Sauna suits, workout garments designed to trap heat and increase sweating, have gained popularity due to claims of enhanced weight loss and increased workout intensity. Retailers suggest that these suits can boost the efficacy of exercise and provide similar health benefits to traditional saunas. While the idea of achieving more from your workout with a sauna suit is appealing, it's essential to examine the scientific evidence behind these claims and understand the potential risks involved.
How Sauna Suits Work
Sauna suits are often made of neoprene, resembling wetsuits, and are available as full-body suits or separates. When worn during exercise, they trap heat around the body, leading to increased sweat production. Proponents suggest that this increased sweat production intensifies the workout without requiring additional effort, theoretically leading to improved fitness levels and weight loss with regular use.
Research on Sauna Suits and Exercise
The scientific community has been investigating the effects of sauna suits on various aspects of exercise and health.
Increased Physiological Strain and Sweat Loss: A study confirmed that wearing a sauna suit during exercise increases physiological strain and leads to higher sweat loss. However, this study did not determine if the increased strain translates to improved athletic performance.
VO2 Max and Body Composition Improvements: Another study compared fitness results between participants who exercised with sauna suits and those who exercised without them. The sauna suit group showed an 11.7% improvement in VO2 max (the amount of oxygen the body uses during maximal exercise), compared to a 7.3% improvement in the exercise-only group. Additionally, the sauna suit group experienced an average 2.6% reduction in body weight and a 13.8% decrease in body fat, while the exercise-only group averaged a 0.9% reduction in body weight and an 8.3% decrease in body fat.
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Energy Expenditure and Fat Oxidation: Research has indicated that wearing a sauna suit during high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) results in greater energy expenditure compared to exercising without a sauna suit. Fat oxidation was also significantly increased for 60 minutes after HIIE with a sauna suit.
Heat Acclimation and Endurance Performance: A study found that short-term training with a sauna suit improves heat acclimation and endurance performance. Athletes in the study saw a 3% increase in their speed after only two weeks of training in the sauna suit.
Health-Related Benefits in Overweight/Obese Individuals: A study involving overweight and obese participants found that those who exercised with a sauna suit saw significant improvements in VO2max, blood glucose, resting metabolic rate, fat oxidation, body weight, and body-fat percentage compared to those who exercised without the suit.
Potential Risks and Considerations
While research suggests potential benefits of sauna suits, it's crucial to be aware of the risks:
Heat-Related Illness: Any activity that raises body temperature or causes excessive sweating can lead to heat-related illness. Using a sauna suit without properly replacing lost fluids can result in heat exhaustion, with symptoms including dizziness, faintness, fatigue, headache, heavy sweating, low blood pressure upon standing, muscle cramps, and nausea. Without prompt attention, heat exhaustion can escalate to heatstroke, a life-threatening condition.
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Dehydration: Exercising in a sauna suit induces larger sweat losses, potentially leading to dehydration.
Misconceptions about Detoxification: It's important to understand that sweating is primarily a cooling mechanism and not a primary means of detoxification. The human body automatically removes harmful substances via the kidneys and liver.
Intensity and Fuel Utilization: Wearing a sauna suit might lead to a preference for carbohydrate as a fuel source during exercise, potentially decreasing fat oxidation.
Blood Flow and Oxygen Delivery: Increased body temperature can cause blood to be directed towards the skin surface for cooling, potentially making it more difficult to pump oxygen-rich blood to muscles and the brain.
Sauna Suits vs. Saunas: Sauna suits are not meant to be worn in saunas, as this could lead to overheating. While saunas may offer some health benefits, there is limited research supporting the idea of saunas as a direct replacement for exercise.
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Safe Usage and Precautions
If you're considering using a sauna suit, keep the following in mind:
- Consult a Doctor: Talk to your doctor before adding a sauna suit to your fitness regimen, especially if you have any underlying health conditions.
- Supervision and Time Limits: The scientific studies on sauna suits involved using them in combination with physical activity, limited to defined time periods, and with participants supervised by researchers.
- Hydration: Drink plenty of fluids to replace those lost through sweating.
- Avoid Overuse: Be cautious not to overuse sauna suits, as this can increase the risk of dehydration and heat illness.
- Listen to Your Body: If you experience any symptoms of heat-related illness, stop exercising, remove the sauna suit, move to a cool place, and rehydrate.
The Bottom Line: Sweat ≠ Fat Loss
Sauna suits can make you sweat more and may lead to temporary weight loss due to water loss. However, this is not the same as fat loss. For lasting results, focus on consistent training, building muscle, fueling well, and staying hydrated. Sweat is a side effect of the effort you are making, not the cause of fat burning.
Research Findings in Detail
Acute Effects of High-Intensity Interval Exercise
A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research examined the impact of wearing a sauna suit during high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) on energy expenditure (EE) and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). The study involved recreationally active men and women who completed HIIE with and without a sauna suit.
The results showed that energy expenditure during and after exercise was significantly higher with a sauna suit. However, EPOC was not significantly different one hour after exercise, and core temperature was similar between conditions. Notably, fat oxidation was significantly increased for 60 minutes after HIIE with a sauna suit.
Physiological Strain and Heat Acclimation
Research has explored the effects of wearing sauna suits on heat acclimation and endurance performance. One study used Kutting Weight sauna suits made of Neoprene and similar to wetsuits. The researchers recruited overweight or obese participants between the ages of 18 and 60 years old to take part in an eight-week exercise training intervention. The participants were randomly divided into three groups: (1) a sauna suit group, (2) an exercise alone group and (3) a control group. The results showed that the sauna suit group saw an 11.7% improvement in VO2max, compared to a 7.3% improvement in the exercise alone group. The sauna suit group also saw a 2.6% reduction in body weight compared to a 0.9% reduction in the exercise alone group. The sauna suit group also experienced enhanced benefits compared to the exercise alone group in the following areas: fasting blood glucose (7.7% vs. 2.1% reduction), resting metabolic rate (an 11.4% improvement vs. a 2.7% decrease) and fat oxidation (3.8% increase vs.
Environmental Stressors and Endurance Performance
Environmental stressors, including heat and/or humidity, can drastically impact endurance performance. A study examined the effects of training in a sauna suit on heat acclimation and endurance performance. The athletes who took part in this study saw a 3% increase in their speed after only two weeks of training in the sauna suit.
Key Stimuli for Heat Adaptation
A raised and maintained core temperature, skin temperature, and an increased sweat rate have been identified as the primary stimuli for inducing heat adaptation. Research highlights that wearing an upper-body vinyl ‘sauna’ suit can increase the magnitude of change in an individual's core temperature and resultant sweat rate.
Exercise in Temperate vs. Hot Conditions
Studies have compared the physiological responses to exercise in temperate conditions with and without a sauna suit, as well as exercise in hot conditions. While there were no significant differences between exercising with a sauna suit in temperate conditions and exercising in hot conditions for peak core temperature, heart rate, or sweat rate, the hot trial provided a larger physiological strain than temperate exercise without restricted heat loss.