Is It Better to Hit the Sauna Before or After a Workout? 4 Recovery Experts Weigh In

There are some standard best practices about what to do before and after exercise: Prioritizing dynamic stretches before, static stretching after. Focusing on carbs for fuel before, protein after. But how do you know if you should use a sauna before or after your workout? It turns out it’s not as clear of an answer. 

While saunas have grown increasingly popular in recent years, there’s limited research investigating exactly how they affect your exercise routine and the ideal time to try them, says David Church, PhD, an assistant professor at the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and a certified strength and conditioning specialist.

Plus, the research that does exist usually looks at sauna use more generally rather than immediately before or after exercise, says Benjamin Gordon, PhD, an assistant instructional professor in applied physiology and kinesiology at the College of Health & Human Performance at the University of Florida.

That said, preliminary research might point you in one direction or the other depending on your goals and preferences. Here’s everything you need to know to decide when to use the sauna.

How Can Saunas Enhance Your Exercise Routine?

Saunas aren’t just for self-care. Regular sauna users experience certain changes in their bodies, such as an increase in blood flow that allows more oxygen and nutrients to circulate around the body, says Cas Fuchs, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher and teacher in the human biology department at Maastricht University who studies sauna use and other types of heating and cooling recovery methods.

Those changes may offer some heart health benefits: Regular sauna use after exercise is linked to lower cholesterol and blood pressure and better cardio fitness, per a small 2022 study in the American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. That’s likely because your blood vessels dilate in the sauna, thereby improving circulation, Gordon says. Regular sauna users are also less likely to develop heart disease or die from any cause, according to 2015 research in JAMA Internal Medicine.

But we still need more research to know how profound the effects are specifically on fitness levels. “If that translates to performance benefits, that really has to be determined,” Fuchs says.

Even more recently, there’s been a lot of buzz about the benefits of infrared saunas, but there’s limited research comparing their effects on fitness to adaptations caused by traditional (sometimes called Finnish) saunas. Infrared saunas use radiant infrared energy from light- and heat-wave-emitting devices to directly heat your body, while traditional saunas use heating elements to raise the temperature of the air around you, warming you up in the process. The comparative fitness impact of each sauna type “has to be investigated,” Fuchs says. “There’s not really much out there to really say clearly, ‘This is the difference in terms of what happens in the body.’”

Pros and Cons of Using a Sauna Before a Workout

Anyone who has spent time in the locker room of a big box gym knows there are hardcore sauna fans who love to sit there (and sit there and sit there!) after a workout.

And in the context of fitness, that’s generally when the experts we spoke with suggest using the sauna, too. There aren’t many benefits of hitting the sauna right before exercise. “For most types of sports, if you do a good sauna session before, you will likely get dehydrated,” Fuchs says. “Of course, you can drink water during the sauna session, but you will sweat a lot, your body temperature will increase drastically, and these things are generally not very helpful for your exercise performance.”

If you’re not careful, that dehydration could put you at risk for heat stroke or heat exhaustion, Gordon says, especially if you’re exercising in the heat after the sauna.

“It has been observed that pre-heating decreases exercise time to exhaustion in a neutral environment and self-paced exercise intensity when the performance was done in a hot environment,” says Essi K. Ahokas, a doctoral researcher who has studied sauna use at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland. Essentially, that means if you use the sauna before a workout, you may not go as hard while exercising somewhere hot and will probably need to tap out sooner even at room temperature. You might also feel like your workout requires more effort, Ahokas adds.

The only reason Fuchs says he could see a pre-exercise sauna session helping is if you’re preparing for an upcoming athletic event or competition held in really hot weather. Spending time in a toasty sauna before training over the few weeks before the event might simulate the conditions you’ll be competing in and help you acclimate. “You kind of let your body adapt to tolerate the heat better,” he says.

But sitting in the sauna doesn’t replace a proper warm-up. “Even though it increases body temperature and activates the cardiovascular system, it doesn’t activate the neuromuscular system and might not be as effective as an active warm-up,” Ahokas says. If you’re about to sprint, a sauna would prepare you better than no warm-up at all, she adds, but no coach or trainer worth their salt would recommend you take that route. (Instead, try one of the many great guided warm-ups in the Peloton App—they only take a few minutes!)

Additionally, older adults or anyone with joint pain or arthritis might theoretically feel less stiff during exercise after a little time in the sauna, Church says, but you’re also more likely to get dehydrated with age.

No matter what, if you do decide to sauna bathe immediately before exercise, “keep it short and use milder temperatures,” Ahokas says.

Pros and Cons of Using a Sauna After a Workout

So what about after your workout? For some people, a post-exercise sauna session is all about relaxation, and if that works for you, go for it. “Some people really get relaxed by it, and by all means, then do it, because if you can make your body relax, maybe you sleep better,” which is also helpful for fitness, Fuchs says.

One small 2015 study in SpringerPlus with 10 male participants found that using an infrared sauna after an endurance workout improved recovery of jumping ability, and it may ease muscle soreness and improve your perception of how recovered you are, Ahokas says.

But it’s not all good news: In a small 2019 study in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, swimmers who sat in a sauna after a workout swam worse the next morning. “Thus, after intensive exercise, sauna bathing might be an extra stressor to the body and actually slow down recovery,” Ahokas says, particularly if the workout already left you drained of energy and dehydrated.

That may be because whole-body heating (versus localized heating, like a heating pad on an achy muscle) increases blood flow to the skin in an attempt to cool you down, rather than to the muscles, Fuchs says.

If you worked out hard and lost a lot of fluids, you also risk worsening your dehydration by sweating more in a sauna afterward, Fuchs says. Stay aware of how hot the sauna is and how long you’re going to soak. And consider bringing your preferred hydration drink into the sauna with you, Church recommends.

Just don’t consider this a cooldown, Gordon says, because you literally won’t be cool. Instead, try one of the many stretching classes and cooldown routines available in the Peloton App.

How to Decide If You Should Sauna Before or After a Workout

There are real risks of using a sauna too close to exercise in either direction. Both heating up too much before a workout and sweating too much more afterwards can lead to dehydration and declines in performance. The experts we spoke with largely suggest saving your sauna bathing for a separate part of your day outside of exercise.

But using a sauna throughout the week could still have recovery benefits. Ahokas hypothesizes there might be benefits of sauna bathing 20 hours before a workout (aka almost an entire day before). Although there isn’t currently any research investigating this, it might take that long to activate certain proteins that could in turn help muscle repair, based on research looking at other kinds of whole-body heating methods, she says.

Still, if you do want to hop in the sauna before or after a workout, experts typically suggest doing so afterward. In some cases, a pre-workout sauna might alleviate a little joint or muscle stiffness before exercise, but preliminary studies point to greater recovery benefits from post-exercise saunas. 

“Based on current research, sauna bathing is a possible tool to accelerate recovery and ease muscle soreness,” Ahokas says. “Theoretically, sauna bathing combined with a workout could augment training adaptations, but more research is needed.”

Sauna Safety Tips to Consider 

No matter when you decide to sweat it out, you should keep a couple safety considerations in mind.

First, get the green light to use a sauna from your doctor, especially if you have any kind of heart concerns. While saunas can still be safe for some people with heart disease, according to a 2018 review in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, your doctor might recommend you soak for shorter times. It’s best for pregnant people to avoid saunas, too, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). You should also never use a sauna if you’ve been drinking alcohol, as evidence suggests they both lower blood pressure, Church says (and you don’t want yours to go too low).

Then, consider the temperature of the sauna: Most of the research has been conducted on traditional saunas that are about 80 degrees Celsius, per the Mayo Clinic Proceedings research (that’s more than 170 degrees Fahrenheit). Infrared saunas are generally cooler, coming in around 43–57 degrees Celsius (110–135 degrees Fahrenheit), which might feel more comfortable. “However, there are no studies comparing these two methods directly, and there is relatively little research in this area,” Ahokas says.

Lastly, don’t stay in too long. Most studies involve sauna sessions from around five to 20 minutes, Church says. Although we need more research on longer sessions, it’s probably a good idea to cap it there for now. “Different bathing durations and temperatures have been used, so no definitive conclusions can be made at the moment,” Ahokas says.

The Takeaway

Rather than before or after a workout, it’s probably safest and better for your fitness routine to use a sauna at other times of the day. While you might get slight muscle recovery benefits from using a sauna after a workout, you might also hurt your fitness performance the next time you exercise. And using a sauna before or after a sweaty workout could deplete you of too many fluids. 

Regular sauna use is linked with heart health benefits, but we don’t yet fully understand how those perks might translate to improvements in overall fitness or athletic performance. And there’s even less research examining the effects on your fitness of using the sauna directly before or after exercise or whether traditional or infrared saunas are better.

That said, if you’re staying hydrated and get your doctor’s approval, saunas are generally safe to try if you don’t stay in too long.

Immediately before a workout, focus on a proper warm-up and hydrating with plenty of water. Right after a workout, prioritize a proper cooldown and refueling your body with a balanced diet. The Peloton App offers tons of guided warmups and cooldowns to choose from (among many other modalities and classes) that make it easy.

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute individualized advice. It is not intended to replace professional medical evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment. Seek the advice of your physician for questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. If you are having a medical emergency, call your physician or 911 immediately.