Fitness
Experts Say an At-Home Sauna Can Be Great for Your Mind and Body
<p>There’s no getting around the fact that home saunas are a serious investment, though. They require a ton of floor space, regular maintenance, a sizable amount of electricity to operate, and even the most affordable models cost several thousand dollars. That’s why our editors consulted with the two fitness experts to pull together a list of the very best home saunas available right now.</p><h2>What to Consider</h2><h3>Type</h3><p>There are two types of home saunas: Infrared and dry. The former uses infrared lamps to heat the body at a lower temperature (approximately 120°F to 150°F), so it tends to be more comfortable for prolonged use. A traditional dry sauna uses heated rocks or panels to produce higher temperatures (160°F to 200°F) through dry heat to raise the body’s core temperature and create a more intense sweat.</p><h3>Material</h3><p>Ideally, we recommend buying a home sauna with the most durable materials you can realistically afford. Giordano recommends cedar or hemlock wood saunas as two solid bets, as they heat evenly and consistently. Plus, they look great too.</p><h3>Size</h3><p>Consider the size of your new sauna to make sure it’s large enough to accommodate the maximum number of users at once. However, even if more than one person uses it regularly, you might not need to buy a huge one. “How many people will <em>really</em> be using it at the same time?” says Dalleck. <br></p><h3>Maintenance and Power Requirements</h3><p>Beyond the initial investment, home saunas require routine maintenance and upkeep. Consider the long-term cost of things like cleaning and ventilation. You’ll also want to make sure that your home’s electrical system can handle the increased power load. Some of the larger and more premium models require dedicated circuits and professional installation.</p><h3>Features and Extras</h3><p>While not totally necessary, many of today’s best home saunas offer extra features and add-ons. If you want to really turn your space into a hotel spa, look for saunas with built-in <a href=”https://www.menshealth.com/technology-gear/g38139202/best-bluetooth-speakers/” target=”_blank”>speakers</a>, Bluetooth compatibility, red light options, chromotherapy, and even aromatherapy.</p><h2>How We Selected </h2><p>We researched and vetted more than a dozen home sauna solutions. We compared everything from design and features to build quality and price. With the help of two experts in the field—<a href=”https://western.edu/people/lance-dalleck-phd/” target=”_blank”>Lance Dalleck</a>, PhD., a professor at Western Colorado University, and <a href=”http://www.BespokeTreatments.com” target=”_blank”>Daniel Giordano</a>, CSCS, Chief Medical Officer at Bespoke Physical Therapy—we narrowed our list of recommendations down to just eight. These are our picks for the best home saunas worth buying in 2024.<br></p>”/>
Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., is the fitness director of Men’s Health and a certified trainer with more than 10 years of training experience. He’s logged training time with NFL athletes and track athletes and his current training regimen includes weight training, HIIT conditioning, and yoga. Before joining Men’s Health in 2017, he served as a sports columnist and tech columnist for the New York Daily News.
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Fitness
Fitness Myths From TikTok You Should Immediately Stop Believing – Health Digest
If you love to dance, you should continue to dance for your health and your overall wellbeing. But don’t focus strictly on TikTok’s “weight loss dance,” because it just won’t yield results that you hope to see. This was popularized when a TikTok user posted a video of herself performing a now-viral dance that purports to burn body fat and help you lose weight fast. While the user claims to be a fitness instructor, there are no credentials or otherwise notable details that impart any confidence in the dance claim.
It’s not limited to one user, though. As these TikTok videos go viral, people begin to believe every word. Certified nutrition coach Joanne Schell says to Shape, “Posts like this put value primarily on outward appearance; in truth, a six pack is either genetically created or takes significant diet and exercise changes — often to the point where sleep, social lives, and hormones [can be] disrupted and disordered eating [can] arise.”
As the user responsible for the viral dance video claims that the routine will “reduce” the abdomen, it’s important to be mindful of what you’re watching and falling prey to fad diet trends. Psychologist Sirin Atçeken tells Cosmopolitan, “We are constantly bombarded by adverts selling us unrealistic expectations, ‘quick fixes,’ and easy way-outs. In a time where we are calling out fake news, it can be quite dumbfounding that certain content even passes advertising standards.”
Fitness
How to train your brain to truly enjoy exercise, according to science
Truth: They woke up like this. Some people really are more inclined to find joy in exercise. But! You can rewire your brain to join that ‘love it’ group, research shows.
When experts measured the electrical connectivity in the brains of people who are recreationally active, they found that those who perceive themselves as being highly tolerant of physical effort had greater levels of ‘remembered pleasure’ afterward, according to the new study by Florida International University. Meanwhile, those who said they were not as tolerant had a certain amount of ‘anticipatory dread,’ or negative feelings, before the work even started.
The good news is that you can teach yourself to be more accepting, physically and mentally, of movement—which will help you feel excited about exercise in general and crave it more often. By trying some (or all!) of these tactics, you’ll likely notice benefits immediately, says study lead Marcelo Bigliassi, PhD. To extend the effect, keep efforts ongoing, so subtle changes compound over time. Onward!
Meet the experts: Marcelo Bigliassi, PhD, is an assistant professor of neuroscience and psychophysiology at Florida International University. Diogo Teixeira, PhD, is a professor on the physical education and sport faculty at Lusófona University in Lisbon, Portugal.
1. Add appeal to the flavour of exercise you already like.
Let’s say you don’t mind weight lifting but definitely don’t have the can’t-wait feels leading up to a workout. You can create artificial motivation and enjoyment by listening to music or a podcast while you sweat, using virtual reality, or even just engaging in positive self-talk, Bigliassi says. Or perhaps lifting with a group or a friend is the missing ingredient for you. ‘You’re creating outside signals that can help you push a little bit harder and a little bit faster.’ The goal is to foster positive experiences with your sweat sessions. Gradually, the emotion will become second nature without these external cues.
Not sure where to start with finding your best-match activity? Think back to your recent past, and even to your childhood, says Bigliassi. ‘There are usually clues.’ For example, if you used to love swimming at your neighborhood pool, maybe that could translate to swimming laps at your local gym. Or perhaps you were a dancer at one point in your life. Taking a virtual or IRL dance fitness class could spark passion.
2. Challenge yourself *just* enough.
No matter what you’re doing, the activity needs to be tough enough that you’ll have a feeling of accomplishment that makes you want to repeat it. But it should also be within your capabilities, in order to protect your sense of self-efficacy (that is, your belief in your abilities), says Bigliassi. When people experience an exercise intensity that’s not aligned with their preference or tolerance, they exercise less in the future, research shows.
Take this thinking a step further: By choosing, say, a running pace you consider pleasurable (read: not all-out), you may find running more enjoyable—and more easily repeatable in the future. This ‘autonomy promotion’ also applies to resistance training, says researcher Diogo Teixeira, PhD. So if resting longer between sets makes you feel better, do it. (It’ll create those positive associations in your brain.) ‘More is not always better, and a pleasurable activity will be more easily sustained over time,’ Teixeira says.
Monitoring with a tracker can also allow you to see the work you’re putting in, which improves mindset around fitness and, therefore, happiness pertaining to exercise, found a study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
3. Send your mind a motivational sign.
Humans are wired to save as much energy and store as much fat as possible. So, sometimes—and especially when exercise gets intense—you need to remind yourself why you’re going through this perceived insanity. ‘It’s difficult for some parts of our brain to make sense of exercise,’ Bigliassi says.
For example, recalling that cardio is important for both heart health and cognitive function can act as a motivational signal. That helps you feel more positive in the moment and be more consistent with exercise down the road; you now associate the activity with purpose and appealing health outcomes. Surprisingly, negative thoughts can also act as positive signals (e.g., envisioning your energy and mood tanking from not moving that day can be incredibly powerful). Consider this your sign to go for a walk or gear up for a workout right about…now.
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