Breathing may appear to be a reflex action that does not necessitate conscious effort, but for athletes and other physically active people, poor breathing technique can have a negative impact on your performance during training and competition sessions. Allergies, environmental toxins, (exercise-induced) asthma, and routine nasal congestion can all impair your ability to perform at your best and maintain your endurance level of performance. The problem is that we can become so accustomed to our breathing difficulties that we don't even realize they are causing us problems! It is at this point that a session in the steam room may seem like a revelatory experience. Steam Room has been shown to aid in the opening and relaxation of the respiratory system, which may result in an improvement in overall pulmonary performance. Increased ability to get more oxygen into your system as a result of clearing your breathing passageway can lead to increased exercise capacity during workouts and competitions, which can help you perform better in those situations.

One animal study discovered that intermittent hyperthermia may aid in muscle regrowth and reduce muscle cell damage after physical activity, according to the researchers. One method of accomplishing this is through the production of “heat shock proteins” (HSP), which reduce protein degradation. Despite the fact that HSPs appear to be intimidating, they actually serve to protect against stress reactions (by fighting free radicals) and to aid in the repair of damaged proteins. Because protein integrity has been maintained, muscle-building nutrients can be delivered to muscle cells that have been damaged by training. The heat generated by steam may also aid in the release of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in the body. Both of these hormones have the potential to have significant effects on muscle growth in a natural and safe manner. The increase in GH caused by hyperthermic conditioning was found to be a whopping 16-fold in one animal study! With growth hormone (GH) being a popular anti-aging hormone sought after by the anti-aging crowd, perhaps a daily session in the square steam room should be tried first before seeking a prescription.

There are a number of mechanisms at play here. The first is the flow of blood. The heat from steam may help to increase circulation, which in turn helps to deliver healing nutrients to your starving muscle cells that have been damaged by intense physical exertion or other physical stress. Improved blood flow also contributes to the sensation that weight-training athletes refer to as "the pump," which not only feels good but also helps saturate your muscles with muscle-growth activators and nutrients that repair and strengthen cells as well as repair and strengthen cells. This process also has the additional benefit of increasing plasma volume, which is beneficial during athletic activity and subsequent recovery. This also has the effect of increasing the amount of oxygen delivered to muscles, thereby improving aerobic efficiency. When you improve the overall health of your cardiovascular system, you can lower your heart rate, which is beneficial to your exercise performance. Incorporating regular steam room use into one's routine may help to lower overall core body temperature, allowing one to engage in more strenuous and longer physical activity with a greater ability to maintain that level of performance.

Sessions in the steam room may also aid in the production of red blood cells. It is widely recognized among serious athletes that an increase in red blood cells can significantly improve endurance capacity. So doping cyclists in the Tour de France (I won't name names, Lance) used EPO (erythropoietin), a banned drug that artificially increases red blood cells in order to gain an advantage over their competitors. To put it another way, having extra red blood cells is extremely valuable, and hyperthermic conditioning can help you get more of them in a natural way. This process also has the additional benefit of increasing plasma volume, which is beneficial during athletic activity. It is a win-win-win situation.

You work out to improve your muscle tone and body weight, in short, to appear more attractive and healthy, and you want to cover up all of that awesomeness with clean, smooth skin to keep it looking that way. Steam rooms may aid in the creation of beautiful skin by increasing blood flow (as mentioned above), which aids in the removal of toxins from your system. When you use a steam room, the moist heat opens up your pores, providing yet another avenue for removing the bacteria and dirt that cause pimples, blackheads, and other skin eruptions to appear. Although there is more to beauty than meets the eye, the skin is a good place to start!

Is it hot in here, or do you appear to be in better shape than ever? Actually, both, assuming you incorporate a steam room into your fitness routine. Here's how the power of steam can assist you in achieving your physical and athletic objectives:

Consider the possibility that you learned that there is a simple way to improve your fitness results, and that all you have to do is sit back and relax? Of course, it all depends on where you are sitting in relation to the action. Taking the time to sit in a steam room, particularly before and after a workout or other physical activity, can make a significant difference in your ability to achieve your fitness goals. Steam rooms are well-known to most people, and you may have even spent some time in one yourself. The potential benefits of steam therapy (also known as hyperthermic conditioning) on the cellular level, on the other hand, are something that many active people and serious athletes are not aware of. Fortunately, thanks to recent research on hyperthermic conditioning, we now understand the mechanisms involved, as well as how you can use them to your advantage. Why wouldn't you take advantage of a steam room if you have access to one? In order to properly answer that question, you should first understand why you should use it, as well as what the scientific community has to say about the effects of hyperthermic conditioning on training and muscle integrity.