Five Second Abs in the Sauna
Dear Friend,
Just came back from a late night sauna and steam.
Feeling great and ready to answer the one question that
so many people have had since I wrote about the
health benefits of using the sauna.
And that question was: What about the steam room?
Is it as good as the sauna?
The answer I am going to give has more to do with my
personal preferences than anything else. And the formulation
of my opinion dates all the way back to college, when I
was dropping weight for wrestling.
Here goes: In a steam room, it is difficult to gauge how much
you are sweating. The steam in the room shows up on your skin
almost as soon as you take a seat. This gives the illusion of
perspiration, yet it's not. In a sauna, because it is dry heat, you
will truly know when you are sweating and when you aren't.
Maybe this sounds like "no big deal" to you. If so, I understand.
But when I was cutting weight for wrestling, and the last pound or
two was pure "water weight" - believe me, it mattered.
I remember the first time I took a steam. I thought I'd dropped
a good pound from the heat. Then I dried off, got on the scale,
hoping I could officially weigh in. Turns out I hadn't dropped
even a 1/4 pound. To say I was angry about this would be an
understatement.
There is one good reason for using the steam room, though, and
that reason is as follows: If you're having trouble breathing due
to a cold - or simply want to avoid one. In a good steam room,
there is often a spray bottle with a mixture of eucalyptus oil.
The attendant should know how much to spray in the room
(believe me, you don't want to overdo it).
As you sit in the steam room, inhale deeply, expanding your
lungs fully. Breathe in the aroma from the eucalyptus. It'll
only take one or two breaths before you feel better.
In a dry sauna, using anything other than water is not
advised.
One thing you can do in between the sauna or steam room to speed
up your results with my Combat Abs routine -
- is the Farmer
Burns Stomach Flattener as well as some of the other
"light" exercises found in Farmer Burns 1914 by-mail
course.
The key thing is that the exercise is "light," not hard or heavy. Make
it easy.
For those who are in pretty good shape already, you could
actually do some "light" exercises in the hot box itself - but
again, emphasis is on the word ... "light." It doesn't take
much to get the perspiration flowing.
Most importantly: Always consult your physician before engaging in
any fitness program or sauna/steam routine.
By the way, if you missed yesterday's tip about the Army Captain
bridging in Saddam's "stomping grounds" in Iraq - be sure to click
here.
Kick butt - take names!
Matt Furey
P.S. Stay tuned for tomorrow's tip - where I answer the question ...
with visual proof, about whether or not Combat Conditioning and
Combat Abs work for women. You will be stunned, so stay with
us.
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