How I Had a Spa Day at the Gym

Ok, I had more of a ‘spa hour’ at the gym, but nonetheless, I used the gym for some much-needed recovery and self-care time. I’m lucky enough that my gym, Buzzfit, has these devices readily available to use as a part of any gym day... I decided to use them all one after the other, in their proper order to maximize the benefits.

Check out this circuit that anyone can do at least once a week if their gym offers these great tools.

1) Start with 10 minutes of Red Light Therapy:

The red light is near-infrared light that helps stimulate cellular activity, which has health benefits on the immune system, the musculoskeletal system, and mitochondria. Red light also improves the skin, from clearing skin conditions to enhancing its beauty. Cells produce more collagen under this light, which supports skin’s elasticity, reduces the appearance of fine lines or wrinkles, and promotes smother skin, including cellulite! This machine offers a maximum of 12 minutes, I booked 10 minutes, and if I wanted to use it regularly for skin health, I could use it for 10-12 minutes, 3x/week.

2) 15 minutes on the Hydro-Massage Bed:

‘Hydro’ indicates water; therefore, a hydro-massage bed uses warm water jets on a tract that goes up and down under the massage pad and works exactly like a massage! You can determine the pressure, high or low, as it massages the body in the form of a lymphatic drainage. This massage table offers just as many benefits as a regular massage, including muscle relaxation, pain relief, increased circulation, and helps deliver water, oxygen, and nutrients that may be free-floating back into the muscle. This is a major piece of the puzzle to reducing the visibility of cellulite, getting all the good stuff back into the muscle rather than having it sit on top because of backed up lymph. The massage bed can be used before a workout as a warm-up, or after the workout to speed up recovery.

3) 20-30 minutes in the Infrared Sauna:

Next on to the dry sauna! The dry sauna aims to induce sweating, allows pores to open, eliminating toxins from the skin. The sauna also increases blood circulation, relaxes stiffness, and enhances the immune system. The more profound benefits of the sauna are actually surprising: 20 minutes in a dry sauna once a week has recently been found to have a positive effect on the heart, reducing blood pressure. It also has a positive effect on brain health, reducing the risk of dementia. Finally, using a dry sauna once a week can reduce different types of inflammatory arthritis, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and gout. In this modern age of information, it is common knowledge that reducing inflammation and warming up stiff muscles helps the body move better.

4) End with a cold shower for 1-3 minutes:

Last but not least, jump into a cold rinse after all that heat! A cold shower or cold plunge if you can, constricts blood vessels, contrary to what the sauna does, which is vasodilation. To end with cold is recommended because this is the ultimate anti-inflammatory tool. The best part is, you don’t need the gym, you can do this one at home. The point is actually to get the body to shiver rather than totally shocking it if you want to go slow. Shivering increases the body’s metabolic rate, helping the body to burn fat. As mentioned above, cold stimulation gives the ultimate anti-inflammatory response, reducing inflammation on joints, skin, and the brain! There’s many mental health benefits produced by cold water such as a reduction in depression and anxious thoughts.

When you’re in the cold, all you can do is focus on breathing to help you get through the moment… but that’s the goal with all breathwork. Get into the body and out of the mind. When done consistently, both breathing and cold exposure can improve and maintain mental health with effects lasting up to 3 months.

For more information on cold exposure, I recommend following the master: Iceman Wim Hof! I am a huge fan of his work and his protocols. They have proven to be effective for me and anyone I know who tries them.

In closing, that was my spa circuit that lasted 1 hour at the gym. I aimed to reduce muscle soreness, inflammation, recovery time, improve skin health, and overall boost my immune system… And I know it worked because I feel great!

Will you try this spa circuit? Follow this order of hot- cool- hot- cold for maximum benefits. When engaging in contrast temperatures, it is recommended to end with cold for the most anti-inflammatory benefits.

Let me know in the comments below or on social media about your hot and cold therapy.