Benefits of Using a Far-Infrared Sauna · 5 min read
This portable sauna is worth its weight in gold.
I started wrestling when I was only nine years old. That's more than 30 years of experience in a sport that puts a large emphasis on weight management. Constantly checking weight and monitoring caloric intake. Not to mention experimenting with different diets to get the most out of performances and staying lean so that making weight isn’t a debilitating event.
Along with the use of diet and nutrition to get the most out of the body I have learned to efficiently cut weight. The term cutting weight is used to describe the process of temporarily getting rid of excess water to make a specific weight class. There are several ways to do this. Some are safer and more reliable than others.
One of the more common ways to shed this extra water weight is to sweat it off by using a sauna. I started using saunas to lose weight when I started wrestling at Purdue University. I mostly thought of it as just a hot box that made you sweat, I’m sure I’m not the only person that has felt that way. It wasn’t something I did for fun. At least not then. That's because I didn’t know that there were other benefits to sauna work other than just losing weight for a competition.
I didn’t even know there was a difference back then between a regular hot sauna and a far-infrared sauna. I hadn’t even heard of a far-infrared sauna until recent years. The infrared sauna has a lot of benefits to its use. Benefits that are outside of the sweat-producing heat that keeps me going back, even when I don’t have to worry about making weight.
Many of you might already know how relaxed you feel after a 20-minute sweat session in a regular sauna. The heat helps relieve sore muscles and can give you an elevated sense of well being. It's one of the reasons hot yoga is so popular.
Unlike a regular hot sauna, a far-infrared sauna uses electromagnetic radiation (infrared lamps), to heat the body directly rather than just heating the air around you.
The infrared panels penetrate your skin and warm your body, not just the air around you. This results in a more penetrating heat that goes deeper into the body than conventionally warmed air saunas. The body gets the majority of the heat instead of the air. This allows you to get a deep sweat at lower temperatures.
This makes it more tolerable and allows for longer sessions in the sauna. Which is great news if you are cutting weight for a competition.
Traditional saunas have been used for centuries and have had a number of studies done on their use. There are many suggested benefits to using them.
Better sleep
Relaxation
Detoxification
Relief from sore muscles
Relief from joint pain
Healthier skin
Better circulation
Helps with chronic fatigue
Unfortunately, there hasn’t been as much research done on infrared saunas. A few studies do show the benefits of using one. This study showed improvements with people suffering from chronic fatigue.
Another small study looked at how far-infrared sauna use helped with strength and endurance recovery in men. The study was done with only 10 people but the results suggest that infrared sauna use does help with recovery and helps to decrease soreness.
This is good news for a competitive athlete or anyone looking to be able to exercise hard and not be to sore at work the next day. Recovery is the most important part of working out. Without proper recovery, you are just breaking the body down.
If you are involved in any competitive weight class sport like Wrestling, BJJ or MMA it would be a good idea to incorporate the use of an infrared sauna. Not just for you to cut weight before the competition either. You can benefit from the added recovery you will get from its use.
If you can recover from your most intense workouts at a faster pace, then you will be able to go through another intense workout sooner. This quicker recovery can help prevent injury since many injuries happen because our bodies are fatigued and worn down.
Dealing with extreme soreness can also kill motivation to keep working out. Which is a big reason many people don’t exercise as often as they should? If you’re one of these people now you have a way to deal with the pain while achieving gains.
Now all you have to do is locate a far-infrared sauna near you. Or you can fork out around $3000 and buy one of your own. My father built one for a lot cheaper but he still had to have space in his house for it to fit. Plus not everyone wants to put in that kind of labor.
The other route you can go is the one that I tried. I paid far less for a personal portable far-infrared sauna. My original goal was to have a sauna that I could travel with. That way I wouldn’t have to struggle to find one during fight week to help with the weight cut.
Here is a video I made with the portable sauna when I tested it out before fight week came around.
I wanted to see if I would be able to get as good of a sweat using it as with a traditional hot sauna. The test was a smashing success. The only problem I had with it is that the seat isn’t very comfortable. Luckily, you can remove the seat that comes with it and use something more to your liking.
I guarantee you won't get more bang for your buck in the far-infrared sauna department than you will with this portable sauna. So whether you want to use it on the road or use it in the comfort of your own home, this is a very reasonable way to go.
You can watch me use it to cut weight for my Bellator debut in this fight week video I made. I show what I went through during weigh-in day and how I lost the last few pounds in my hotel room using this sauna.
I know what you are thinking now. “How can I get my hands on one of these saunas”
Just follow the link here:
Far Infrared Portable Sauna