The New Year is here already and so are those New Year Goals right? What better way to make sure you keep up with your fitness this year, then by pairing it with an enjoyable relaxing activity.
If you have decided that boxing is your new go-to workout, reward yourself by taking a trip to your local sauna.
If you think it’s not for you, think again. Keep reading to learn about the benefits of how boxing workouts paired with a trip to the sauna can give your body what it needs to be healthy and happy this year!
Full Body Benefits
Boxing gives your entire body a workout. It doesn’t just focus on one body part. When you step into the boxing ring, you are activating and working various muscles. The legs are constantly moving between squatting, slipping, pivoting or moving from one corner to another.
And don’t be a flat footer. Coaches always say “stay light on your feet”. Which means, stay on your toes. This keeps your calves constantly engaged.
Boxing isn’t boxing unless we get the arms and shoulders involved. With the continuous jabs, hooks, uppercuts and guarding your face, those muscle groups are in activation mode.
We pull this all together with the core. Through rotations, pivots, and helping to maintain stability, the core is always working.
But you can get additional benefits for the entire body by going to the sauna after your boxing workout (or any cardio or strength training program you’re doing).
Nothing feels better than to soothe those sore muscles after a 15-20 minutes heat session.
We’ve all been there. You may have trained a different muscle group and 2 days later you feel the effect. By adding in some sauna time, your muscles won’t feel as sore. The heat allows your blood vessels to widen and flushes out metabolic waste (we commonly hear it as lactic acid).
And with a quicker muscle recovery time, you can hop back in the ring sooner rather than later. All you need to do is sit for 20 minutes in the heat and the sauna will do the rest.
Mindset Benefits
Remember that time you had a bad day at work or life at home was aggravating but you punched away your stress at the gym? That feeling afterwards left you a less stressed and ready to take on more challenges. Physical exertion helps with mental tension as it burns off the stress chemicals and releases endorphins to give you that natural high.
But did you know that a quick trip to the sauna can have a similar effect? Quiet heat is great for mental clarity. In the sauna there are no distractions (unless you must have some music). As the temperature rises while you are sitting still, your brain releases the “struggle chemicals” making room for the endorphins.
Once you leave that room you will feel sharper, have less brain fog and have more clarity.
Sleep Benefits
Boxing pushes your body to the limit and while doing this you are also improving your sleep. And boxing consistently (or any workout regime) is more effective than one big weekly workout. The more you workout the faster you build up “sleep pressure” or your body’s internal hunger for sleep. This makes it easier for you to get that much needed sleep that forces you to recharge.
But how does going to the sauna help you sleep? I’m glad you asked.
To fall asleep, your core body temperature needs to drop about 1 to 2 degrees. So when you are in the sauna, your body temperature rises, however when you step out, the heat leaves you quickly and that signals the brain to release melatonin and initiate sleep.
Since boxing is an intense workout, your adrenaline is high and you are in “fight mode”. So a trip to the sauna after your workout will lower your cortisol levels and signal to your brain that you can rest. Now you are ready to enjoy good sleep without tossing and turning.
Glowing Skin Benefits
If we mention skin and boxing in the same sentence, you may hear it in the context of someone’s face getting cut from a punch. But in this context, it’s about what boxing does to give your face that “glow”.
There are a few reasons why this happens, but one to focus on is around lactic acid. When you workout, especially with an intense boxing workout, your body produces lactic acid. It’s not always a bad thing. When you sweat, the lactic acid that is produced sheds dead skin cells reveals the fresh skin underneath.
A trip to the sauna will also have your skin glowing. As mentioned before, a change happens when your body cools down from the intense heat of the sauna. When that happens, the blood gets directed toward your skin. Because of that, you are getting nutrients and oxygen to your skin cells, giving you that new “glow”.
Tips
For the new year, get Fight into Fitness on your calendar. Not sure where to start? Meet up with the coaches to help you fine tune your training.
And to support your fitness journey, don’t forget to reward yourself with some sauna time. But here are some tips to make sure the outcome will be what you expect.
No need to go every day to the sauna. Just keep it around 3-4 times a week. And limit your sauna time to 15-20 minutes. And if you train in the evening and then head to the sauna, give your body time to cool down, about 1-2 hours before heading to sleep.
Make sure you are hydrated before any workout and the sauna, but don’t try to make up for the water deficit in one sitting. Stay hydrated throughout the day.
Positive Rewards
Reward yourself in a positive way. Instead of food and alcohol or even too many rest days, find a good sauna in your area and turn up the heat!
New to boxing? Read Unleash your Inner Fighter to understand the benefits of going to a boxing gym.
References:
ADAA.org
Sleepfoundation.org
Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
Cardiovascular and Other Health Benefits