Golf fitness pursuits usually center around hitting the weights, working on explosiveness through jumping and sprinting, and mobility work. Add in some steady-state cardio, perhaps some static stretching, and you’ll have a full and very busy golf fitness program. It’s a lot to fit into your schedule, and it can be a lot of stress on your body too. The reason you’re doing it is to perform better on the golf course after all, and that’s kind of tough if you’re fried from all the off-the-course work.
You have to recover. You’ve likely noticed: you’re not getting any younger. (And if you happen to be reading this and still qualify as a young buck, just wait. Father Time is undefeated.) If you’ve crept into middle-aged territory, it’s likely already dawned on you that you don’t bounce back quite as quickly as you used to. There’s probably not enough time in the day to check every golf fitness block you’d like to, either. But, making sure you recover from the workouts you are able to get in is important if you want to see results. If you are serious about recovery, it’s time to take a close look at infrared saunas.
Golf Fitness Recovery & Saunas
Infrared saunas can enhance athletic performance by accelerating recovery through reduced muscle soreness. The deep tissue heat penetration also improves flexibility and boosts circulation. Regular sessions promote detoxification and increase heat shock proteins to repair tissues faster. Regular use can also increase overall plasma volume for better endurance. Put more simply, incorporating infrared sauna use will leave you less sore with less junk to clear out of your system, and will help you bounce back from the self-inflicted stresses of your workouts quicker. Studies have also found positive benefits of regular infrared sauna use in helping alleviate long-term health problems too.
Why infrared saunas? Because they don’t warm the air like a traditional sauna. Instead, infrared saunas use heating elements to directly warm your body rather than the air around you, producing a deeper tissue penetration for muscle recovery and detoxification. In short, for your golf fitness regimen regular sauna is good. Infrared sauna is better.
When to Sauna
If you’re now convinced of the value of adding regular sauna use to your golf fitness routine, the next obvious question is when. The answer is post-workout. You can do it pre-workout to help warm up, but there’s a dehydration potential with sauna use that makes it best for after a workout. Those aforementioned heat shock proteins can speed up the repair of micro-damage inflicted during the workout, and the removal of lactic acid from strenuous exercise is also accelerated. Regular sauna use has been shown to serve as a passive extension of the workout too, helping to boost cardiovascular conditioning. All of these benefits are post-workout benefits, so hit the sauna after the workout rather than before it.
A few words of caution are warranted, however. One, hydrate, and that doesn’t mean a few sips while you’re in the sauna. If you’re getting in post-workout, then you need to have stayed hydrated during the workout. Getting in to a sauna already dehydrated is a recipe for heat exhaustion or worse. Two, walk before you run, which means start out with 10-15 minutes at a lower temperature before cranking the sauna to Sahara temperatures for half an hour. Again, you risk dehydration and eventual heat exhaustion, or worse.
The True Key to Recovery…
…isn’t sauna. Let’s be clear on one gigantic caveat: nothing replaces quality sleep for its importance in rest, repair and recovery of the body. If you’re sleep deprived, all the saunas and compression boots in the world aren’t going to solve that. Put another way, you’re not going to see all these sauna benefits in your golf fitness performance, or on-course performance, if you’re a zombie to begin with.
That said, if you’re getting sufficient quality and quantity of sleep, regular sauna use can help take your recovery to the next level. Do it post-workout, and well hydrated, and with regular use, you will feel better recovered for your next workout. More importantly, you’ll be all the more ready for the golf course.