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Whether you just surpassed a fitness goal or pushed yourself extra hard while training at your home gym, you’re likely feeling the results—after intense workouts or challenging sessions, muscle soreness and fatigue are common.
Luckily, an effective recovery strategy like taking an ice bath or using a sauna can help you replenish your energy, bounce back quickly, and maintain performance. But which is best for recovery?
In this ice bath vs sauna comparison guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about the benefits of ice baths and saunas, including how each method can enhance your recovery process and help you reach your overall fitness goals.
Benefits of Ice Baths
Ice baths are a form of cryotherapy, an umbrella term for treatments and techniques that use cold temperatures to achieve all sorts of health goals, such as improved wellness and recovery from injury.1
Techniques vary, but a portable ice bath session might be one of the most accessible forms of cryotherapy: With a little preparation, you can take an ice bath from the comfort of your home. For the avid exerciser, that’s a good thing, as the benefits of ice baths outweigh the initial shock and discomfort of taking your first dip.
Reducing Inflammation
Have you ever twisted your ankle the wrong way, or taken an unexpected fall and landed on your knee? Your most natural inclination to treat these accidents is likely to ice them. And think of what happens to those parts of the body when you do—ice baths have the same effect, except all over.
Immersing your body in cold water restricts blood flow and redirects blood to vital organs such as the heart, brain, and lungs in an attempt to keep you warm.2With less blood flow to other areas, like the muscles and joints, ice baths can reduce swelling and ease inflammation.2
Easing Muscle Soreness
The same process works on pain, too. In addition to restricting blood flow, ice baths also numb pain receptors and slow nerve signaling which can ease muscle tension, aches, and soreness.1
When you emerge from an ice bath, your body begins to immediately regulate your temperature, redirecting blood flow back to joints and muscles. This cold water exposure can also help reduce pain, and even flush out waste products like lactic acid.2
Recent studies show ice baths even accelerate muscle recovery, which can help your body bounce back quickly from intense workouts.2
Mental Resilience and Focus
Immersing yourself in ice water involuntarily produces gasping and quickened breath, and an acute feeling of surprise. Despite the initial shock, most report feeling refreshed and revitalized after an ice bath or plunge.
That’s because your heart rate increases and oxygen gets pumped into your lungs which can increase clarity and focus.2 Not only that, but taking ice baths over time can hlep improve your body’s resilience to stress. This, in turn, can help you push pass mental roadblocks and surpass your fitness goals.
Benefits of Saunas
A typical sauna is a small, wood-clad room heated to temperatures that can reach 195 degrees Fahrenheit.3 It sounds hot and it is—but most traditional saunas use dry heat, with humidity levels remaining fairly low.
While many associate traditional saunas with spa environments, saunas are an effective way to recover after a workout, too. In fact, studies show that sauna use for up to twenty minutes at a time can benefit the body in several ways.
Improving Blood Circulation
Just a few minutes of heat exposure from a sauna session will induce your body’s cool-down process, which can involve an increased heart rate. When your body attempts to cool down, your heart rate quickens to 100-150 beats per minute.4 It’s that increase that causes your blood vessels to open and expand, which can improve circulation and decrease feelings of stress.3
What’s more, improved circulation has a trickle-down effect that can be helpful for other health concerns related to the heart, such as lowering your blood pressure and increasing your levels of good cholesterol.4
Detoxifying Through Sweating
Sauna heat triggers many processes in the body. The sensation you’re likely to feel the most? Sweating, of course. When you’re exposed to high temperatures, your sympathetic nervous system kicks into high gear to stabilize your body temperature and cool it back down.3 Sweating is a part of this process.
As your body produces sweat, it begins to release toxins, such as heavy metals like mercury and lead, as well as other bodily byproducts, like urea and carbohydrates.5 If you feel good after a hot sauna session, this might be one of the main reasons why.
Enhancing Muscle Relaxation
As mentioned, your blood vessels dilate as your body continually cools itself down. Your endocrine system gets activated, too.3 The heart and pituitary gland act as a dynamic duo to increase blood flow and produce a calming effect on the body. This can ease tension and enhance relaxation in the muscles and joints.3
One study that monitored sauna use over four weeks showed that regular sauna sessions improved pain, stiffness, and even fatigue in patients with chronic pain and arthritis.3
When to Use Each Method
Both ice baths and saunas can be effective tools for recovery, but for different reasons. Namely, ice baths cause vasoconstriction, or the shrinking of blood vessels. Vasoconstriction can:
- Quickly soothe muscle soreness
- Reduce inflammation
- Speed up your body’s healing process
On the other hand, saunas trigger vasodilation, or the relaxing of blood vessels. Vasodilation is particularly beneficial for:
- Improving heart health
- Whole body relaxation
- Detoxification
Both of these processes are healthy to experience in short sessions or bursts of time, and they’re especially helpful for post-workout recovery. However, knowing exactly when to utilize each method can help you optimize your recovery sessions.
Post-Cardio Workouts
Cardio is any low to high-intensity workout that involves aerobic metabolism—that is, where oxygen is involved in producing the energy you need to sustain activity.6 Think of workouts that involve jumping rope, boxing, or running. These activities increase your heart rate and raise oxygen flow throughout the body.6
While cardio leaves most people feeling upbeat and energized, it can be challenging to the heart, lungs, and circulatory system. Fortunately, post-cardio sauna sessions can be helpful in improving cardiovascular function, including circulation.4 It’s also a generally relaxing experience for both the body and mind as it lowers your heart rate, encourages muscle relaxation, and releases muscle tension.
Interestingly, saunas can also help increase endurance over time. So, that cardio goal you wanted to surpass this season? A few sauna sessions might help you do it.6
Post-Strength Training
Strength training is a great way to target and strengthen all major muscle groups, but it often involves intense workouts that can be hard on the muscles and joints. In fact, any intense workout is damaging to your muscles—when you build strength, your body is breaking down muscle tissue so it can rebuild it. For that reason, recovery (and recovering properly) is key.
Cold exposure through ice baths is ideal for post-strength training workouts that put even moderate stress and strain on your muscles. A few minutes in an ice bath can target muscle soreness by decreasing inflammation and reducing pain.
Ice water can also quicken recovery and speed up the healing process, making it an optimal choice for bouncing back before you begin the next day.
Contrast Therapy
To sweat or to shiver? Well, if you want to experiment with contrast therapy, you might not have to choose.
Contrast therapy, or hot/cold immersion, is a technique that involves alternating between hot and cold temperatures (like exposing your body to a hot sauna and then dipping into an ice bath) to promote healing.7 Contrast therapy is ideal for full body recovery as both hot and cold temperatures target multiple parts and systems of the body in just a few minutes of practice.
If you are wondering how long should you stay in an ice bath or a sauna, try the techniques for yourself. Always begin with hot temperatures first, then switch to cool. For example, start with a sauna session that lasts about 10–15 minutes, then immerse your body in cold water for 1–3 minutes. Repeat these steps 3–5 times and monitor your results.7
Discover Lifepro Portable Ice Baths & Infrared Saunas Today
As a workout enthusiast, you know that exercise can put a strain on the muscles, joints, and heart. That’s why recovery is an essential part of any workout routine. Proper recovery, in particular, can help heal your body faster, encourage gains, and support your overall wellness.
Ice baths and saunas are just a few methods of recovery available to try, and each strategy comes with its own unique health benefits. You can also combine these practices for an even more transformative effect on the body and mind. Learn more about the differences between an ice bath vs cold shower, or a cold plunge vs ice bath and find out what works for you.
If you’re ready to experience the power of ice baths and saunas for yourself, partner with Lifepro. Our portable ice bath and personal saunas allow you to easily and conveniently create a personal recovery space and private spa where you can ease muscle soreness and deeply relax after an intense workout.
Optimize your recovery and achieve your health goals with Lifepro.
Sources:
- Mayo Clinic. The science behind ice baths for recovery. https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/healthy-aging/the-science-behind-ice-baths-for-recovery/
- Prevention. 8 Science-Backed Ice Bath Benefits for Your Health. https://www.prevention.com/health/a46165202/ice-bath-benefits/
- Healthline. Are Saunas Good for You? Understanding the Benefits vs. the Risks. https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/are-saunas-good-for-you#vs-steam-rooms
- UCLA Health. Benefits of sauna bathing for heart health. https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/benefits-sauna-bathing-heart-health
- National Library of Medicine. Excretion of Ni, Pb, Cu, As, and Hg in Sweat under Two Sweating Conditions. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8998800/
- Runner’s World. Is a Sauna Session Really As Good As Exercise for Your Body? https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a28270902/sauna-benefits-exercise-study/
- Breath Inspired. Sauna and Ice Bath Combination: A Look at Contrast Therapy. https://www.breathinspired.com/sauna-ice-bath-combo/#h-faster-recovery-post-exercise
Author
Joel Gottehrer is the Co-Founder of Lifepro Fitness and has dedicated his life to helping people transform theirs. With over 12 years of experience in the fitness industry as a personal trainer and owner of two personal training studios, Joel has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to helping transform lives. After suffering from physical injuries, Joel and his business partner, Abraham Brach, came together with a common goal to alleviate the pain caused by their injuries.
They continued to find themselves disappointed with the results stemming from various products promising to relieve their pain, and with that – Lifepro Fitness was born. Joel's mission is to have a positive impact on millions of lives with the Lifepro brand. Whether it's finding new and innovative ways to help people recover from injuries or developing products to improve overall wellness, Joel is always looking for ways to push the boundaries. Thanks to his commitment to help people live their lives free of pain, Lifepro has been able to do this for thousands of people since its founding in 2017.
