The benefits of combining fitness classes and swimming pool

Sauna after training: what, why and why

Well, I would like to start with the fact that we owe this note to our loved ones, because... It is this topic - the sauna after a workout - that haunts many readers. In particular, some of them (you), through the project mail, reported that the regular fitness center has such a service as ordering girls to the bathhouse/sauna. In other words, after a workout you can relax, steam and relax in this kefir establishment. However, it is not clear whether this is beneficial for the muscles, how it will affect them and other things. Like, some say it’s good, others say it’s bad, others sit and remain silent :), clarify the situation. I’ll be happy to do this, my dears, and in the most expanded and chewed form. Well, let's get started.

Note:

For better assimilation of the material, all further narration will be divided into subchapters.

Sweat and its functions

A sauna is a place that is designed to raise a person’s body temperature and cause profuse sweating. Although many of us try to avoid sweating, sweat serves two important functions:

• cooling (temperature reset);
• removal of toxins (riding the body of waste products).

The body contains two types of sweat glands:

1. apocrine glands - located mainly in the armpits, on the pubic and scalp. They secrete sweat, which contains fats and other organic compounds. Bacteria found on human skin interact with these compounds, which causes a specific (for each person) body odor. These glands become especially functional during puberty, releasing hormones and pheromones to attract the opposite sex;
2. eccrine glands - there are more than 2
   million of them, and they are scattered throughout the body. They are truly workhorses when it comes to sweating. Eccrine glands are activated by heat, as well as stress and emotions. These glands secrete watery sweat that cools the body by evaporating from the surface of the skin.

As for the types of saunas, they are:

• convection (conventional) - the most common and found in most places;
• infrared – directional.

Their main difference is the degree of exposure to heat on the human body. In an infrared sauna, a person warms up from the inside in a matter of minutes; in a regular sauna, the air itself heats up more, not the body.

Sauna after training: effect on muscles

Let's dive a little into the theory and find out (remember) what processes occur in the muscles after the end of the last repetition, and how a sauna or a cool shower affects all this.

During exercise, muscles meet their energy needs through glycogen. It is stored in the muscles and liver and is a derivative of glucose - the reserves of which are replenished through the consumption of carbohydrates. That's why it's so important to load up on carbohydrates before and after your workout—it's the only way to ensure optimal nutrition for muscle growth.

A sauna or a cool shower are two tools that many athletes often use after training for better recovery. However, it must be remembered that they have different effects on protein synthesis and recovery. After a power load, all calories consumed within half an hour go towards the formation of new contractile proteins (muscle tissue growth). If during this period the body does not receive energy from the outside, it begins to burn existing muscles. This is the so-called. And to close it, you need to load up on fast carbohydrates in the amount 40-60

gr.

In addition to carbohydrates, the body needs fast building blocks - protein. And the ideal choice in this case is liquid amino acids or whey protein hydrolysate. Therefore, it is more correct to say that after training it is necessary to close the carbohydrate-protein window.

Now regarding the sauna and its effect on the muscles.

The American Institute of Physiology and Sports has conducted a number of independent studies that have proven that the sauna (for the most part) has a negative effect on muscle growth. These studies have shown that glycogen synthesis, and therefore muscle recovery, is significantly slower at temperatures above 30

degrees. In other words, a post-workout sauna may not be the best choice.

Note:

Sperm motility decreases markedly for several days after visiting the sauna. Therefore, you should not have a bachelor party in a bathhouse before your wedding night.

These studies also found that below room temperature, such as a cool shower, is the best post-workout option. This shower accelerates glycogen synthesis and muscle recovery.

Another scientifically proven fact is that washing your face with cold water immediately after exercise is also very beneficial. This procedure slows down the heartbeat, normalizes blood pressure and prepares the body for the post-workout cocktail. In addition, the oxygen content in the blood and its availability to muscle tissue increases. The latter is very important for the rapid transport of nutrients to the muscles and optimal recovery after training.

The conclusion of the study is this: “...if you really want to build muscle mass and not ruin the results of an effective workout, then abandon the sauna or other heating methods and replace them with cool showers. It significantly improves the body’s condition and speeds up recovery.”

Post-workout sauna: benefits

So is the sauna really such a bad place and not worth visiting? What, it doesn’t give the body anything at all? Of course it does, and a lot, let’s look at the main benefits of going to the steam room. So, these can be classified as such.

The sauna increases blood flow to all the loins and the muscles feel more refreshed. In addition to increasing body temperature, it increases heart rate and metabolic rate. The temperature of the skin rises significantly in just a few minutes (to about 104

degrees Fahrenheit), blood vessels become more flexible and elastic, blood circulation through them increases. The heart almost doubles the amount of blood it pumps.

The North American sauna community has conducted research that shows that a post-workout steam bath helps reduce muscle pain by producing endorphins (the pleasure hormone) in the body. It has also been claimed that saunas help eliminate lactic acid lactate (a major muscle failure factor) and toxins released during exercise.

Detoxification of the body is one of the main advantages of a sauna. And it consists in removing accumulated toxic substances through sweat. Ridding the body of these toxins will help prevent many diseases and improve overall health and vitality flow (hello from Star Wars :)). And because athletes who go to the gym actively lift iron, constantly eat according to 5-6

once a day, such a sparing procedure is very important for them.
It is also worth noting that the infrared heat generated by a suitable sauna produces sweat consisting of almost 20%
toxins versus only
3%
in a traditional one.

In addition to detoxification, the sauna deeply cleanses the pores of the skin and makes it breathe in a new way. This is very important for constant training and lifting iron. Sweat removes excess sodium (salt) and urea, a product of natural metabolism. In general, the sauna has excellent “cleansing” effects.

Relaxing in a sauna will help lower levels of the destructive hormone. The combination of warmth and relaxing music will help you remove the “closed-mindedness” from training and experience the deepest relaxation and relief.

Behind 30

minutes of visiting an infrared sauna burns about
600
calories, i.e.
You lie there, do nothing, and the weight goes away. In one scientific study, women
lost weight and reduced their waist circumference 3 All this happens due to an increase in heart rate and metabolic rate, as a result of which the body can burn more calories.

Infrared saunas and their heat penetrate deeply into joints, muscles and tissues, increasing circulation and accelerating the flow of oxygen. Many sports doctors recommend using saunas to relieve sports injuries and chronic fatigue syndrome. A 2003 study found that using near-infrared heat helped produce white blood cells, which reduce inflammation and swelling—two key factors in reducing bodily pain.

What do you think, is the list of useful features impressive? Yes, I think so.

Now let's summarize all this chatter and answer the main question of the note in one line. So, a sauna after a workout has its place, but with some caveats according to Freud:

• training on this day should be of moderate severity;
• class time no more than 45
  minutes;
• be sure to drink water during training;
• be sure to drink water after the sauna (up to 300
  ml);
• time spent in the steam room is no more than 20
  minutes;
• on exit - a cool shower or swimming pool;
• after the sauna, close the carbohydrate-protein window;
• It’s better to relax in the sauna on days free from training (then the time can be up to 40
  minutes);
• an infrared sauna is preferable to its regular counterpart.

Well, in this spirit, in this way. That's all I have, let's move on to the conclusion.

Afterword

Today we talked about whether a sauna after a workout is beneficial. Now you know the answer to the question and can make a thoughtful and informed decision. I say goodbye for now, see you again and enjoy your bath!

PS.

Friends, are there saunas in your rooms, do you go there?

P.P.S.

Did the project help?
Then leave a link to it in your social network status - plus 100
points to karma, guaranteed :) .

With respect and gratitude, Dmitry Protasov

.

Prize-winner of the World and European Championships Nikita Konovalov tells how to swim correctly and get a kick out of it.

Do I need to check with a doctor before starting classes?

A medical examination is mandatory; without a certificate, you still won’t be allowed into the pool. Some things should be examined in more detail - for example, the back. If a person has matured, if his growth has stopped, he must definitely go to the doctor to have his spine checked. This is a very important point for swimming. In an adult, the bones have matured, there is nothing to fix there - you can only strengthen it.

It is not necessary for a child to have his spine checked, although it sounds a little strange. At an early age, back diseases are not so critical and can heal over time.

It is also important to check if you are allergic to bleach or alkali. Maybe you yourself don’t know about it, but there will be an unpleasant surprise in the pool.

What is the best frequency to go to the pool?

If our goal is to keep the body in good shape, then three to four times a week will be enough, and let the workout itself last an hour and a half.

It is advisable to swim in the morning - it is much healthier. The body wakes up, the muscles are relaxed - it swims much easier, and the effect will be greater. It is clear that many people do not have the opportunity to go to the pool in the morning. So, let's go in the evening - it's not a tragedy, it's just that more different little things can interfere with you.

How to eat before training?

Ideal: Fruit 40 minutes before you enter the pool building. There it will take 10 minutes to change clothes, and another 10 minutes to warm up on land. It turns out an hour has passed. When you jump into the water, those carbohydrates from the fruit will start helping you. Of course, you shouldn’t eat heavy food before class.

You can eat porridge - these are “long-lasting” carbohydrates, but they are not suitable for every workout. There will be a lot of energy, but you won’t be able to swim intensely on the porridge - only measuredly, calmly, without acceleration.

Do I need to master all styles at the same time?

For starters, a crawl is enough. Then it won’t be so difficult to master your back - the method is identical, you just need to roll over. Be careful with the dolphin. I myself am considered a “dolphinist”, but in training it takes up 10% of all my work. This is a very energy-intensive and technical style - it really pushes the heart, so you need to be physically prepared for it.

Breaststroke is also not as simple as it seems. Ideally, a trainer should monitor you so that you do not make unnecessary movements. There are a lot of injuries in breaststroke - especially in the knees. Even professionals do not always notice how menisci are damaged.

Our narrator Nikita Konovalov.

How to breathe correctly when crawling?

Every three strokes, exhale to the right and left - this is for technique and for the spine, so as not to load the same side. A mistake many beginners make is that they breathe on one side, on the one where they feel more comfortable. Over the years, this leads to injuries - one arm works more, the shoulder is loaded by the arm - and the joint begins to wear out. The coach may not notice this, so you have to look after yourself.

If you breathe in different directions through three strokes, your shoulders will be unloaded and your spine will work correctly. The twists will go in different directions, not in one direction.

What is the main mistake of beginners on the water?

Incorrect calculation of forces.

Where does proper training begin? You need to swim for 20-30 minutes so that your heart rate does not rise above 120 beats per minute. Then the heart will work out, the system will start. After 30 minutes at this rhythm, fat begins to be burned - now the heart rate can be raised, but a maximum of 140 beats per minute is no longer necessary for an amateur.

What do newbies do? Beginners are always in a hurry to swim to the other side. I didn’t measure their pulse, but even from their breathing it’s clear that it’s up to 180 per minute - that’s a lot. Professionals compete on such a pulse. The muscles don’t even just get tired, they become acidic. “Milk” appears - and that’s it, the desire to swim disappears. The body itself rejects the load.

How should you swim during class?

The main thing is not to swim continuously for an hour. You need to work in segments with a pause. Everything here is individual, everyone has their own capabilities, but the principle is the same: take a segment, rest, lower your pulse. And so on for several segments per workout.

Always focus on your heart, not your muscles. All restoration comes from the heart. The muscles can be rested and light, but the heart is pounding simply from bad sleep - which means there is no need to torture yourself. If you overload it, don’t expect recovery at night; in the morning you will have a headache and, possibly, blood pressure.

How to breathe properly in water?

The correct position of the head in the water is when the athlete lies on his stomach, and his gaze is not straight, but at an angle of 45 degrees to the bottom. Let's just say, straight and down. The movement of the head to gain air should occur during the end of the stroke; inhalation should be done under the arm. So that there is not just a turn of the head to the side, but also a slight turn back.

Of course, you need to exhale into the water - this greatly affects recovery. Between working segments, you need to make the first two or three exhalations into the water especially powerful, and then exhale more calmly.

How to eat immediately after training?

Within 15-20 minutes you can eat something from “fast” carbohydrates: a banana, some kind of bun. Within 45 minutes you can eat protein foods: scrambled eggs, cheeses, omelettes, cottage cheese, meat. This will prevent you from gaining excess weight and will restore muscle mass that was burned during training.

Do I need to stick to a strict workout schedule?

A big mistake beginners make is they force themselves to go to the pool. It happens that circumstances interfere, there is no strength, there is no desire after work - but they still go. There is no need to turn classes into hard labor. There will be no effect anyway, and missing one lesson will not turn out to be anything terrible.

Even professionals try not to take risks, but to skip training if something does not allow them to carry it out effectively. The first rule in swimming: it is better to underwork than to overwork.

What to do if you overwork?

Take a break - there are no other options. The problem is that even professionals do not immediately understand that they have done too much.

Overload is very harmful. Everyone wants to progress, achieve muscle growth, and as quickly as possible. It happens: there is passion - you try to do more and more and drive yourself into a hole. Sleep, routine, and nutrition are disrupted. It’s simply impossible to eat, an internal refusal appears: I don’t want to, that’s all. The muscles no longer grow, no matter how hard you work, and the weight only falls - you have already entered the hole.

Solution: either stop training for several days until the body recovers, or, as a last resort, just swim and swim freely.

Is it possible to combine a swimming pool with a gym?

If our interest is simply to be healthy, then we can add a maximum of three classes per week in the gym. But this is not a rocking chair, but something moving so that the cardiovascular system works.

But again, you don’t need to torture yourself so that the workout makes you sick. You need to have fun, as if you were running with a ball. I went to one exercise machine, to the second, stretched a little, went to the third - light loads after short breaks.

It is best to install the pool immediately after the hall. An hour in the gym, then an hour in the pool - it turns out that you loaded your muscles and then stretched them in the water. In addition, the pool will give you good cardio work, help you lose excess weight, and your muscles will be in good tone.

Do you need a sauna after the pool?

Once or twice a week, depending on the condition. The bath is an additional burden on the heart. If you've done an intense workout, your heart already has enough. After each workout there is definitely no point in going to the bathhouse - it turns out that the muscles are not loaded at all.

How important is it to work under the supervision of a trainer?

Of course, it is better to exercise under the supervision of a trainer than alone. If you have the opportunity to choose a coach, I recommend an adult and experienced one.

Young professionals are recent university graduates. They follow what they read in books, but cannot rely on experience. A lot of people have gone through an adult coach, and sometimes he is able to work on a premonition: looking at the athlete and understanding what he needs and what he doesn’t.

There is also a psychological moment. If a coach is older than you, that’s good; he can motivate you to work and inspire respect. If you study with a peer, there will be no incentive for even the slightest progress.

“Barbells are terribly bad for flat butts and flabby arms.” Why do girls go to the gym?

Photo: globallookpress.com/Peter kneffel/DPA; RIA Novosti /Vladimir Astapkovich, Alexander Vilf

I must admit that both the swimming pool and the gym take a lot of energy if you train conscientiously and not recklessly.

There is a main contradiction between the pool and the gym, which prevents you from doing both swimming and bodybuilding. This contradiction is inherent in the movement technique of swimming and lifting weights.

Butterfly

Butterfly is a faster variation of breaststroke.

The fact is that in 1935, the butterfly was considered simply the newest variety of the classic breaststroke, however, almost 20 years later, in 1953 (and in the USSR in 1949), the butterfly was officially recognized as an independent swimming style (because it replaced the classic breaststroke, because because in terms of speed, this style is second only to the crawl (and this, I repeat, is the fastest style)).

In general, this style involves front swimming, in which the swimmer performs simultaneous and symmetrical (generally synchronous) movements of the left and right parts of the body.

With both hands, the swimmer makes a powerful wide stroke, during which the upper part of the body rises above the water, while simultaneously performing symmetrical wave-like kicks “from the pelvis”.

It all looks like this (see photo below):

This style of swimming is the most difficult and energy-consuming among all the others; it requires maximum endurance/strength and absolutely perfect mastery of technique.

A fast variation of butterfly swimming is the dolphin.

A characteristic feature of this swimming technique is the movements of the legs: they move in a vertical plane up and down (like the movements of a dolphin's tail), and in classic butterfly the legs work in a breaststroke.

Swimming on the back (or as it is also called back crawl) is a style of swimming in which the swimmer performs alternating strokes with his arms and at the same time performs alternating kicks in the vertical plane (up and down).

The athlete's face is almost constantly (except for the start and turns) above the water.

See the photo below for what it looks like in action:

This style of swimming is faster in speed than the classic breaststroke, in fact, this is clearly demonstrated by the Stockholm Olympics in 1912, where the American Harry Hebner applied this style and became a gold medalist at the Stockholm Olympics.

After this, almost immediately all the athletes began to swim on their back in this way. Also, this style is the only one in which the start is made not from the bedside table (from above), but from the water.

Now we will discuss the benefits of swimming for humans.

Mode of muscle work in the gym and in the pool

Try looking closely at bodybuilders on stage and swimmers in a pool.

The essence of bodybuilding is exercises with straining for a short time: about 30 seconds. The movements are slow, the muscles are tense. In the gym, you need to feel the muscles through slow execution of exercises in order to acidify the muscles.

The essence of swimming is a long - up to several hours - alternation of light tension and complete relaxation of the muscles. Good sailing is economical sailing in which acidification is not allowed.

In a word, the goal of the gym is muscle acidification, and a swimmer, on the contrary, needs to avoid this acidification in every possible way.

Is it possible to combine a swimming pool and a gym?

Usually people go to the gym for a decorative purpose - to get specific changes in body shape: reduce the waist by 5 cm, increase the biceps by 2 cm, etc.

Sometimes they go to the gym to bench press 100 kg.

People go to the pool: swimming for pleasure is going without a purpose; or prepare for a swim.

The goals of both the gym and the pool require a certain volume and intensity of training with constant improvement of technique. Moreover, as you understand, the swimming technique conflicts with the exercise technique in the gym.

Therefore, the pool spoils the technique of exercises in the gym, and strength exercises in pumping mode spoil the technique of swimming.

This conflict in training regimens slows down progress in these sports.

You can combine the pool and the gym, but your progress will be half as slow in both, compared to those who focus on only one type of fitness.

However, if you are not ambitious and are ready to sacrifice results in front of the mirror and in the swim for the sake of harmonious development, then you can create a training plan for yourself in the pool and in the gym, adjusted to increase the preparation time for your chosen goals.

Aerobics (swimming) + bodybuilding (muscle gain)

Swimming uses all muscle groups (the whole body), which in turn means that swimming is a basic multi-joint exercise, but it is performed in an aquatic environment, and not on the surface, as for example in bodybuilding.

However, there are opinions that say swimming (somehow) helps the growth of muscle mass.

However, in reality this is not the case. Swimming does not pump (i.e., increase) muscles, as many people naively believe... even despite the fact that swimming is a basic multi-joint exercise.

In any case, swimming is aerobic training, not anaerobic.

There is no way to confuse them... swimming can only contribute to more aesthetic muscle development and, in general, a general improvement in body composition, but in no way to grow muscles. I assure you of this absolutely 100%.

If the goal is to gain muscle mass (muscle) = no swimming!

Remember, once and for all, absolutely any strength load (so-called anaerobic training) causes our body to produce anabolic hormones, which subsequently trigger growth reactions, but aerobic training (in our case, swimming), on the contrary, fights this phenomenon, triggering decay reactions (catabolism).

Anabolism is growth, catabolism is destruction. Do you understand?

I have already explained this more than once, for example, in the article: “Running and bodybuilding”, that any aerobic exercise only harms the muscles (harms their growth and destroys them).

This, by the way, is the answer to whether it is possible to combine swimming and gaining muscle mass…. Here's your answer: you can't, because it will be harmful, just like running, fast walking, etc. Do you understand?

Any aerobic exercise, if your goal is maximum muscle growth, is not compatible.

You don’t have to lie to yourself, saying, you’re wrong, I combine everything and everything is fine..

Believe me, nothing is normal... many people are trying to somehow combine bodybuilding (gaining muscle mass) and swimming, they say, Mon-Wed-Fri = strength training, and Tue-Thu-Sat = swim...

People naively believe that either this will promote (accelerate, so to speak) the growth of muscle mass (muscle growth) or they naively want to gain muscle mass + lose weight at the same time, thereby killing two birds with one stone.

Unfortunately, these people have no idea what they are doing. Now I will explain why this is all wrong.

Firstly, if you go swimming on your days off from bodybuilding, you will in no way speed up the growth of your muscles (how do you even imagine that?...), on the contrary, you will only slow down your progress in terms of muscle growth due to aerobic exercise. training, this is the first thing.

And secondly, excessive swimming will harm the recovery process after training with iron, which will ultimately only lead to a decline in training weights or even overtraining.

In both cases, you did not achieve anything good; on the contrary, you only harmed yourself (in terms of muscle growth).

And secondly, as for gaining muscle + losing weight (burning fat) at the same time, this is basically impossible! Because anabolism (weight gain) = growth, and catabolism (weight loss) = destruction, weight is an excess of calories, and weight loss is a calorie deficit, and combining these two processes into one is simply not possible. Understand this once and for all!!

The same goes for those people who try to combine swimming before or after strength training.

In the first case (before training), with a long swim, you will spend your energy reserves for a full-fledged strength training, which will ultimately affect the strength training itself (you will not have the strength to fully train, the training weights will fall, etc.).

And in the second case (swimming after strength training), it won’t do anything good in terms of muscle growth, because in this way you will “lose weight”, yes, yes, in this case, you will not gain weight, on the contrary, you will only lose weight , and not only fat will “burn”, but also your muscles.

This happens because during strength training, during the first 20 minutes you spend the glycogen that is in your muscles, and for the next 20 minutes you use up the glycogen from the liver.

This is why everyone says (and rightly so) that you need to train for 40-45 minutes no more, but in our case, after 40-45 minutes of strength training, if we continue to train (or even worse, run/swim or use any other aerobic exercise) , then we will actively lose both fat and muscle!

Conclusion: if your goal is to gain muscle mass, you need to avoid any aerobic activity (in our case, swimming). And period. No matter who said what.

Strength training and swimming

In almost all strength sports, the main task is to reduce the amplitude of lifting the barbell.

On the contrary, in almost all cyclic sports, increasing the amplitude of the cycle means improving the result. In running, this is the amplitude of the step, and in swimming, this is the amplitude of the stroke.

At its core, range of motion is the flexibility of the body. The greater the distance between the extreme points of movement, the better the flexibility.

The first skill of effective swimming is the ability to swim across the pool behind the 12 fungus crawl.

On the contrary, bodybuilders, in order not to relax their muscles, bodybuilders do not fully extend their arms.

What do you think: how many strokes will it take for a bodybuilder, with the habit of not fully extending his arms, to swim across the pool?

I started with twenty-five strokes.

A bodybuilder can swim with swimmers like a dachshund can run with hounds.

The size/quarter technique is, of course, a bodybuilding technique, but not a competitive one, and it has many basics that can be used in any other sport.

One of these fundamentals is “amplitude is good.”

This principle means that all strength exercises are done with maximum amplitude - including pull-ups.

People who are good at pull-ups swim faster than those who can't do pull-ups. For example, in order to increase stroke strength, women with weak muscles are recommended at swimming schools to do a lot of exercises for the lats.

Strength exercises for the muscles of the upper shoulder girdle help swimming if performed in full amplitude and do not spoil flexibility.

It's more difficult with legs.

Any muscles on the legs take blood away from the main working muscles of the upper shoulder girdle. This is why swimming is especially difficult for cyclists.

Strong legs for swimming are an extra burden that not only takes away blood, but also upsets the balance point - the horizontal position in the water.

And if a bodybuilder is used to squatting without fully straightening his body and knees, then straightening his torso and legs in the water will also be difficult.

Now do you understand why bodybuilders with bent arms, knees, pelvis and heavy legs do not swim very gracefully and not at all fast?

A simple conclusion: you can combine swimming if your body flexibility is not compromised, and you have no claims to fame as a World Swimming Champion.

The benefits of the sauna have been repeatedly proven by scientists. Such a useful pastime has recently practically replaced the traditional Russian bathhouse. However, many people, especially athletes, doubt whether they should visit the sauna after training. First, let's look at the general effect of such a procedure on the body.

Freestyle

With the water style of swimming, the swimmer is allowed to swim in absolutely any way (i.e. there is no strict technique, he does what he wants), arbitrarily changing them along the distance, however, currently all swimmers use the crawl style, because it is the most fastest of all existing swimming styles.

It looks like this (see photo below, side and rear views):

According to the technique of execution, this style involves swimming on the stomach, in which the swimmer’s slightly bent arms, alternately with the right and left hands, make powerful wide strokes along the body, while the legs alternately continuously rise and fall (a kind of scissor principle or kicking the water upwards). down).

With all this, the swimmer’s head (face) is “constantly” in the water, but periodically, during one of the strokes, he turns his head to the side (only a slight turn is made), lifting his face out of the water in order to take a breath (gain air) ).

Sauna: benefits and harm

The sauna undoubtedly strengthens the body. Temperature changes help increase immunity, harden and improve overall health. A person simply becomes resistant to various infectious diseases.

A trip to the sauna is often accompanied by the application of essential oils, massage sessions and aromatherapy. The active components of various substances easily penetrate through enlarged pores and have a positive effect on the skin and the body as a whole. So, the health benefits of a sauna:

• Infections are destroyed.
• The immune system is strengthened.
• Regular use of the sauna significantly reduces the risk of cancer.
• All kinds of toxins are removed from the body.
• Kidney function is stabilized.
• Salt metabolism is stabilized.
• The skin becomes clean, soft, firm and elastic.
• Blood pressure is normalized due to the dilation of blood vessels and capillaries.
• The degree of stress is significantly reduced.
• Irritability and nervousness disappear.
• Fatigue disappears.
• The person regains vigor and clarity of thought.
• The work of the brain is stimulated, as a result of which mental abilities develop.
• There is a surge of energy.
• The overall health and condition of the body improves.
• After playing sports, lactic acid often accumulates in the muscles, which leads to pain. The sauna disperses this substance and eliminates discomfort.
• The sauna accelerates the metabolism of proteins, thanks to which the body absorbs nutrients much faster and better.
• A sauna is an excellent prevention of bone diseases.
• A runny nose, bronchitis, sore throat, and similar diseases will disappear without a trace after several procedures.

This is a truly impressive effect on the human body. However, sometimes a sauna brings more than just benefits.

The benefits of a sauna for the female body

Before visiting the sauna, it is recommended to remove all metal jewelry from the body, and women should remove hair clips. They will heat up in a hot steam room. And if you immediately feel the hot rings or chain and remove them before they become scalding, then you will not notice the effect of the hot metal hairpin, and it will harm your hair.

You can steam for no longer than 15 minutes at a time if you feel that the temperature in the steam room is beyond your capabilities. But if, for example, you usually steam at a temperature of 90 degrees, but find yourself in a Finnish sauna with a temperature of 75 degrees, then you can relax in the steam room longer than the specified time. But even in this case, you should not experiment, trying to find out how long you can sit in the steam room. You can stay in a hot sauna room as long as this relaxation brings you pleasure.

At the first signs of discomfort (nausea, darkening of the eyes, dizziness), you should immediately go to the rest room to cool down. But don't make sudden movements. If you were lying on a shelf, then slowly rise up and sit for 20 seconds before standing up. A sudden change in body position from horizontal to vertical in a sauna can lead to fainting.

We suggest you read: The best way to cover a sauna

If you are a seasoned, experienced bathhouse visitor, then you can afford sudden temperature changes and throw yourself into a cold pool or wipe yourself with snow in winter. If you are not used to such extreme winter fun, do not copy the actions of other people, but steam and cool off in a way that is comfortable for you.

The question of how often you visit the sauna depends on your state of health.

After the last session in the steam room, you need to wash off the sweat in the shower, but even during the final water procedure it is not recommended to use shower gel or bar soap. It is better to use natural body scrubs based on coffee grounds and olive oil or sea salt. They will perfectly cleanse the skin of possible impurities and nourish it with useful substances.

Naturally, a woman’s kit for going to the sauna will be somewhat different from a men’s kit with a large number of all kinds of creams, masks and other things. It is advisable to prepare seriously for the trip and devote proper time to packing.

A basic sauna set for both men and women should look something like this:

• vitamin tea or mineral water;
• shampoo;
• towel;
• a sheet for wrapping up after leaving the steam room;
• slippers;
• sauna cap;
• aroma oil or cream.

Buying a sauna hat is not difficult - there are a huge number of them on the market and in specialized bath accessories stores. But we highly recommend purchasing felt hats that will reliably protect your head from overheating when exposed to high temperatures.

For women who are unable to tuck their hair under a felt hat, a fleece hat is suitable, completely covering the hair from heat.

You should choose sauna slippers not based on the beauty of their appearance, but make sure that they do not slip, this is their main task. To test the durability of your slippers before visiting the sauna, wear them in your bathroom at home. If they slip, then these slippers are not suitable for you.

When choosing tea for relaxation between visits to the steam room, it is better to take not just black or green from the store, but a herbal infusion. It will have a much better effect on the body when combined with honey or lemon.

But when going to the sauna, girls often prefer to pamper themselves with all sorts of procedures. Here is an approximate list of what the fair half may need in the sauna in addition to the items listed earlier:

• shower gel;
• homemade scrubs and peels;
• shower sponge;
• brush with natural bristles for massage;
• shower cap, used when applying hair masks;
• masks for hair, body and face;
• nourishing cream after sauna;
• moisturizer or body milk.

And this is not a complete list of what young ladies may find useful when going to the sauna.

Here are a few benefits, knowing which you will want to periodically visit the steam room, if you do not already:

• Boosting immunity. By visiting a sauna, you will benefit your body by strengthening blood vessels, the circulatory system, and improving metabolism. You will also increase your immunity and reduce your body's sensitivity to colds. But under no circumstances should you visit the sauna when you have a cold - an elevated temperature only accelerates the spread of infection throughout the body.
• Improving the body's thermoregulation. If you are planning to go on vacation to the south or to warm countries, by visiting the steam room you will prepare your body for the heat and high temperature changes.
• Strengthening the venous system. Temperature changes have a beneficial effect on blood vessels, causing them to contract and expand alternately, improving blood pressure and circulation.
• Strengthening muscles. Temperature changes stimulate active nutrition in the tissues of the body and give the muscles a surge of strength.
• Cleansing the bronchi. High temperature increases blood supply to the respiratory tract, relaxing the respiratory muscles and clearing the bronchi.
• Skin cleansing. The sauna activates metabolism, which improves blood flow, making the skin more well-groomed and clean.

Before the sauna, long before you open the steam room door, you need to get ready properly, and everything is important here - a sheet and a towel, the indispensable personal bath sandals and a hair cap. In addition, you should prepare beauty “elements” in advance, depending on what you will be doing: masks, scrubs, nourishing creams.

Eat something light (for example, vegetable soup or cottage cheese with fruit), since the body will already have enough “work” in the sauna, and digesting heavy food is an additional burden.

Don't forget to remove the lenses, they may melt.

If you are a girl, skip the new bikini. It is better to be naked in the sauna. This is more convenient and hygienic - sweat will not remain on the body and irritate the skin.

Remove jewelry: it can get very hot.

Immediately before entering the steam room, you need to take a shower, however, do not use detergents or wet your hair, just rinse with warm water. After this, experts advise taking a towel and drying yourself thoroughly so that the heat reaches the body evenly. Don't put cream on yourself!

Rules for visiting the sauna

The benefits of a sauna for women and men will be obvious if you follow these rules:

• Do not eat immediately before the procedure. It is better to do this a few hours before visiting the sauna.
• Any alcoholic drinks before and after the sauna will negate all the positive effects.
• Wrap your hair in a towel to prevent it from becoming dry and brittle.
• Apply natural oil to your skin to protect it from high temperatures.
• If your body is sensitive to elevated temperatures, stay in the steam room for a minimum amount of time.
• If you are sick and your body temperature has risen, refrain from going to the sauna and postpone it until a more appropriate moment.

Following these rules will allow you to spend time in the sauna with maximum benefit. However, there are several categories of people for whom this procedure is strictly contraindicated.

Ok, I understand, how to combine strength training with swimming to burn fat?

Do aerobic training (swimming) when there is a minimum amount of energy (carbohydrates) in your body (organism), this will force your body to switch to burning fat as quickly as possible!

When does such a time come?

• In the morning on an empty stomach (because after a long sleep (usually it lasts 8-10 hours) there are no carbohydrates in your body, you didn’t get them from anywhere, you were sleeping).
• After strength training (because your muscles have already burned carbohydrate reserves during strength training, now you can safely switch to aerobics (i.e. swimming) in order to actively burn fat).
• Before bedtime (but there is one caveat here, the fact is that on a diet, as a rule, evening meals consist of protein, and as a rule, there are no carbohydrates, if in your case this is really the case, then this period of time will also effective, because you again have a lack of carbohydrates in your body (organism) (that’s why you ate proteins, not carbohydrates)).

Contraindications to visiting the sauna

Very often people are attracted to the benefits and harms of such pastimes and do not particularly worry them. However, some people should not use a sauna. These include:

• Pregnant women.
• People with diabetes, tuberculosis, and diseases of the nervous system.
• People with high blood pressure.
• Women during menstruation.

There are not many contraindications to visiting the sauna. Therefore, you need to pay attention to them. If you neglect contraindications, you can cause irreparable damage to your health.

We have figured out the benefits and harms of a sauna, now let’s talk about this procedure immediately after training.

Preparation for the sauna and schedule for visiting the steam room

In addition, it is often not recommended to go to the steam room for other reasons. For example, if you have certain health problems, in particular with the cardiovascular system, it is better to consult your doctor before going to the sauna. Pregnant women are not recommended to visit the bathhouse at all.

Temperatures exceeding 60 degrees can negatively affect the skin, hair, joints, respiratory organs and genitals. That is why men are highly discouraged from getting too carried away with bath procedures.

Frequent bathing procedures can provoke problems with male power and cause infertility. Thus, doctors recommend that men under 30 visit the sauna no more than once every three months, and after 30 - much less often.

Modern technologies offer a new approach to how you can steam. An infrared sauna reduces the time spent in a steam room to half an hour, during which the human body receives the full range of beneficial effects, as if you had been steaming for more than an hour and a half in a Russian or Finnish bath. Despite the relatively low air temperature in the infrared sauna, which varies in the range of 40–60 degrees, the body warms up to a depth of 4 centimeters.

You can steam in an infrared sauna twice a week, since the rules for visiting it do not provide for extreme procedures associated with sudden temperature changes. You can only be in the IR camera in a sitting position so that your body is evenly exposed to infrared radiation. This is one of the key differences between relaxing in an infrared chamber and a traditional sauna.

Using an IR camera you can improve the condition of the following health problems:

• cellulite;
• overweight;
• reducing pain from rheumatism and arthritis;
• acceleration of healing of wounds and hematomas;
• prevention of colds.

With the help of this type of sauna you can get rid of acne, pimples, eczema and other troubles with the condition of the skin. Sweating in the chamber occurs very profusely. Thanks to this, the skin effectively cleanses itself.

To benefit from visiting a steam room, you must follow the following recommendations:

1. Before entering the steam room, exfoliate your face and body to remove all dead skin and improve pore cleansing. After a few minutes, the peeling should be washed off, and it is advisable to wipe the skin dry with a towel so that the skin sweats better.
2. In the sauna, you should not immediately climb onto a high shelf; on the contrary, first sit for a couple of minutes on the shelf below, and only then, if you do not experience discomfort, move higher.
3. After a few minutes, you can leave the sauna into a room with air flow, spend five minutes there, and then take a shower or swim in the pool.
4. It is necessary to cool the body in the shower with a stream of cool water from bottom to top, from the legs to the torso.
5. After visiting the steam room (or between the next visit), wrap yourself in a sheet or robe, rest sitting or reclining for 15 minutes, drink a glass of mineral water or apple nectar.

Before visiting a bathhouse or sauna, so that the visit only brings benefits and not harm, read the rules for visiting, which can be obtained from the administrator. Typically, the rules for visiting a bathhouse or sauna contain the following recommendations:

• When visiting the bathhouse, there is no need to rush - the rest time in the establishment should not be less than 2 hours;
• You should not visit the sauna on a full stomach - firstly, you may feel bad, and secondly, you will sweat badly.
• During breaks between visits to the sauna, do not drink sweet drinks or eat high-calorie foods.
• Before visiting the steam room, you should not smoke, as nicotine strongly constricts blood vessels. If you still want to smoke a cigarette, and you cannot resist, do not visit the steam room for 2 hours.
• You should also not drink alcohol in the steam room, as it further dehydrates the body and delays the removal of toxins.
• There is no need to wear a swimsuit in the sauna - a naked body is more relaxing.
• After visiting the bathhouse, avoid physical activity.
• If you have an elevated body temperature, you should not visit the sauna!
• You should be calm in the steam room, don’t talk, don’t change seats often—rest, otherwise what’s the use of it.
• If you feel unwell in the bathhouse, leave it immediately. Remember that there is nothing more expensive than your health, and visiting the bathhouse and sauna should only be beneficial, but not harmful in any way!

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masks, scrubs, nourishing creams. In the sauna, experts recommend using only home-made natural cosmetics. Do not forget that in the sauna a lot of water leaves the body and its need must be replenished - clean water, green tea, decoctions of herbs, berries or fruits. Therefore, you need to drink a lot of water during the procedures. How to brew green tea correctly, you can read here, recipes for herbal teas for cleansing the body and losing weight, see here

It is also not recommended to go to the sauna on an empty stomach, but going to the sauna on a full one will also not bring benefits. After eating, 2-4 hours should pass. If you are hungry, then have a fruit snack, such as a banana or an apple, or drink a glass of kefir. These foods will fill your stomach and give you a feeling of fullness without overwhelming your stomach.

After you visit the steam room for the first time, take a break. “Experienced users” of the sauna can wait 10 minutes; those who rarely visit such establishments need to rest for 20 minutes. At this time, you can prepare homemade cosmetics - peelings, masks or wraps, so that you can immediately apply them the next time you go out, then the result will be as effective as possible.

Do not hurry. Under time pressure, you won’t be able to relax much, so plan 3 hours for the sauna. Ideally, from 15:00 or in the evening, since the body needs rest after the sauna. Immediately before visiting the sauna - no sports!

It is optimal to make 3 visits to the sauna. Thus, the change of high and low temperatures affects the body most effectively. Stay in the sauna for as long as you can stand it.

You need to rest a lot - 15-20 minutes so that the body cools down, then the sauna is more effective. Drink the water or tea you brought with you.

In general, the first visit to the steam room, even if you feel well, should not exceed 5-10 minutes, after which, take a cool shower and go to the pool. By the way, a swimming pool is an important element in a good sauna, it helps to wash away sweat, stretch muscles, throw out unnecessary acid from them, and enhance metabolism, so if you don’t yet have a favorite sauna, try to choose saunas in the direction of those with a swimming pool.

Using a broom in a steam room gives positive results. Firstly, this is a kind of massage for the whole body, and secondly, using a broom helps fight cellulite. The result will be even better if you apply a special anti-cellulite cream or gel to your body before entering the steam room.

A nettle broom is indispensable for patients with arthritis, radiculitis, and rheumatism.

Birch broom is useful for smokers suffering from bronchitis and asthma - thanks to it, the small bronchi expand and phlegm is removed. Oak broom – intended for people with skin diseases. It tightens the skin and has an anti-inflammatory effect.

https://youtu.be/m_-bCHLJgqc

Good health to you!

Tags: relax, sauna

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Is a sauna after use or harm?

Visitors to gyms and fitness classes are often encouraged to use the sauna immediately after a workout. This is due to the fact that there is an opinion about the undeniable benefits of this procedure after playing sports.

However, each person must make their own choice. Scientists have proven that the sauna has a negative effect on muscle growth. Elevated temperatures simply do not allow them to develop to their full potential. But this does not mean that visiting the sauna will harm the body. Under certain conditions, it will contribute to the following processes:

• Thanks to the strong blood flow, muscles are renewed faster.
• Muscle pain is significantly reduced.
• Toxins are removed.
• The sauna removes the products of natural metabolism from the body.
• The sauna helps you relax and relieve muscle tension.
• Calories are burned, and in significant quantities.
• A natural flow of oxygen into the body is created.

The benefits of a sauna after a workout will only be noticeable if certain rules are followed.

Swimming stimulates the development of the respiratory system

The fact is that when a person is engaged in swimming, he breathes rhythmically (simply because there is no other way), so because of this, the volume of incoming oxygen increases due to the depth of inspiration, and not an increase in the breathing frequency.

And this, in turn, trains the lungs: they increase in volume, more capillaries appear in the walls of the alveoli, so that the body absorbs a larger percentage of oxygen from the same volume of air.

How to train before going to the sauna

For some athletes, nothing pleases them more than a sauna after fitness. Whether the procedure will be beneficial or harmful is of no concern to anyone. However, possible negative health effects can lead to serious consequences. And if you follow these recommendations during training and while in the sauna, then you will spend your time profitably:

• Do not overwork your body; the activity should be moderate in intensity.
• Spend no more than 45 minutes training.
• Drink clean water periodically during exercise.
• After training and before visiting the sauna, also drink some clean water.
• One sauna session should not last more than 20 minutes.
• After leaving the steam room, be sure to take a dip in the cool pool or take a shower.
• Immediately after the sauna, eat something carbohydrate and protein.
• If you have the opportunity to visit the sauna on a day when you are not working out, do so.

We figured out the effect of a sauna on the body after a workout. But sometimes people want to visit this place just before class. This has its positive and negative sides.

Breaststroke

Breaststroke - this style involves swimming on the stomach, during which the swimmer’s arms first synchronously move forward from the chest, and then make a powerful stroke, as if backwards, at the same time, the legs produce a push without removing them from the water, first bending strongly at the knees, and then - straightening up.

The style is somewhat reminiscent of moving a frog, it is also considered the most difficult to master, the slowest (due to the fact that the return movements of the arms are performed under water, and the movements of the legs are interrupted), and at the same time the least energy-consuming and quite silent in execution.

In general, it looks like this (see photo below):

And this is what it looks like in practice:

Do you see in the photo the athlete lowers his head down (into the water)?

So, just for reference, earlier, when breaststroke just became an independent type of program (and this happened at the Olympic Games in 1904), professional athletes kept their heads above the water (they did not lower it into the water), this (lowering their heads into the water while stretching your arms forward) happened already in the 1930s and to this day.

Hike before workout

Many athletes like to go to the sauna before training, arguing that the procedure significantly warms up the body and regulates the optimal temperature.

There is some truth to this, since the sauna actually warms up the body and prepares it for exercise. During training, your muscles will no longer need a strong warm-up. But this procedure has not only positive aspects. The benefits of a sauna before training depend on the planned load during exercise.

Swimming and bodybuilding (but the goal is to burn excess fat)

Please note that now we are talking about burning excess fat (the so-called cutting, among professionals) + swimming, i.e. We are no longer talking about gaining muscle mass, we are already talking about losing weight.

So, strength training with iron (anaerobic training) + swimming (aerobic exercise) at the stage of burning excess fat = guarantees the fastest possible result (in terms of weight loss).

Those. in other words, swimming (if your goal is fat loss) can be beneficial!!! Do you understand? On weight = swimming is harmful, but on drying (when losing weight) it can be beneficial.

An alternative to visiting the sauna after a workout

An excellent post-workout procedure is washing your face with cold water or taking a cool shower. This normalizes the temperature, speeds up metabolism, slows down the heartbeat, prepares the body to take a protein shake and promotes the synthesis of glycogen in the body.

In addition, oxygen reaches the muscles much faster, which has a great effect on their work and growth.

Unlike a sauna, washing does not have a negative effect on muscle growth, which is important for athletes who work out in the gym. A cool shower also helps strengthen the immune system and harden the body.

A little about the infrared sauna

Today, the infrared sauna is gaining popularity. This procedure is used both on the day of training and as a separate full-fledged service in various beauty salons.

It differs from the usual one in that it helps warm the human body from the inside. This means that the body is renewed at the tissue level. The skin becomes firm and elastic, and excess fluid is completely eliminated from the body.

Which sauna to choose is up to each person to decide for themselves. Weigh the pros and cons before you decide to introduce your body into a kind of stressful situation.

Swimming uses all muscle groups (the whole body)

in addition, it is performed in an aquatic environment, and not on the surface, as, for example, in bodybuilding, this in turn tells us that during swimming, joints, ligaments and tendons are not loaded (as, for example, in bodybuilding or powerlifting or other strength sports).

This can be very important if there are problems with the musculoskeletal system, or simply if a person is insufficiently trained when he is just starting to play sports.

In addition, swimming will allow you to create a “muscle corset,” so to speak, which will subsequently take on a significant part of the load during any other training.

If you don't want to study at all

Sometimes it happens that a person does not want not only to go to the sauna, but also to play sports. In this case, the following manipulations will help:

• Change your training program.
• Try a different gym a few times.
• Conduct several classes with the participation of a personal trainer.
• Watch some motivational films.
• Go to a training session with a friend, try yourself as a trainer.
• Give yourself a full day off, during which you will neither work nor play sports.

If you exercise too often, sooner or later your body will resist it, so your desire will disappear.

So, a post-workout sauna is a great way to relax and relieve tension. But sometimes it has the opposite effect. Therefore, it is important to know how the steam room affects the body, how the state of health changes under the influence of high temperatures. Sometimes it is better to refrain from going to the sauna. The best option for you would be to consult with a doctor and trainer before making a decision about visiting the steam room.

Swimming in the morning on an empty stomach

• We woke up and there was nothing to eat! This especially applies to carbohydrates, no carbohydrates, because if you sin, then these same carbohydrates will block your fat burning, and everything will be in vain (all your swimming, to one place)!
• You can drink coffee (only without sugar). Then wait 20-30 minutes and go swimming.
• After swimming, the longer you go without eating carbs, the longer it takes to burn fat! Therefore, take a shower (without rushing), after half an hour you can eat something protein, and the next meal you can eat carbohydrates.