Post workout SAUNA

I would like to ask if using the sauna for a 15min session after my strength and stretching workouts is a good idea.Will this help me to recover faster ?Also i always finish with a frozen 5min shower after the sauna.What are your thoughts about all that ?
I remember @Everett Carroll in an older post saying that doing a frozen shower after a strength workout may be a bad idea.Is this true or am i remembering wrong here ?

There is some controversy about the ice of, for example, ice bath or contrast bath. recently its use and its efficacy were discussed and not completely confirmed. For the recovery, strategy like 20' of cardio or foam rolling or a good stretched is much more interesting and proved.

You are remembering correctly, Athanasios. Here are some reports and resources to check out:

On cold shock: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/reports/cold-stress.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26174323

On heat shock: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/reports/sauna-report.pdf

Recovery and hypertrophy have improved since I started using sauna after workouts.  

Same, @Mark Schoenhard

Is there any advantage of a sauna over steam?

The dry heat saunas are preferred because they are MUCH hotter, which provides a better heat shock response. 

What about hot tub?

If your gym has hot tub, sauna and steam. When do you go where, and why?

@Jin Liu Here's my take on those heated amenities:

Hot tubs are for relaxation.

Steam rooms are where sick people go (enter at your own risk). 

Saunas are for getting stronger and smarter (see above resources for timing details).

11 minutes ago, Everett Carroll said:

@Jin Liu Here's my take on those heated amenities:

Hot tubs are for relaxation.

Steam rooms are where sick people go (enter at your own risk). 

Saunas are for getting stronger and smarter (see above resources for timing details).

 

Hahaha! I'll go steam next time when I'm sick  

Thanks @Everett Carroll for the resources  

2 minutes ago, Jin Liu said:

Hahaha! I'll go steam next time when I'm sick  

I'm not saying it works! LOL

I do a 20 minute Finnish sauna at 165-180 F within 30 minutes following workout. I usually jump in the river immediately after sauna, but it has been frozen over for the past three months so I have been taking cold showers.

21 minutes ago, Everett Carroll said:

I'm not saying it works! LOL

But that's how I minimize risk

21 minutes ago, Mark Schoenhard said:

I do a 20 minute Finnish sauna at 165-180 F within 30 minutes following workout. I usually jump in the river immediately after sauna, but it has been frozen over for the past three months so I have been taking cold showers.

That's really hard core! I took some cold showers here and there. It felt great after. But the initial few minutes are brutal. I don't have the willpower to do it consistently... >_<

Cold showers are good in the morning too! Gets prepared for the day.

But like you and me @Jin Liu, only in summer!

Cold showers in the morning are definately good. Try the Wim Hof app if you want to build up some tolerance to cold exposure.

23 minutes ago, Christopher Hancox said:

Cold showers in the morning are definately good. Try the Wim Hof app if you want to build up some tolerance to cold exposure.

Will give it a try!! He’s amaaaazing!!!

I've been doing (dry sauna then cold shower) x2 after a workout. While in the dry sauna, I stretch out.

The sauna in my gym is broken any suggestion to replace it while they're fixing it?

4 hours ago, Christopher Hancox said:

Cold showers in the morning are definately good. Try the Wim Hof app if you want to build up some tolerance to cold exposure.

Thanks Chris! Will give it a try!

It might be wise to avoid cold exposure right after workouts, especially within the first hour...some research shows reduced strength and hypertrophy gains from that. See pages 13-15 of the cold shock report I linked to for details. 

heat and cold. what a thing. my body does feel pretty different since I moved to Denver from Puerto Rico. more than a few variables have changed, so it has been quite the puzzle to solve. the other day people were complaining about the heat in Awakens Stall Bar room and I was feeling so alive and happy on the inside.  

 

On 2/16/2018 at 1:07 PM, Jin Liu said:

That's really hard core! I took some cold showers here and there. It felt great after. But the initial few minutes are brutal. I don't have the willpower to do it consistently... >_<

Today is day 756 that I took ice cold shower first thing in the morning… No warm, just ice cold. It' pretty intense, because right now it's 58 degrees in my apartment, and it is not very appealing to jump into the cold shower. But I don't want to break by streak, ha ha…  My immune system is so strong now, that it's hard to believe  :-) 

so a cold shower after a strength training workout is bad, but what about a cold shower after a stretching session?

IT reduces the blood flow on the worked joints, so personally, i would not suggest it.

3 hours ago, Stefan Steigerwald said:

but what about a cold shower after a stretching session?

After a GB stretch session, I'd agree with Alex, due to the amount of active work. If you're just limbering up on a recovery day, however, I'd say go for it. I often use a light limber and an ice bath to recover.