Workout is essential – it makes us fit and healthy. That is the reason why there are countless gyms, blooming throughout the world. Well, we all seek for getting the best benefits of exercise. But have you ever given it a thought that there may be something that could accelerate the boons of workout? Is there something more we could do that would make the exercise even more effective for our health? If you are wondering what are we talking about, let us make it perfectly clear – we are talking about the benefits of steam bath after workout!

After the intense workout, dropping sweat and pumping muscle, you go to the locker room of your gym and start toweling off. But the steam room is there, waiting for you to explore, daring you to drop even more sweat and welcoming you to amplify the health benefits!

Tons of researches have been done, articles have been written about the benefits of steam room and that’s why you would find a steam room in almost all of the top gyms just like we have at Starmark. But there are a lot of questions that are popping up in your mind right now like does a post-workout steam bath really worth the time or effort or what does this steamy and sweaty thing even do?

Well, we are here to answer your queries and lead you to the right path. So, take a look below.

What is Steam Bath?

Before explaining the health benefits of steam bath after workout, let us help you understand the whole concept of a steam bath or steam room for those who don’t have much idea. As you can assume already, the steam room is a room full of steam! That was easy, wasn’t it? But that’s a REALLY short answer to it. To explain more, we can mention two things: the steam room’s temperature stays around 110-115° F and the humidity level is set around 100%! Usually, a special plumbing along with an electrical generator is used to create a hot and sticky climate inside the room.

How to Reap the Full Benefits of Steam Bath – Using Steam Room

Well, you must be really curious at this point regarding the benefits of this ‘therapy’ but there are some things you should be aware of before using the steam room post workout. Once you know how to use the room for good, you would be able to gain all the benefits without having anything gone wrong. So, let’s discover.

Stay Hydrated

The steam room takes out loads of sweat from your body which makes you dehydrated. That is the reason why you should have water before entering for the steam bath and carry a bottle of water along with you inside to take a sip whenever you feel the need during your relaxation time!

Shower First

In order to reap the maximum benefits of steam bath, it’s essential to take a shower before going for a steam bath. You need to make sure that you wash off all the dirt and sweat from your body and make your skin clean enough to absorb the moisture.

Short Session

Don’t stay for long in the steam room. Break the whole time in short sessions of 10-15 minutes and take breaks in between the sessions. Also, once you are finished, make sure you are taking a cold shower in order to boost your blood circulation and cool down your body.

Now that you know about steam bath and how to take a steam bath, we will move to the main part where we are going to elaborate about the benefits of post-workout steam bath.

Benefits of Steam Bath After Workout

Steam bath offers more benefits than we can imagine. Along with the exercise, a little time spent in the steam room can make you realize its potential.

Skin Detoxification

A steam room is highly helpful for skin detoxification since it opens up the pores on your skin and loosens the dirt clogged in them. That is the reason why one of the most popular facial forms in almost every spa includes steam. For those who need a little extra glow, steam bath works like magic since it also moisturizes your skin along with detoxifying it.

Improved Circulation

Many people face this issue of always having cold feet and hands. On top of that, it’s bad when you have muscle cramps or achy muscles (which are common issues for the people who exercise) in general. In all cases, proper blood circulation is highly necessary. Well, you are guessing it right – staying active and having a regular steam bath after workout are great to achieve that proper circulation. With more heat, the blood vessels tend to open up, which allows easier travel for the blood in your body. This also helps in much speedier healing from a tough exercise since the oxygen reaches to where it’s needed much faster.

Better Breathing

Well, breathing is an essential part of exercise since you need to breathe properly during and after your workout in order to avoid injuries and have better results. But for those who have breathing issues like allergies or asthma or even stuffy nose, breathing can be an issue. Well, here comes the benefit of steam bath after workout – it clears up the congestion in your lungs and nasal passages by warming up the mucous membrane. So, in the end, you get to breathe way better with regular steam bath than you used to.

Ease Sore Muscles

One of the most common problems exercisers face is the sore muscles. The days of pain in the muscles makes it really hard to do any other work. Especially when you are just starting out or resuming workout after a long time, the muscle soreness can appear. But if you take post-workout steam bath, it will help you muscles to relax. Along with the stretching and recovery days, you will be healed and up for the next workout session sooner than you can even imagine. In simpler words, a steam bath is just like a warm blanket over your sore muscles.

Burn Calorie

Yes, steam room also helps you burn your calories! While an average person burns almost 100 calories in 30 minutes on the weight floor, some exercises like HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) can take it up to 1000 calories. But when you go to the steam room, it accelerates the calorie burning and helps you burn up to 20% more calories (as per some studies). Since your heart rate is pumped and your body is working hard to remain in the normal temperature, the calorie burn happens so smoothly. So, if you want to burn calories, the steam room is a great destination after workout.

Bonus: Weight Loss

Can I lose weight with the steam bath? This one question (asked in multiple different ways) breaks the internet. Well, the one-word answer is YES! But if truth to be told – most of the weight would be water weight. As you dehydrate, you lose some weight but as soon as you eat or drink again (pretty obvious), you put on the weight again. So, it’s up to you whether you would consider weight loss to be really one of the benefits of steam bath after workout.

Conclusion

So, these are the benefits of steam bath after workout. Now, you have an overall idea of the steam bath and its benefits. We would still recommend asking a specialist in your gym to help you with the steam bath. From our end, an ultimate suggestion would be to stay hydrated! And if you see any sign of dehydration in your body, make sure you get out of the steam room, rehydrate yourself.