43-year-old bodybuilding coach Marc Lobliner has now taken to answering a question that has often bothered the minds of many in the fitness realm. Lobliner revealed which among cold plunge and sauna, was the superior recovery method. While there are multiple ways you can recover from a hard day of training, sauna, and cold plunge have become popular to the point of contention. So, the IFBB Pro put an end to the debate with the help of science.
Speaking from his sauna room, the bodybuilder compared the two methods and said “not even close.” Lobliner explained that if he had to choose between the cold plunge and the sauna, he would choose the latter. While the bodybuilding veteran spoke about the benefits of both, he explained that the sauna might extend your life.
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Sauna has benefits that go beyond just recovery
Lobliner mentioned studies that have found the method to have benefits outside recovery. Although Lobliner couldn’t name the study, he got the results right. The 43-year-old said that four or more sauna sessions per week reduced the risk of all-cause mortality by 40%. “Your chance of dying are 40% less! That’s crazy!” said Lobliner.
The “Finnish” study that Lobliner mentioned was called the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. This study with 2300 participants (middle-aged men) has found that those who sat for four to seven sauna sessions per week reduced their risk of all-cause mortality. However, cold plunge offers no such benefits.
Besides reducing the risk of death, the study has also found saunas to have heart health benefits. The men who used the sauna frequently also had a lower risk of sudden cardiac death, fatal coronary heart disease, and fatal cardiovascular disease, compared to those who used the sauna once per week. Yet, despite offering fewer benefits, the cold plunge does what it claims.
It’s not all bad news for cold plunge fans
Marc Lobliner explained that cold plunge does help with recovering from hard training especially when you’re inflamed. Since weight training causes inflammation, a cold plunge assists recovery by reducing the inflammation. So if an athlete or bodybuilder needs to get back in the gym a day after intense training, a cold plunge will definitely help.
However, Lobliner also said that the cold plunge also “blunts” muscle protein synthesis. Hence the bodybuilding veteran has chosen sauna as his preferred method for recovery. The cold plunge has its benefits and fitness enthusiasts like Mark Wahlberg vouch for its effectiveness. However, looking at the data, Marc Lobliner didn’t hesitate to label sauna, as superior.
Which team are you on? Cold plunger or Sauna? Let us know in the comments below.
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Edited by
Abhishek Manikandan