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Is the sauna just as good as the treadmill for heart health?

W

White Widow

Senior member
I realize the answer to this question is "no" but I am hoping for a good explanation.

As I understand it, the cardio benefits of exercise come from elevating your heart rate, so that over time it can pump more strongly, efficiently, and has to pump fewer times to circulate the same amount of blood at rest.

If this is true, then wouldn't you also see cardio benefits from 30 minutes in a sauna or hot bath which also makes your heart pump hard and fast? Of course, the sauna won;t help you build muscle, burn fat, or give you any of the the other benefits of real exercise.

Nevertheless, when ONLY considering the heart, isn't that "workout" the same?
 
Originally posted by: Martin
I've never been to a sauna, but I doubt it'd raise your heart rate to 150, like a normal workout would.
Click to expand...

I guess that would depend on how many naked greek men were in there with ya. 😉
 
By that same logic cigarettes, cocaine and coffee are good for your heart since they raise your heart rate.

Have you even taken a 9th grade biology class?
 
Originally posted by: vi_edit
By that same logic cigarettes, cocaine and coffee are good for your heart since they raise your heart rate.

Have you even taken a 9th grade biology class?
Click to expand...

good point, i am going to drink two 2-liter Mt Dew's today for my workout

thanks vi_edit!!
 
The reason your heart rate goes up in the sauna is that the heat causes your blood vessels to open up (dilate) to allow heat to leave the body. Unless your heart beats faster your blood pressure would drop significantly and you would pass out. As long as your blood vessels stay so hyper-dilated, you heart must beat faster to compensate to keep the cells adequately perfused.

While not addressing the question directly, this article from the NIH shows that sauna use only increased resting heart rate by about 15% - 30%. That may be the primary reason why exercise is much more beneficial - you don;t get cardio benefits unless you're in your "target" heartbeat range, which is roughly between .55 * (220-age) and .9 * (220-age).

I am 27 with a resting rate of 68. That would mean my target heart rate for beneficial cardio exercise is 106 - 174. So, even if the sauna just kicked my ass you shot my heart rate up 30%, I would be at about 91BPM - well below that "beneficial" range.

I guess you need to get off your ass to see any results.

cheers,
aaron
 
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