What is the real benefit of a sauna or steam room? I know that spot reduction does not happen but I have heard some where that if you ware a elastic belt of some sort around your nasty love handles it may increase circulation in that area and further more assist in weight loss in that area. Is this true?
untrue. Unles you consider temporary water weight loss an effective weight loss program.
To sit in a VERY hot room and maintain your core temperature does require a certain amount of energy. Yes you will lose fluid as your body is trying to cool you down and yes you will replace it but you will have burn’t a moderate to high amount of calories aswell fueling the cooling process. So If your trying to create a deficiancy in calories, you can apply this theory. Infra red sauna’s burn more energy than conventional steam sauna’s…
I recently started using an oxygenated steam room once a week and really enjoy it. Is there anything special I should do while I’m in there (like stretch or massage)? Is there an ideal way to time the sessions within my training program? Better on a lifting day or a cardio day, etc? I guess I do a contrast shower at the end since I go as cold as possible.
Anyone know anything about aromatherapy - which oils might be good to experiment with with the steam?
Thanks in advance!
Stretching and massage after or at the end of your sauna would work well as your muscles will be very warm and pliable. I found staying in for too long (30 minutes)after doing a weights session was quite catabolic.
This may be due to water loss and redirected energy use to cooling instead of rebuilding. So if you want to minimise muscle loss i wouldn’t do it for too long 
[quote]stockzy wrote:
… Infra red sauna’s burn more energy than conventional steam sauna’s…[/quote]
I was just reading about infra red sauna’s in Sherry Rogers’ Detoxify or Die book. Very interesting. Based on the book, it seems that infra red sauna’s are safer to use and have more benefits than the conventional saunas one of them being its ability to remove toxins through the sweat. People who can’t stand the conventional sauna heat seem to better tolerate the infra red heat.
The Mayo clinic uses it a lot in their treatment of patients.
I used to belong to a club that had a steam room. I would use it after training sessions and it always helped prevent soreness and relieve physical and mental tension. They’re the shit.
My gym has an infared sauna and I spend about 15-20 minutes in there after my workouts. Then I go straight from the sauna to the shower and end the shower by cranking down the hot water so it’s ice cold. The whole process feels therapeutic, like a nice massage after the workout, I’m refreshed and ready for work, great way to start the day.
I don’t like to spend too long in there though because doing so delays my post workout shake.