For recovery of overall fatigue and to support cns recovery, I’ve read and heard about sitting in the sauna for 3-5 minutes, followed by 1 minutes of full body cold shower, repeated 2-4 times. Will this protocol be helpful and if so, should it be used on tempo days 3-6 hours after tempo work or right after? Thanks.
They are very effective and very cheap. First application of cold in the cycle is always the worst! I personally use 3min sauna/30 sec cold shower. There is quite a lot of information on the site (just did a quick search for ‘contrast’), recommend having a look: several discussions of different protocols. Additionally Charlie’s CFTS, available on the site, provides a thorough summary of their use and benefits (notwithstanding all of the other information). Hope this helps.
I love using a combo of sauna and showers. My protocol:
10 minutes in a really hot sauna
1 minute cold shower
3 minutes hot shower
1 minute cold shower
5 minutes in sauna (sometimes 10 min)
1 minute cold shower
3 minutes hot shower
1 minute cold shower
I like the longer sessions in the sauna because it really gives a good chance for the heat to penetrate.
what about contrasting saunas with an ice bath? my only concern would be that the ice bath will not cover the entire body as a cold shower would, but it would be much colder.
you need whole body coverage with the cold. Also remember to take a wet, cold towel to cover your head in the sauna- don’t want to cook your brains. There is a thread on this in the archives.
are these best used on an off day or a high intensity day? also, what do they do exactly? recover the muscles or are they more for cns recovery and overall fatigue?
also, good advice on the cold towel, since the brain is somewhat important.
somewhat important…hahahah.