Stupidity In Steam Rooms. 3 Persistent Myths Busted

Stupidity In Steam Rooms. 3 Persistent Myths Busted

The following are three of the most persistent and potentially very dangerous myths that I come across as a lifeguard when monitoring the steam room at the pool. I call them "Stupidity In Steam Rooms. 3 Persistent Myths Busted".

Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash

1.Steam rooms or sauna's Do Not help you lose weight.

Let's get that myth out of the way first. You cannot sweat away fat. If you were to weigh yourself after a session in the steam room you may find that you weigh less but as long as you drink normally, which you must do unless you are trying to kill yourself, you will put back on all you lost.

Sweating alone only removes water from your body not fat. Nothing you do will change that.

2. Stretching: it seems that most people think that it is Ok to stretch in a steam room

The logic is that because it is warm then your muscles are compliant and therefore a good opportunity for a good stretch. The problem is that the heat contributes to higher blood pressure and as stretching forces blood around the body it also increases blood pressure. The combined effect could fatal. I don't mean to imply that a good yawn is dangerous but it's mind-blowing to think that people really think it is ok to do yoga in the steam room.

Wait... Get Your Lesson Plans Here

3.Exercise: this is far worse than stretching

The biggest problem here is that people are under the impression that raising your heart rate in a hot environment must be good for you. This is based on the idea that when you do a good work out you sweat. Hence a hot sweaty environment must be even better for you.

This is just completely untrue. When your body sweats it is trying to cool down. Every good trainer knows that cooling your body down increases your ability to do a better workout. Exercise in a steam room is counterproductive and dangerous.

Add to this that a steam room is slippery. I've seen the damage a misplaced step can do and how that damage is multiplied by the steam and heat. Let alone the damage all those seats can do if you hit them on the way down. Expect the risk of slipping and falling to increased proportionate to the amount of exercise and the damage will be very bad because of the increased blood flow from exercise.

Getting overheated when you exercise can lead to death or stroke or heart attack or simply heat exhaustion and that is without heat and steam. With heat and steam, you are just playing with the odds.

Why Not Enjoy Them For What They Are

Personally, I don't see the attraction that steam rooms and saunas have but they are very popular in all sorts of recreational facilities, hotels and many other places including in private homes. So why not enjoy them for what they are and just sit for the recommended time and relax. Any form of exercise in them is just stupid and dangerous.

Enjoy     
Richard