Sauna suits are supposed to replicate the effects of real sauna. Just like a traditional sauna, they implement heat therapy to make the body sweat, and as you sweat the body gets detoxified.
It is because of its ability to make you sweat that some people find it to be an appropriate work out gear.
Celebrities and athletes who wear them laud them for the following benefits.
Benefits of Wearing A Sauna Suit while Exercising
Promotes Sweating
When the body sweats, a lot of water is lost in the process. This leads to an almost instantaneous loss of water weight.
This is the reason why sauna suits are popular among athletes who would love to lose a certain amount of water weight just before weigh-in.
They Detoxify The Body
Sauna suits lock up the heat in the body, and by so doing, they make you sweat much more during a workout.
Since toxins are expelled during sweating, sweating a lot can increase the number of toxins that your body gets rid of.
They May Boost Your Metabolism
They increase the metabolism of the body because of the raised body temperature and faster pulse rate.
When metabolism is increased, the body breaks down fats to translate into energy more efficiently. They can, therefore, translate to more calories being burnt in a workout session.
They Aid in Weight Loss
The combined effect of the detoxification and increase in metabolism can help in losing and maintaining weight
Besides, a Western State Colorado University study found that working out in sauna suits helped the participants lose weight, burn fat and lower sugar levels.
45 overweight men were divided into three groups – one group did not exercise at all, the second exercised in regular clothes and the third one exercised in sauna suits.
At the end of eight weeks of study, both groups that worked out showed improvement, but the group that worked out in suits recorded much better results.
Improves Aerobic Fitness
The volume of oxygen used up during exercise increased by 11.7 when wearing a sauna suit, this study found. This results in better cardiovascular workouts.
May Boost Immunity
A 2012 study showed that heat stress is one of the most effective triggers for the release of cell-repairing proteins. The proteins aid in cell reparation and maintenance of weak or affected cells.
Wearing sauna suits as you work out applies thermal stress to your body, and your body immunity may get boosted in the process.
Enhances Post-Workout Recovery
During a normal workout, you might experience muscle soreness due to the buildup of lactic acid. Besides, cardio workouts are really about creating micro-tears in the muscles that are then repaired back stronger.
Sauna suits use heat therapy to prevent the build-up of lactic acid which is linked to post-workout soreness and discomfort.
However, care has to be taken when wearing sauna suits during workouts. In fact, it is advised that you only wear sauna suits under the guidance of a professional due to the following reasons:
Disadvantages of Wearing A Sauna Suit While Exercising
They Can Result in Overheating
When the sauna suit is used during exercise, it prevents the heat that your body is generating from escaping. That is also the premise of a traditional sauna, only this time when it’s done while working out, your body overheats more.
It offers no means of cooling the body, and it may result in fainting, unconsciousness, weakness, and fatigue.
People who are new to the sauna suit are advised to limit their use to between 5-20 minutes. More so, do not start working out in a sauna suit before doing a ‘dry run’ in them.
Wear them on alternate days at least a week prior to your workout session so you may gauge your body’s reaction to them.
Can Cause Heat Stroke
Overheating may result in heatstroke, which can be fatal. Heatstroke can occur if the body temperature goes beyond 40 degrees without hydration. It is marked by fever, unconsciousness, and confusion.
Water Weight Loss
Most of the instantaneous weight that is lost through working out in sauna suits is not actual body weight. Rather, it is water weight. This means the moment you rehydrate you will gain back the weight that has been lost.
May Cause Dehydration
The sauna suit triggers excessive sweating which might turn out to be counterintuitive. It leads to dehydration which can then lead to fainting, feeling dizzy and affect your health.
More so, water is very inherent to your weight loss journey and getting rid of most or all of it opens a fresh avenue for problems.
May Force You to Split Workouts
If you are working out in a sauna suit, you will have to split your workout into two in order to remain within the safe hydration threshold. If you do cardio for more than 20 minutes in a sauna suit, for instance, you might suffer dehydration, dizziness, and fatigue.
Therefore, if your intention was to work out for more than 20 minutes, you will have to schedule the remaining sets at some other time.
Discomfort
The material with which most sauna suits are made of are generally sticky – that is how they manage to trap the heat inside.
Once they get wet with sweat, they can be very uncomfortable and prevent you from working out with ease.
Kidney Damage
As you sweat, you lose both water and essential electrolytes. Sweating too much can deplete the electrolytes in the body, thus leading to kidney damage.
No Clinical Evidence on Metabolism
There is little, foolproof clinical backing on the routed metabolic benefits of sauna suits, and this raises questions on whether the advantages really can be counted on.
Final Word
Wearing a sauna suit while exercising may offer some benefits, but the problem starts when it is overdone.
If you have to wear the suits, ensure you get a nod from your physician, stay aware of the negative repercussions, call for help at the first sign of distress and importantly, stay hydrated.
With that said, you can effortlessly burn fat even without wearing a sauna suit. Simply do these simple fat-blasting workouts in the morning.
[related_posts_by_tax posts_per_page="4"]
