We have a sauna!

What does this mean for you? This means that you have access to a relaxing way to warm-up in the winter and recover from the strenuous workouts or mental challenges that we face daily.

A few studies have shown that using a sauna as a method of recovery increases pulmonary hypertension during exercise and jumping into the sauna quickly after your workout helps to increase endurance performance (pubmed.gov).

To expand on the post-workout sauna session, below is a summary from www.xptlife.com, where they provide documented research. There are many other benefits that XPT Life has researched and provided such as improving longevity, improve endurance and aerobic capacity, stimulate muscle growth, allow body relaxation, cleanse your skin, and even boost your immune system.

After an intense CrossFit session at NorthFit, programmed by a few of the best in the biz, what is the first thing that you want to do? Some may say, stretch, others just want to walk out the door or continue to lie on the floor rolling around like flailing fish, or some might say, “sauna time” (after reading this of course). We decided to get a sauna to provide our members with the best experience possible for our fire and ice sessions, lead by Coach Jeb, but that is not the only reason.

When Coach Jeb went through his XPT Life training, he also learned about the benefits of using an infrared sauna, how it benefits the body other than making you sweat consistently. XPT Life has provided research based on a 2007 study on male, long distance runners, that indicates sitting in the sauna regularly can help people with endurance training as the results showed that bathing increased

“time to exhaustion by 32%, and that plasma and red blood cell volumes increased.”

Which is to say, the sauna can have an impact on increasing blood volume which helps, us athletes, perform at a better rate.

Another finding that XPT Life has provided, that is worth a read for us athletes, is that sauna time can help our muscles grow! Yes, you heard that right. It is called hyperthermia (aka heat therapy) and has been proven to increase production of proteins called heat shock proteins. These proteins repair the damaged proteins that you break down while exercising. What this means is using sauna as a recovery tool can

increase muscle building

by decreasing muscle breakdown. Also, a 2007 study provides insight to the fact that heat can stimulate and grow insulin sensitivity which can help us regulate how our body metabolizes sugar and has shown that heat can also help to build lean body mass. How cool is that!?

Let’s recap, shall we? Sauna time is a great tool for recovery, and everyone can benefit. Utilizing the sauna after exercising has been proven to help people with endurance training by increasing our blood volume which helps us to perform better, helps our muscles grow through a process called hyperthermia that increases our heat shock proteins, and the heat exposure can help us to metabolize sugar! Again, how cool is that!?

So, come in and ask us questions, even enjoy your very first session on us!

Disclaimer: Anyone with a pacemaker or metal joint replacement are not to use the sauna because the infrared sauna heats the body from the inside, out.

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