mirror some ( not all ) of the benefits of exercise. Your blood vessels dilate in a futile attempt to cool you down, and this appears to be beneficial for cell growth and repair, keeping your circulatory system healthy.

Does a sauna help you lose weight?

Not really, except that you sweat while you’re in the sauna and it dehydrates you a little. The water you lose through sweat has some weight, so you may leave the sauna a pound lighter than you entered. However, all the weight you “lost” consisted of water, and it will be replaced as soon as you drink your next drink.

This is why you’ll see wrestlers and athletes of other weight classes going to the sauna before a competition: it helps them temporarily lose weight to reach a certain number on the scale, and you can bet they’ll rehydrate once they get stronger. make weight.

As for losing weight , which is what you’re probably asking about: no. Not at all. Sweating is simply cooling your body. This is not a sign of a good workout or a sign that you are burning calories . A sauna session is absolutely not conducive to your long-term weight loss goals.

If you wear a fitness tracker in a sauna, you may see an increased heart rate and even (if you try to log it as a workout) a high calorie burn. It’s a mathematical illusion: your fitness tracker knows that the higher your heart rate during exercise , the higher your calorie burn. But if something other than exercise increases your heart rate (like sitting in a sauna), this connection no longer applies. Sorry, you won’t burn a ton of calories just sitting.

Are there different types of saunas? What kind of gym do I have?

Your first step is to read the posted rules (and any other signage) and take a quick look around. You can do this while walking around the gym or the next time you’re in the locker room. If you look into the sauna itself to take a look, don’t open the door wide or hold it open – try to keep the heat inside.

A few things you may notice:

• The sauna is dry; It’s humid in the steam room . Today we’re talking about saunas, but some places have both.

• Regular saunas have benches that can accommodate several people, and a stove or heater that heats the air throughout the room. Infrared saunas are most likely single-person cabins and use infrared lamps that heat your body but don’t necessarily make the air very hot.

• Is it possible to pour water on stones? Traditional Finnish saunas have stones on the stove that you can pour water on to create steam. Most sports saunas use an electric heater and do not allow water to be poured onto it. There is often a sign: “DO NOT POUR WATER ON STONES.” (If you’re allowed to pour water on the stones, you should still ask other people in the sauna if they agree with you. Not everyone wants steam, and it’s rude not to ask.)

The posted rules will also answer some other questions you may have, so start there if you’re unsure. However, people use the sauna in different ways, so let’s move on to the etiquette rules you can expect to be followed.

What am I wearing?

In many sauna traditions you are expected to be naked, but in a typical commercial gym it is much less common to see people completely naked – and the rules may prohibit nudity anyway.

If the sauna is located next to a swimming pool, it is quite normal to wear a swimsuit to the sauna. You may even see people leaving the sauna to take a dip in the pool and then repeat the process.

As a general rule, if the sauna is in a public or mixed-use area, such as a pool deck, a swimsuit or other body covering is expected (rather than wearing one naked or wearing just a towel). However, if the sauna is located in the locker room, this is considered a more private place. I was recently at Crunch Fitness where the sauna locker room rules simply stated, “No street clothes, but please wear a towel.”

Over several days of visiting this Crunch, I noticed one person who went into the sauna with only a towel, and six people who entered it in sportswear, including shoes (??!?) and with a phone. We’ll talk about electronics in a minute, but I just want to say that while this may be common in some places and you’ll have to get used to it, I wouldn’t recommend it as a good way to use a sauna.

Summarize:

• The most “normal” thing in a sauna is a towel.

• If you’re going naked, bring a towel with you to sit on.

• Swimsuits can usually be worn, but may be required.

• Sports saunas often allow workout clothes (and sometimes even shoes!), but I wouldn’t recommend going in fully clothed unless you’re doing a very quick warm-up before your workout.

Do I use the sauna before or after exercise or separately?

In fact, you have many different options. There is no one truly right or proper time to use the sauna. Choose.

The most common place to visit after a workout (or swim) is the sauna, and it can serve a variety of purposes. One of them is heat adaptation: if I’m running on a treadmill in the air conditioning because it’s a million degrees outside, then I’ll go to the sauna afterwards to help my body adapt to the heat .

The most common use of a sauna is post-workout for relaxation, cardiovascular health and/or recovery. As mentioned above, some research suggests that using a sauna after a workout can help you recover better for future workouts.

So the most common way to use a sauna is to finish your workout, take off your clothes and, if necessary, take a quick rinse shower before entering the sauna (some gym policies require a shower, although to be honest I don’t see the point that you will sweat anyway).

• Pre-workout : Now is not the time for a full-on sauna session, but a few minutes in the sauna can provide a passive warm-up—literally warming you up before your workout begins. If the morning is cold and you feel stiff, spend about five minutes in the sauna before starting your workout.

• Post-workout : This is when most people will use the sauna, and it’s up to you how long you want to spend there.

• On rest days: People always ask, “Is it weird to go to the gym just to go to the sauna?” No! This is not true: this is one of the most enjoyable benefits of going to a gym that has a sauna. Take a day off and treat yourself.

How long should you stay in the sauna?

When you first try a sauna, you probably won’t want to stay there for long. Five or 10 minutes is normal for the first time. A longer session will likely last between 15 and 30 minutes. I wouldn’t recommend staying here longer.

Don’t forget that you can go out to cool down and then come back. In some sauna traditions, that’s the whole point: warm up, cool down, repeat, maybe three rounds or so. But you can also just study for as long as you want and then stop working for the day.

Can I bring my phone into the sauna?

Look, people do this . This doesn’t mean you should do it . The heat in a sauna is harsh on electronics, so most manufacturers warn against bringing your gadgets there. Apple, for example, notes that ambient temperatures above 95 degrees “can permanently damage the battery capacity” of iPhones and Apple Watches (saunas are typically somewhere between 150 and 200 degrees), and that using the phone in a sauna or steam room may increase the risk of liquid damage .

Most other electronic devices will have similar warnings if you look at their recommendations. Therefore, your headphones, smartwatch and phone should be left in the locker. The only exception I found? Ring of Oura. It is produced by a Finnish company. Of course, you can wear it in the sauna .

If you want to time your sauna sessions without risking damaging expensive electronics, consider upgrading your smartwatch to a basic digital watch like this Casio one . (Armitron also makes some nice simple watches, like these .)

So what should I do there?

The answer to this question largely depends on the atmosphere in your gym. If you’re there with friends or if your gym is a chatty community, people can talk and socialize. But more often than not, everyone sits and tries their best to remain silent and avoid eye contact. (This does not mean that talking is prohibited , but please do not try to start a conversation.)

The sauna is often a place of relaxation, so close your eyes and let your mind wander – or meditate if that’s your thing.

First of all, it’s a small shared space, so be polite. Sauna etiquette: Do not shave or trim your nails. Don’t watch videos with the sound on or make annoying noises. Don’t do yoga, don’t lay out smelly workout clothes to dry, and definitely don’t spray essential oils on your space heater (yes, I’ve heard of people doing all of those things). And definitely don’t stand in the doorway letting all the heat escape.

With that said – if you’re there alone, most of the above doesn’t really matter. Just leave the place the way you found it and behave normally if anyone else enters.

Should I cool off afterwards?

After leaving the sauna, you will need some time to cool down. The air outside the sauna will be refreshingly cool, but you’ll want to get into the shower.

Take your time to cool down. Sauna time is over and you want to return your body temperature to normal. If you jump out of the sauna straight into a very quick shower, you may find that you continue to sweat through your clothes even after you’ve gotten dressed.

What do I need to take with me to visit the sauna?

Here is your starter kit for a pleasant sauna experience:

• A lock for your locker so you can leave your phone and valuables there (don’t bring them into the sauna)

• Fog clock if you want to time your session.

• Two towels: one for the sauna, one for after the shower (I like compact microfiber sports towels that won’t take up much space in my gym bag).

• Toiletries for showering later

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